Six Methods to Improve the Service Life of Stamping Dies

Stamping molds are essential process equipment in the stamping production process, which plays a decisive role in improving product quality, extending product life, and improving production efficiency. However, due to frequent wear and tear during the production process, stamping molds lose their working dimensions, making it difficult to meet production needs. Therefore, improving the durability (service life) of stamping molds is crucial.
There are generally several methods to improve the durability of stamping molds:
1. Improving the Design of Stamping Dies
Whether the design of stamping molds is reasonable is the basis for improving the durability of stamping molds. Therefore, when designing stamping molds, effective measures should be taken to address the adverse conditions in product forming, in order to improve the durability of the stamping mold. For example, the lifespan of designing small hole stamping molds is often reflected in the punch for punching small holes. For this type of stamping mold, the design should minimize the length of the small punch to increase strength, and at the same time, the guide sleeve method should be used to strengthen the protection of the small punch. In addition, in the design of stamping molds, factors such as the form of the mold base, the fixing method and guiding form of the convex and concave molds, the determination of the pressure center, and the rigidity of the upper and lower templates should be fully considered. Especially for punching dies, selecting a gap value has a significant impact on durability. When designing, the gap of the stamping die should be selected reasonably, and its gap value should not be too small, otherwise it will affect the service life and durability of the stamping die. Practice has proven that, without affecting the quality of stamping parts, appropriately enlarging the gap can greatly improve the durability of stamping molds, sometimes even increasing by several or tens of times.
2. Correct selection of stamping die materials
Different stamping die materials have different strengths, toughness, and wear resistance. Under certain conditions, using advanced materials can increase durability several times. Therefore, in order to improve the durability of stamping molds, it is necessary to choose good materials.
The material of the Toolox series is a new type of pre hardened tool steel with high toughness, high wear resistance, and almost no internal stress. It also has a very high purity, very small grain size, very low S and P content, and a low and uniform precipitation of carbides. Due to its special composition design, the Toolox series material has excellent surface treatment performance, with the surface hardness of Toolox44 after nitriding reaching HRC65 or above, The surface hardness of Toolox40 can reach HRC62 or above, while the surface hardness of Toolox33 can reach HRC58 or above, with a maximum depth of 1.8mm.
The above characteristics of the Toolox series materials give them special advantages in some stamping molds.
1) The stamping and forming molds for thicker steel plates (with a typical punching and shearing thickness of 35mm steel plates), stainless steel plates, and non-ferrous metal plates are more typical, such as air conditioning fin molds.
2) Stretch mold, stainless steel stretch mold.
3) Cold extrusion mold. Cold extrusion 304 stainless steel with a thickness of 0.5mm or more, replacing materials such as DC53, has very good results.
4) Large stamping templates with high dimensional stability requirements.
3. Reasonably carry out forging and heat treatment of stamping die parts
While selecting high-quality stamping die materials, reasonable forging and heat treatment are required for materials of the same material and different properties, which is one of the main ways to improve the durability of stamping dies. For example, during quenching, if the production is overheated during heating, not only will the workpiece become excessively brittle, but it is also prone to deformation and cracking during cooling, reducing its durability. Therefore, when manufacturing stamping molds, it is necessary to have a reasonable grasp of the heat treatment process.
Toolox material is a quenched and tempered steel directly pre hardened by the steel factory, which no longer requires heat treatment. Coupled with appropriate surface treatment (such as nitriding), the high toughness of the Toolox matrix material, combined with the high hardness of the upper surface layer, can achieve excellent results.
4. Reasonably arranging the manufacturing process of stamping molds and ensuring machining accuracy
The machining accuracy of stamping molds has a significant impact on their durability. In the punching die, uneven assembly gaps often cause the concave die to gnaw under shear force, which affects the lifespan of the stamping die. At the same time, if the surface finish of the stamping die is too low, it will also reduce the durability of the stamping die. Therefore, it is necessary to pay sufficient attention to the size of the hole spacing, the perpendicularity of the convex mold to the supporting surface of the fixed plate during assembly, the uniformity of the spacing between the stamping molds, and the guidance accuracy level of the guide sleeve and guide pillar during processing. The higher the manufacturing and assembly accuracy, and the higher the surface roughness level of the working part, the higher the durability of the stamping die.
5. Correct selection of press machine
In order to improve the durability of stamping molds, a press with higher accuracy and rigidity should be selected, and its stamping tonnage should be greater than 30% of the stamping pressure. Normally, using a servo punch can correspondingly increase the lifespan of the mold by tens of times or more.
6. Reasonable use and maintenance of stamping molds
In order to improve the durability of stamping molds, operators must use and maintain stamping molds reasonably, and frequently repair stamping molds to prevent them from working with defects.
The above are several commonly used methods to improve the wear resistance of stamping molds. The significance of improving wear resistance can not only increase the service life of stamping molds, reduce production costs for mold enterprises, but also ensure the quality of the products produced and improve production efficiency.