Introduction Heat treatment of tool and die steels can be very complex and the heat treatment process

must be designed to maximize metallurgical properties of the alloy. This can subject the component to a variety of thermal and transformation stresses. There is also a push in some industries to increase quench rates to enhance material properties (i.e. H13 heat treated to NADCA 207 or GM DC9999-1). These more severe rates can result in higher stresses and higher risk. To further complicate matters, most tool and die designs are very intricate, with unbalanced cross sections, thin webs, blind holes, and sharp corners. Tool and die steels by nature are extremely deep hardening. Given the hardenability of alloys used, overall part geometries, and complexity of heat treatment, risks can be present for distortion or even cracking. These risks can be managed and reduced by understanding the factors involved and by taking steps to balance cross sections, minimize stress, and reduce stress risers. Understanding Sources of Stress Stress is the main enemy in creating risk of distortion or even cracking. Stresses come mainly from four categories: Residual stress in the steel itself. Stress created from manufacturing (i.e. machining, EDM, grinding, etc). Thermal expansion and contraction from heating and cooling during heat treatment. Transformation expansion and contraction. During heat treatment, one transformation causes the steel to shrink and the other to grow. These are inherent metallurgical transformation stresses. These stresses can be greatly influenced by the alloy type and uniformity of the material.

Residual Stress in Steel: If you have ever machined a part and noticed that it was moving while you were machining it, you were experiencing the influences of residual stress. Even though the part is just sitting there, it could be battling very high residual stress levels. You can think of it as certain fibers are in tension and others are in compression. Under these conditions, the tensile stresses will completely balance out the compressive stresses. As you machine away fibers that are in either tension or compression, these stresses must change so they balance out again. Any time there is a change in stress, there has to be a change in strain (or simply there is a movement). The change in strain will follow the modulus of elasticity for the particular alloy. Once the die is heat treated, any residual stress will be relieved, and once again there can be strain or potential movement in the die Pre-hardened stock is known to have a very high level of residual stress.

Manufacturing Stresses: As material is removed during machining operations, you are literally exceeding the tensile strength of the steel on a very small scale so you can remove the chip. This also creates a deformation zone surrounding the tool itself. Any time there is a deformation zone, stresses will be created. The more severe the machining, the higher the stresses is. Once again, the main risk is the relief of these stresses during heat treatment and movement of the die from this relief. Other forms of machining, like grinding or EDM, can generate high temperature inputs if not performed correctly. This can result in burned areas and heat affected zones. Under extreme conditions these processes may even create microcracks that could act as starting points for crack propagation during heat treatment. Special precautions should be observed for dies that will be wire EDMed after heat treatment. These precautions involve using higher tempering temperatures and the use of relief slots in some instances. Please contact a Paulo Sales Engineer for additional information. Stress concentration factors from machining are generally far more dangerous and risky than residual stresses created from machining. These will be addressed in much more detail later on in this paper. Thermal Expansion and Contraction: For most alloys, every inch of steel expands/contracts about 7 millionths for every single F change. That may not sound like much, but a10 long bar of S7 tool steel will be a full 1/8 longer when it is at its 1750F austenization temperature than it is at room temperature. Growing 1/8 of an inch is not really the problem. The problem is that thin sections heat and cool faster than thick sections and that the surface heats and cools faster than the core. These differences in heating and cooling can lead to large stresses in the steel. For example, lets look at a bar that is 10 long and 3 thick. As a theoretical example, upon heating if the surface is at 1500F and the core is at 1350F, then the surface will be a full 0.010 longer than the core. It is easy to visualize how these stresses can multiply and how unbalanced cross sections can lead to yet higher stresses. As a heat treater, we are very aware of these heating and cooling stresses. We use thermocouples and monitor die temperatures and use pre-heats so surface and core temperatures, as well as thin and thick sections, can equalize. Metallurgical Transformation: In the hardening of tool steels there are two metallurgical transformations that occur one upon heating and one upon quenching. The transformation upon heating happens when the steel austenitizes. When this occurs, the material actually shrinks. When the steel is quenched, the most significant change occurs. Upon quenching, the material hardens and forms martensite. Martensite is a significantly larger structure than the structure that was present before the transformation.

Upon heating, pre-heats are used to help minimize the impact of the transformation change to austenite. The pre-heats help equalize the die temperatures so they transform more evenly. Remember, it is differences in size change that really relate to high levels of stress and risk. The majority of risk is created during quenching. The steel must be quenched (at varying levels depending on the alloy), in order to harden out. Upon quenching, there will be differences in temperatures between the surface and core of the die. There will be differences in temperature between thick and thin sections of the part. These differences result in stresses from the thermal contraction. Upon quenching and once the steel cools enough to reach its transformation temperature, martensite begins to form. This temperature is different for every alloy, but in very general terms, it is around 300-600F for most tool and die materials. This growth can be significant up to 4% larger than the structure it was formed from. This transformation is not instantaneous. Martensite only starts to form at its transformation temperature and will increase in concentration as the steel continues to cool. Thus, as the part is quenched, you wind up with two gradients; temperature differences between the surface and the core, as well as martensite percentage differences between the surface and the core. The graph below shows a representation of the major size changes that occur during heat treatment. These are the sources that create risk of distortion or even cracking if not understood and taken into account during the design and manufacturing stages.

