-(220-x-200-px)-(130-x-130-px)-(220-x-200-px).jpg?lang=en-US&ext=.jpg)
Veolia.gif?width=200&height=200&mediaprotectionhash=4deca34a0d5a00013b5a0ccdc2dcf98fd2c17aabb57eb7bbb27200552f29c247&ext=.gif)
New Uddeholm Steel Grade Wins EPMA Award of Merit
10/17/2007 - Uddeholm Tooling AB’s new Uddeholm Vancron 40 wins this year’s European Powder Metallurgy Association Award of Merit in the category Equipment/Materials.
Uddeholm Tooling AB’s new Uddeholm Vancron 40 has won this year’s European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA) Award of Merit in the category Equipment/Materials.
Uddeholm Vancron 40, a new tool steel for the powder compacting industry, offers low friction properties, high galling resistance, and superior adhesive-wear resistance. It is different from standard powder metallurgy (PM) steels that are used for cold work applications, as it is alloyed with nitrogen to create a steel with an integrated “surface coating”. The result is a tool surface with very low friction that guarantees a much better resistance to galling, cladding and adhesive wear.
In cold work applications such as forming, galling and adhesive wear are often the dominating mechanism for tool failure. This can also be the case in powder compacting, cold extrusion, deep drawing and blanking. Until recently, the common way to increase galling resistance has been to nitride the tool or to apply surface coatings using such processes as CVD, PVD, or TD (Toyota Diffusion).
In contrast, Uddeholm Vancron 40 does not have to be surface-treated or coated, as it already has a very effective integrated “surface coating”. This means that the time and cost factors associated with the coating operation can be eliminated.
Uddeholm Vancron 40 was designed with help of the Thermo Calc thermodynamic computer programme. Based on previous experiences, a martensitic tool steel with a high volume of dispersed, hard nitro-carbides (primarily vanadium-rich nitro carbides) was selected as having the necessary material and functional properties. Based on this assumption, it was possible to calculate the steel composition having the phases with the desired amounts and compositions.
Production of Uddeholm Vancron 40 involves solid-state nitriding of the as-atomized powder. This makes it possible to produce a tool steel with nitrogen content that is several times higher than what would be possible with conventional technology. By introducing a high amount of nitrogen to the loose powder before Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP), nitrogen can be evenly distributed throughout the steel.
The resulting Uddeholm Vancron 40 is a fully dense steel with the following material and functional properties:
- Very high adhesive wear resistance
- Very high resistance to galling/cladding
- Good chipping and cracking resistance
- High compressive strength - good through hardening properties and dimensional stability in hardening
- Low friction properties - good machining/grinding/polishing properties
Industrial experience with Uddeholm Vancron 40 in powder compacting tooling has been very good. The ejection force is up to 30% lower than for press tooling manufactured from the commonly used conventional tool steels. As a result, Uddeholm Vancron 40 is now being used for powder compacting punches, dies and core rods.
Benefits for the tool user include improved and consistent quality of the manufactured parts; especially regarding surface finishes, fewer disturbances and interruptions in production. As a result, production equipment can have a higher utilization and delivery times can be shortened.
With Uddeholm Vancron 40, the tool maker can produce a high-quality tool that does not require any surface coating, which also results in a shorter delivery time and the freedom to make adjustments after the heat treatment. The tool also has a higher, more uniform quality from the first part produced to the last.
