A viewer in the live stream asked about a continuous punching die for 0.5-thick silicon steel sheets. Since tungsten steel is too expensive, is there a high-speed steel that can be used as a substitute? The punching speed is 200–300.
Ever since the price of tungsten steel tripled, mold costs have become unsustainable, leading many to seek a high-speed steel alternative for mold making. Tungsten carbide is a tungsten-cobalt alloy with the highest-quality carbides, offering the best wear resistance. If you need to settle for a second-best option and select a high-speed steel with relatively good wear resistance, powder-metallurgy high-speed steel is definitely the way to go.
Powder-metallurgically produced high-speed steel not only has a relatively high carbon content but also a high total alloy content, resulting in an abundance of hard carbides—which are of superior quality. Furthermore, through the advanced powder metallurgy process, its carbides are finely dispersed and uniformly distributed, which greatly enhances wear resistance. Powder-metallurgically produced high-speed steel offers both high hardness and high strength—properties that ordinary high-speed steel lacks.
For progressive dies with a punching speed of 200–300, punching 0.5-thick silicon steel sheets, and meeting the customer’s requirement to replace tungsten steel—for which there are already successful case studies—I recommend PM23 powder-metallurgical high-speed steel.
A customer told me that Yuhui’s PM23 performs exceptionally well when used to punch narrow-edged dies with fine tips. I used to use YG15, but it would either break at the fine tip or snap completely. When punching 0.5-thick silicon steel sheets at a speed of 250 strokes per minute, the PM23 has completed 3 million strokes without ever needing to be resharpened.
This user’s punching speed is 200–300 strokes per minute when punching 0.5-thick silicon steel sheets. Tungsten carbide is too expensive, so they want to use high-speed steel as a substitute. I think PM23 is a pretty good choice. Not only because there are successful case studies—at a punching speed of 250 strokes per minute, just like theirs, it punched 0.5-thick silicon steel sheets 3 million times without any wear— This material offers excellent wear resistance, and its price is much lower than that of tungsten carbide. Other cobalt-containing high-speed steels with better wear resistance than PM23 are priced very close to tungsten carbide, so there’s little point in using them as a substitute.
I believe that when comparing performance, practical results, and price range, using Yuhui PM23 to replace tungsten carbide for punching 0.5-thick silicon steel sheets offers excellent value for money. Without compromising die life, it also provides the added benefit of better resistance to chipping, while significantly reducing costs—thereby achieving high efficiency, long service life, and low operating costs.
When recommending mold steel, you should follow this user’s example and tell me the material and thickness of the blank, the mold steel you’re currently using, the problems you hope to solve, the requirements you wish to meet, and even the stamping speed. Only then can I determine what performance characteristics your mold requires and recommend a mold steel grade that matches those requirements, has a proven track record, and meets your needs. Such a recommendation will provide an accurate solution.
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Wu Dejian’s tool steel, the chief of staff of the user, bought everything he had used.