Hot Work

BÖHLER hot-work tool steels are mainly used in highly stressed forging and die-casting tools and, due to their good combination of properties, also in cold work and plastics processing. The main focus is on offering customized material solutions with high-quality, remelted steels.

HIGHEST PURITY STANDARDS

Die casting, forging and extrusion: When things get hot, tool steel has to be tough – and particularly pure. The special properties of BÖHLER hot-work tool steels are specifically tailored to the different stresses, especially for use at high temperatures. The degree of purity and homogeneity of the steels is crucial for a long service life of the tools. That is why we do everything we can to minimise non-metallic inclusions and segregations as far as possible. Innovative melting processes, such as the protective-gas ESR process or vacuum arc remelting, are usually used for this purpose.

BÖHLER hot-work tool steels are used in the industrial production of drop-forged and die-cast parts and, due to their good combination of properties, also in mechanical engineering and plastics processing. Our focus is on remelted steels, with which we offer our customers customised material solutions.

Special requirements for materials for the hot forming industry include:

• Good wear resistance, hardness, compressive strength at temperatures up to 600°C
• Resistance against fracture and toughness
• Tools almost always have to be tempered (cooled) and lubricated
• Thermal shock resistance (heat checking resistance)
• Mostly large dimensions