Low-stress Steel For Injection Molds

The development and manufacture of high-quality, high-performance molds for plastic injection molding is a complex process. The Lüdenscheid standard parts manufacturer Hasco enables customers with its products and services to design processes as simply, flexibly and cost-effectively as possible. The company pays particular attention to consistently high and reliable quality of the molded plates. In addition to a variety of other criteria, the stress reduction of the materials used is an important quality factor for all Hasco panels.

Consistent voltage reduction

In the manufacture and processing of steel, stresses are automatically introduced into the material. This cannot be completely prevented. If these tensions are not consistently reduced by various methods and measures, they can lead to a delay after the machining process. Machined plates become unusable for the mold maker and there are costs and wasted time. Hasco minimizes this risk of warpage along the entire value-added process - from the production of the steel at the suppliers to the in-house processing of the plates to support the customer in the optimal design of the molds.

Low tension from the start

The steel used by Hasco for the manufacture of plates is cast in the steelworks, among other things, and then shaped using open die forging or the rolling process. The heating, cooling and processing create stresses in the steel. In order to significantly reduce this, Hasco has agreed with the steel manufacturers and suppliers the integration of an additional production step: stress relief annealing. The material is slowly heated to 550 to 650 ° C in an annealing furnace and held at this temperature level for one to two hours. This significantly reduces tensions. The steel is then cooled very gently to avoid the build-up of new stresses.

Separate and process gently

The steel manufactured in accordance with the Hasco requirements is initially delivered in large sheets. They have to be divided into smaller formats for further processing. The company uses a powerful, automated sawing technology for this. The gentle cutting process with a precision circular saw minimizes, among other things, the permanent cooling of the saw blade and material, and the introduction of tension into the edge structure. In the subsequent milling, too, Hasco focuses not only on the implementation of convincing surface results, but also on further minimizing tension.

Due to the exactly uniform removal of the rolled or forged skin of the raw panels on both sides with continuously sharp milling and cutting tools, an absolutely uniform material structure is achieved. In addition, the careful clamping of the plates with a specially developed clamping device helps to further minimize the internal stress in the material. At the end of the Hasco manufacturing process, there are low-tension standard parts with a minimal risk of warpage for the customer.

Support for mold makers

Hasco has been intensively involved in the topic of voltage reduction for many years. The company has extensive experience and corresponding specialist knowledge, which is passed on to mold makers and designers.

Klaus Zimmermann, technical seller at Hasco and an expert in the field of voltage reduction: “We do everything to keep our standard parts low-tension along the entire value chain and to minimize the risk of delay for our customers. We also support our customers in optimizing their processes in this regard. It starts with the construction of the molded parts. Due to oversized slide tracks, for example, too much material has to be removed during machining. The internal tension of the material increases, the risk of warpage increases. We are happy to advise and assist our customers with our experience in order to come up with optimal solutions.”(Qui)

steel

New chrome steels for high temperature applications