Quality of mold steel faces new challenges

A few days ago, a survey released by the China Mould Industry Association, the basic mold manufacturing enterprises around is not the impact of the financial crisis (20%), have been affected or affect a lot of enterprises accounted for about 40%. The data show that in the mold sales in China last year, 95 billion yuan, an increase of 9.2% over the previous year, slowing down more than 10 percent increase over the previous year, the lowest growth rate since the statistics for 1984, China's mold industry.Crisis, adopted by the State Council, the equipment manufacturing industry restructuring and revitalization plan to enhance the mold and its technological level of manufacturing equipment as its focus on content, the in countries 16 major science and technology projects based equipment features items related to the mold project special also reflects the important position of the mold industry in the share of manufacturing. Industry experts believe that the stimulus package to boost domestic demand in the central range of opportunities to mold market suffers.
How to seize the opportunities of the 4 trillion yuan of total investment in construction projects, and turn into real orders of the mold industry? China Mould Industry Association, the experts pointed out that the face of unprecedented opportunities, the most fundamental problems of the development of China's mold industry solve mold materials and mold technology behind the status quo.
New opportunities bring new challenges "Performance, quality and variety of mold materials tend to affect the quality of the mold, life and cost, the domestic mold steel imported steel, both the quality and varieties and specifications, there is a wide gap between China Mould Industry Association executive director, senior engineer Zhou Yongtai, admits in an interview with this reporter.
Auto mold, for example, the rapid development of China's auto industry and mold industry mold material, quantity, quality, variety and performance more update requirements, such as high the standard mold steel user requirements materials have a very good impact toughness, residual elements controlled, high-quality, long-life.
Made tool steel due to the variety, size, quality, and performance reasons, and the international advanced level, there is a gap, China's annual 25% in high-grade mold must be imported from abroad.
Assab Tooling (Beijing) Co., Ltd., general manager of Ping Yingyu, a car from the microelectronic components to the body, tires, plastic, glass, copper, aluminum, steel and other various strength and surface state components, which an auto parts in the production process, if the requirements of each part of the physical properties, the appearance quality, etc. fully meet the design requirements, the quality of the mold must be guaranteed. The mold first asked the mold shall overall complete failure that mold shall overall cracking.
Secondly, the mold user requirements to produce the first piece and the last one automotive parts having the same physical properties, appearance and dimensional tolerances, and thus the mold material must be to ensure adequate strength.
With the development of the automobile lightweight, die-casting production tends to be higher the pressure, the more automated die casting machine production, therefore, working conditions worsened mold mold material, which requires excellent red Fengying Yu said, rigid (high temperature yield strength) and ductility (plasticity).
Die steel is indeed a problem that plagued mold manufacturers, especially for those large and medium-sized manufacturers of the mold module mold steel, the domestic mold steel optional and reliability are lower, can not meet the time requirements very tight project, therefore, had to use the higher cost of imported mold steel mold manufacturer. Yanfeng Visteon Automotive Trim Co., mold, general manager Wang Yaping think so.
New challenges highlights the large gap
Face just the rise of a huge market, the domestic iron and steel enterprises are full of emotion and embarrassment: Currently, the domestic mold steel can not meet all the demand for domestic mold industry.
Die Materials Committee of China Mould Industry Association official pointed out that the domestic the mold steel market has lagged behind in the development of the mold industry, is also not well adapted to the needs of mold manufacturing, mainly in the following aspects:
The first is backward, poor quality steel, die steel production process. Such as the intrinsic quality of the domestic versatility mold steel h13, d2, ld varieties can reach the American mold steel universal standard astma681 of an international general level, can basically meet the user's use of domestic and foreign general mold. High high standard mold steel user requirements, such as the impact toughness, low carbide partial control of residual elements, high-quality long-life requirements, is still unable to meet. Cold work die steel requirements at low temperatures with resistance to abrasion, anti-plastic Sex shaped, anti-whole cracking resistance to chipping, machining and grinding various performance. Plastic mold steel required to have a high-quality finish, corrosion resistance, resistance to wear, high thermal conductivity, machining, polishing, etching performance.
"It is the comparison shows a plastic mold technology at home and abroad, the foreign hardened steel die life 160 to 300 million times, only 50 to 100 million domestic, non-hardened steel die life domestic only half of the foreign quality of steel for this situation one of the reasons. "said Zhou Yongtai.
In addition, the new varieties of domestic mold steel. In recent years, some foreign famous mold steel producers developed a lot of new die steel, such as high strength and toughness mold steel, dh13, dh53, flame hardening mold steel, powder metallurgy cold work die steel, these high-performance mold steel has become the current international mold market the typical brand products. In contrast, the domestic high-performance new die steel less, less development of new varieties of mold steel.
There is not complete varieties and specifications. For example, accounted for 60% of the amount of mold steel, plastic mold steel, in our alloy tool steel standard, only two steel No. U.S. 7 steel number, and the formation of a more complete series of steel. Countries such as the United States, Japan, France and Switzerland, in the cold work die steel and hot work die steel form a series of hot work die steel only have six styling generic varieties made tool steel beyond.