Publications Details
Investment cast AISI H13 tooling for automotive applications
While many techniques exist for production of soft tooling, for die casting there is limited recent experience with cast tooling. The most common US alloy used for manufacture of die casting tooling is wrought AISI H13. If the performance of the cast material is comparable to the wrought counterpart, the use of investment cast HI 3 tooling directly from patterns made via rapid prototyping is of considerable interest. A metallurgical study of investment cast H13 was conducted to evaluate the mechanical behavior in simulated die casting applications. Variable thickness plate investment castings of AISI H13 hot work die steel were produced and characterized in the as-cast and heat-treated conditions. The characterization included light microscopy and mechanical testing. Wrought samples of standard and premium grade H13 were heat-treated and characterized similarly for comparison. Microstructural differences were observed in as-cast samples produced in different section thicknesses. Dendrite cell size and carbide morphology constituted the most prominent microstructural differences observed. After a full heat-treatment, microstructural differences between the wrought material and cast materials were slight regardless of section thickness.The mechanical properties of the cast and heat-treated material proved similar to the properties of the standard heat-treated wrought material. A thermal fatigue testing unit was to con-elate the heat checking susceptibility of H13 steel to its processing and consequent microstructural condition. Surface hardness decreased significantly with thermal cycling, and heat checking was observed in as few as 50 cycles. Thermal softening and thermal fatigue susceptibility were quantified and discussed relative to the microstructural conditions created by processing and heat-treatment. It was found that the premium grade wrought H13 steel provided the best overall resistance to heat checking.