3) Thermal expansion upon heating 2) First transformation upon heating

Increasing Size

1) Thermal expansion upon heating

4) Thermal contraction upon quenching

6) Fully hardened. Overall growth from original

5) Expansion starts as alloy starts to harden

Increasing Temperature

As the tool is being quenched, the surface will harden first since it cools the fastest. This locks the surface into place. As the core cools, it begins to transform and it then expands. You can think of this as a balloon trying to expand from the inside.

This ballooning effect can result in high levels of distortion and movement. Corners of cavities pull up. Knife edges bow. Under extreme circumstances, the part can also crack. This is why balanced and symmetrical cross sections are so important.

Tool steels as a group are very deep hardening. In other words, a high percentage of the overall cross section will harden out upon quenching. Some alloys are much more hardenable than others. Cold work tool steels, such as A2 and D2, will easily harden out half-foot thick cross sections with high pressure vacuum furnace technology. Oil or water hardening steels, such as O1 or W1, require liquid quenches for much smaller cross sections. Remember, the more severe or faster the quench, the greater the differences in cooling rate and the resulting higher stress levels. Larger blocks will experience much higher stresses simply due to the higher thermal and transformation stresses. Given this fact, larger blocks will be at higher risk during heat treatment and they should be under higher design scrutiny to minimize features that create stress risers. Tool steel grades that contain a high level of carbide should also be under a higher design scrutiny to minimize stress risers. These grades, such as cold works, high speeds, or even some stainless steels like 440C, obtain their high level of wear resistance from these carbides. But high wear resistance comes at the price of lower ductility. Lower ductility alloys will be at a greater risk of potential cracking. Premium grades of tool steel should used for higher risk designs. Alloys that are vacuum arc remelted will contain much more uniform chemistries and much lower contamination levels. Assessing Risk Features that act as stress risers should always be minimized whenever possible. The following outline presents a list of common features that should be included during risk assessment during die manufacture. Machining Features on a Die that Can Increase the Risk of Distortion or Cracking during Heat Treatment

Rough Machining o Deep tooling marks create stress risers. o Sharp Corners (inside) Radii below 0.060 can be risky. Key ways / slots / grooves should be avoided. Counter sunk holes with sharp corners create stress risers. Blind holes are a high risk features. o Transitions in cross section. Major source of potential stress. Any change in cross section greater than 3 to 4 should be avoided. Thin webs, thin walls are problems. Particularly risky if connecting changes in cross section

Water line placement Can be risky if too close to the surface. Can be risky if too close to other die features (holes, changes in cross section) Mismatch of cooling channels can leave sharp transitions on the internal surfaces of the water lines. This can be checked by fishing a line through the cooling channels for match up. Sharp threads or gear roots create stress risers.

EDM before heat treatment (micro cracks in recast layer). o Recast layer should be removed. Weld repair o Welding in general is a very risky procedure on tool and die alloys. It should be completely avoided if at all possible. o It is recommended that the die builder notify the heat treater if any welding was done to the die. o Preheat/post heat practice Follow recommended practice from material manufacturer At minimum, stress relieve prior to heat treatment Welding creates very high localized stress levels. Stress relieving is strongly recommended to help relieve these localized stresses. o Additional risk is present if welds are close to other features such as holes, corners, etc. o Rough weld beads create higher stress risers. Beads should be smooth. Thermocouple hole o In order to minimize risk, it is best to monitor the actual die with a thermocouple. If there is no thermocouple hole present, the heat treater must use a load block that may not completely represent the actual die temperature. Thermocouple holes should be: Surface 1/8 dia x 5/8 deep. Core 1/8 dia. TC at center of heaviest mass or cross section.

Toughness (Charpy) specimens that are welded to the block can create stress risers. o Preheating, post-heating should be performed on the weld o Watch the location of welds on the specimen. Stresses can be generated at the corners of the weld and toughness specimen o Do not use dissimilar weld filler

Discussion and expansion of the out line Rough Machining Rough machining can have two meanings here. One is the idea the die is machined to its approximate size of final dimensions. For the sake of this discussion we are not concern with the rough size other that when the die is machined and the surface is left rough and has sharp corners and/or small radii. It is the rough texture and sharp edges that can lead to an undesirable concentration in stress. The following are some examples: Deep tooling marks Here in Figure 1A, an end mill cut too deep, essentially leaving a sharp inside corner. This was cleaned up to reduce the risk of cracking. In Figure 1B, a rough finish was left that has a ripple appearance. When this type of feature is gross or coarse enough it can act as a stress concentrator, especially when it is directly associated with other features, such as a change in cross section.

A
Figure 1.

Sharp Corners (inside) Sharp inside corners are of concern over an outside corner. This is especially true for areas with changes in cross section. It is recommended to use a 0.060 minimum radius when possible to help reduce an inside corner as a stress riser. In Figure 2, a die insert is shown with a crack at an inside corner. This occurred during heat treatment but was attributed to the sharp radii at the inside corner.

