Category: blog

When I saw six pieces of 8566 die steel ordered by a stainless steel hot-forging plant in the workshop, it occurred to me that H13 wears out too quickly for stainless steel hot-forging dies, so more and more people are switching to 8566 die steel. His stainless steel hot-forging dies originally used H13, and other die steels he…

Just a reminder: Material sticking and stringing in drawing dies has nothing to do with the hardness of the die steel; it is determined by the quality of the steel’s smelting process. Whether your die steel was smelted to a high standard—and whether it contains any microscopic cracks—will determine whether your die experiences sticking or stringing issues.…

Today, let’s talk about a topic related to die steel. When it comes to bending or drawing dies, avoid using Cr12MoV whenever possible.  Between yesterday and today, I’ve received two similar inquiries. The first was from Mr. Song, who asked me: “The bent parts tend to get scratched. What die steel should I use? The…

A zinc alloy sliding block insert made from SKD61 mold steel has been pierced through. The insert has a large end diameter of 6 mm, a small end diameter of 3 mm, and a length of 10 mm. The small end of the pin has broken and bent. This question was asked by a viewer…

What type of mold steel is best for injection mold inserts used to mold PA66+GF30 reinforced nylon? A question from a viewer during the 301st live stream.  Plastic reinforced with 30% glass fiber causes severe erosion to molds. The mold steel must offer good wear resistance and prevent material adhesion, and the mold must definitely be…

Not only will “four-cut” mold steel fail to solve your mold chipping problem, but it will also leave you unsure of where the problem lies and how to optimize your mold. Buying “four-cut” mold steel is a recipe for disaster. Today I received an inquiry regarding cold extrusion of red copper. The client had tried second-grade…

I saw two large pieces of 8433 heat-resistant steel ready for shipment in the workshop, which put me in a good mood. These two pieces weigh over 700 kilograms; we produced a total of four pieces this time, weighing one and a half metric tons in total.  This customer manufactures hot-forging dies for stainless steel.…

I have some good news to share with everyone. Mr. Lan came back today and told me: “The service life of your 8566 cold heading bolt dies can range from 6,000 to 17,000 cycles. The service life is comparable to that of the previous tungsten steel dies, but 8566 costs only one-fifth the price of…

Mr. Lin, whom I haven’t been in touch with for many years, reached out to ask: He currently has a part that’s injection-molded from nylon, and the mold contains multiple cores—four of which are relatively thin. He’s currently using H13 mold steel, but the cores keep breaking after producing only a few parts—sometimes one breaks,…

Last night, August 2, 2026, I hosted a one-hour live stream—my 301st live stream.  The live stream reached 7,410 people, had 493 viewers, with an average watch time of 1.66 minutes per viewer. The average number of concurrent viewers was 11, the peak was 21, and I gained 4 new followers. The metrics for this…

Mr. Jia is hot-forging hexagonal nuts. Currently, the bottom die is made of H13 and is kept submerged in water, but H13 is prone to wear—it typically wears out after 20,000 strokes, or it chips or cracks. What type of die steel would you recommend? For hot forging dies, high heat resistance is the top priority. H13…

At noon today, before we even started work, a client came to the factory to inspect the 8433 heat-resistant steel.  This visit had been scheduled a few days ago. She had asked me to stop by their company, but since I couldn’t make it, the purchasing manager and the tooling supervisor came together instead.  This…