{"id":1433,"date":"2026-08-22T09:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T09:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wudejiansteel.com\/?p=1433"},"modified":"2026-08-22T09:00:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T09:00:17","slug":"optimizing-a-mold-is-more-important-than-replacing-the-mold-steel-anyone-who-understands-molds-knows-that-the-molds-structure-is-10000-times-more-important-than-the-mold-steel-blog-285","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wudejiansteel.com\/?p=1433","title":{"rendered":"Optimizing a mold is more important than replacing the mold steel. Anyone who understands molds knows that the mold\u2019s structure is 10,000 times more important than the mold steel.blog\u00a0285"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When stamping Q195 steel (3.0) and testing wear-resistant steel 6077, we switched to a medium-speed wire-cut EDM punch. The stamping press output was: 77,000 strokes for flat steel and 82,000 strokes for oval tubing. Since switching to the medium-speed wire-cut EDM punch, die life has jumped from 2,000 strokes to 80,000 strokes\u2014a significant increase by several times. It seems that optimizing the die is also very important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0Mr. Hu was stamping 3.0-mm-thick Q195 steel. His original dies, made from locally purchased DC53<\/a> and Cr12MoV, would develop burrs after producing only a small number of parts. After he contacted me, I determined that since he was stamping 3.0-mm-thick Q195\u2014a material that isn\u2019t particularly hard but is somewhat thick\u2014the burrs were most likely caused by material sticking to the die.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In fact, a hardness of 60 HRC is sufficient for stamping steel in terms of wear resistance. Guided by the principle of finding a low-cost solution and drawing on my experience with Mr. Huang\u2019s case, I recommended that he use wear-resistant steel 6077.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0Wear-resistant steel 6077 has a hardness of 60\u201363 HRC and offers three times the crack resistance of chromium steel; its performance far surpasses that of cold-work tool steels such as Cr12MoV, SKD11<\/a><\/strong>, and D2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Mr. Huang was stamping square products from 3.0-thick pickled sheet metal. After switching to wear-resistant steel 6077, he told me that the blanking dies made from this material remained burr-free even after 150,000 stamping cycles\u2014the cost-effectiveness and advantages of this material are very clear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Since Mr. Huang was also stamping 3.0-thick material\u2014just like Mr. Hu\u2014and the pickled sheet was similar to Q195, with comparable material thickness, grade, and die operating conditions, I recommended that he use Wear-Resistant Steel 6077.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 However, the first time he used Wear-Resistant Steel 6077, after stamping 2,000 products, burrs reappeared. Mr. Hu was very disappointed; he believed that the hardness of wear-resistant steel 6077 was insufficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 I asked him to send the die back so I could test the hardness for him. Since we test the hardness of every piece of material we ship\u2014we never ship low-hardness material\u2014our wear-resistant steel 6077 is produced in a dedicated furnace using our proprietary heat treatment process combined with cryogenic treatment, ensuring a hardness of 60\u201363 HRC. Logically speaking, stamping iron shouldn\u2019t develop burrs after just 2,000 cycles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 After receiving the die, I tested the hardness and confirmed it was 60\u201363 HRC. I sent him a video to show him the results. I noticed that the cutting edge of his die was very rough, with the wire-cutting marks still visible. I told him that while the hardness measurement was fine, I thought the surface finish of the cutting edge needed improvement because it was too rough. When stamping Q195 steel, poor mold surface finish would cause wear and result in burrs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 He found my explanation reasonable, so he had a new die cut using medium-speed wire EDM. To his surprise, the new die\u2019s service life reached 80,000 stamping cycles\u2014a significant improvement over the original 2,000 cycles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 I\u2019d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that if a die isn\u2019t performing well or has a short service life, you can\u2019t blame it entirely on the die steel. Sometimes, simply optimizing the die\u2019s structure or even changing the machining method can multiply its service life, and the results are immediate. Anyone who understands dies knows that die design is ten thousand times more important than the die steel itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*************<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wu Dejian’s\u00a0tool\u00a0steel<\/a><\/strong>, the chief of staff of the user, bought everything he had used.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When stamping Q195 steel (3.0) and testing wear-resistant steel 6077, we switched to a medium-speed wire-cut EDM punch. The stamping press output was: 77,000 strokes for flat steel and 82,000 strokes for oval tubing. Since switching to the medium-speed wire-cut EDM punch, die life has jumped from 2,000 strokes to 80,000 strokes\u2014a significant increase by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t