Die Materials Development Task Force Update NADCA February 21, 2007

Areas of Interest New die materials to increase die life Ferrous materials Non-ferrous materials

Goal To obtain field information to validate laboratory testing information To assist in providing information for the Specification Task Force

Trials at Die Caster Need multi-cavity die or single die with documented history. Need to log information for appropriate record keeping on form that was developed

Trials at ????? Die Casting Hub Four cavity die One Dievar one Marcast insert 332,000 shots, Out of Service 7/1/05 Dievar looks best – slight washout, minimal heat check at ejector pins Marcast more checking than H13 Goal 250,000-300,000 shots

The Hub Cast Part

Trials at ???? (protected) Tank Tread Heat Sink Four Cavity Die One Dievar & One QRO-90 Insert, AM703 181,000 Shots, Removed from service May, 2004 Dievar looks best, slight heat checks (5x life of H13) 41HRC lowest Placed back in AM703, run to 220,000 shots QRO-90 welded 5 times, break-out, but better than H13 37 HRC lowest Dievar Die (AM596) – 174,000 Shots Heat checks at ejectors and front half required regular repair. Taken out of service 12/13/04

Tank Tread Heat Sink

Tank Tread Heat Sink Heat checked and breakout area

Trials at ???? (protected) Pre-hardened Dievar insert w/ 181K shot Dievar insert, AM703 42- 43 HRC, pre-hardened Dievar Sanding of breakouts required after 19K shots. Pulled after 47,000 shots on pre-hardened Dievar, 220K shots on conventional Dievar High speed machined Dievar, AM080 48- 49 HRC 66,000 shots before breakout 95,000 shots, breakout no worse 122,000 shots, same breakout, some light heat checking (June ’06) Now 161,00 shots, (Feb. 07) breakout slightly increasing, still acceptable.

Other Future Bohler W360 ISO Bloc Bohler W400 VMR Lower Si, Higher Mo Capable of 58 HRC Good toughness for hardness level Commercially available Bohler W400 VMR When cracking is a major issue 50-52 HRC