Crack at a sharp inside corner.

Figure 2.

In Figure 3, a die with a large change in cross sectional area directly associated with a small radius is shown. This has a great risk of cracking. The very sharp interface between these two sections will generate large stresses.

Figure 3.

In contrast to the die above, the die in Figure 4 has a very generous transition between changes in cross section. This risk of cracking from the machining features is negligible here. It is important to do your best at making smooth transitions between large changes in cross section.

Figure 4. 8

Key way/Slots Key ways and slots are a combination of inside corners and changes in cross section. Because of this, they can be a very risky area for generating cracks. Their location on the part with respect to holes and changes in cross section also needs to be taken into consideration.

A slot with a sharp corner is shown in Figure 5. As can be seen, there is a crack at the sharp corner.

crack

Figure 5.

Counter sunk holes Figure 6 has counter sunk holes which fall into a couple of categories. The photo on the right shows a close-up of a hole. There are three large risk factors present: (1) a sharp radius, (2) a large transition in cross sectional thickness is present and, (3) it is a blind hole. This part cracked even though a precaution was taken by packing the hole with steel wool. Steel wool is one of the few tools on the heat treaters side to help reduce quench severity in a localized area. As can be seen, its not a guarantee, only an insurance policy to help reduce the risk.

crack

Figure 6.

Blind holes Blind holes are holes that do not go through the whole cross section, and they are particularly risky. Risk increases if the bottom is left rough with sharp corners. Risk also increases if they are close to other features, like changes in cross section, webs, etc.

Transitions in cross section A change in cross section greater than 3 to 4 would be considered significant. The part shown in Figure 7 is an example of a significant change in cross section. The simple geometry and generous radius at the change in cross section can reduce the risk of cracking. The issue with this type of cross sectional change is for the difference in heating and cooling. Upon heating, the small section will be at heat sooner and longer than the larger section. The opposite is true for cooling. Upon cooling, severe metallurgical stresses can be set up by the fact that the small section will complete its metallurgical transformation before the large section. This means the small section with be hard and ridged while the large section is still expanding from the metallurgical transformation occurring.

Figure 7.

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Thin webs The photo shown in Figure 8 provides an example of a thin web bridging a change in cross section. Not only is the web thin, it also tapers down to a point. Note the crack in the thin web.

crack

Figure 8.

In Figure 9, the photo shows the replacement die for the one above with the web removed. This was successfully processed. .

Figure 9.

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Water line placement Water cooling lines can also create stress risers and produce regions of risk. Risk is high if the cooling lines are close to the surface or to other features such as; changes in cross section, webs, etc. If the cooling lines are mismatched, they can leave sharp transitions on the internal surfaces. These sharp transitions can be locations where cracks could start. Sharp transitions can be checked by fishing a line through the cooling channels for match up.

EDM before Heat Treatment When EDM is done before heat treatment, some caution should be exercised. The recast layer can have micro-cracks, which could propagate during heat treatment. Figure 10 is a part that was EDM and cracked. Removal of the recast layer can be done to reduce this risk. Special precautions should be observed for dies that will be wire EDMed after heat treatment. These precautions involve using higher tempering temperatures and the use of relief slots in some instances. Please contact a Paulo Sales Engineer for additional information.

Figure 10.

Weld repair Weld repair should be avoided when at all possible. There is a potential for cracking in a die even when proper procedures for welding have been followed. Welding is so risky the die could crack long before it is heat treated. The die builder should notify heat treater if any welding was done. It is best to follow recommended practices from the material manufacturer for welding. A stress relieve prior to heat treatment should be done as a minimum. However, for the best protection, annealing of the die is recommended.

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Rough or smooth weld bead

In Figure 11, photos show before and after a weld was cleaned up. The weld covered a large area on one side of a die. The weld was extensive, rough, and of significant concern for possible cracking during heat treatment. A stress relieve was done to the die to minimize the risk.

Figure 11.

In Figure 12, two photos show a rough weld bead and the weld in close proximity to a bolt hole. Both raise the risk of cracking. Even if a stress relieve or an anneal were done, it would be recommended that a weld this rough be machined smooth before heat treatment.

Figure 12.

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Figure 13 is an overview and close-up of a die with a weld at a change in cross section. The toe of the weld is right at the intersection of the two sections. Very risky, and as can be seen, cracking was an issue. Full metallurgical analysis showed the crack started at the weld.

Figure 13.

Minimizing Risk

If you want to heat treat a die, it simply must be exposed to temperature and metallurgical stresses. The greatest way to reduce risk is to understand the sources of stress and to take steps to minimize stress. Balance cross sections. Remove sharp edges. Blend and smooth steps. Do not repair weld unless you simply must. Keep cooling lines away from surfaces and other features. Do not be afraid to leave extra stock in locations. Work closely with your heat treater. Ask questions. Let the heat treater know when these features will be present. Let the heat treater know the final operating environment. The heat treatment cycle can be tweaked for insurance policies. Chances of success always increase as communication increases.

Paulo Products Company Joe Price Metallurgical Engineer (314) 450-4349 jprice@paulo.com www.paulo.com
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