Page 25 - MetalForming July 2010

Coatings
applies heat to repair the tool, that can affect the underlying quality of the tool steel and ultimately the perform- ance of the coating. Our operators will grind down any affected areas and reweld as a countermeasure before recoating.”
Zeroing in on Die-Steel
and Repair-Weld Metallurgy
However, before attempting to repair a die surface or weld, it’s essential that the shop determines the exact compo- sition of the base material and of any repair welds that the stamper has made, says Teikuro’s TRD superintendent John Murphy.
“Often, the tool-steel composition is not exactly what the customer believes it is,” says Murphy. “Using a propri- etary process, we can determine the exact steel composition and then tailor the TRD process to optimize the per- formance of the coating.”
The Teikuro TRD building houses several coating lines that cool coated die components slowly from 1750 to 1850 F down to room temperature, minimizing shock and distortion.
“We can tell the customer exactly how thick the coating will be, every time,” Murphy continues, adding that the firm’s internal standard for opti- mum coating thickness for metal- stamping tooling generally falls between 7 and 10 microns.
Adds Teikuro TRD customer Pat Welsh, owner of small die-repair shop City Tool & Machine, Hartford City, IN: “We’ve recently been using the TRD coating on DC53 tool steel (from International Mold Steel) on draw rings, as an upgrade over D2, and the steel combined with the coat- ing definitely provides a significant upgrade in run time between die maintenance.”
Asked to quantify that improvement in die life, Welsh summarizes his thoughts succinctly:
“When I don’t hear from my cus- tomers for very long periods of time, I know we’re (City Tool & Machine and Teikuro) doing our job.” MF
www.metalformingmagazine.com
May 31, 2010 Are You Ready?
Lincoln Electric offers a complete
line of portable, fixed, and engineered solutions for welding fume control.
www.lincolnelectric.com/weld-fume-control
Does your metalworking include welding on stainless steel or alloys containing chromium?
Are hardfacing or other special ventilation products utilized by your company in welding operations?
If yes, then the control of hexavalent chromium, manganese and welding fume is important to your company.
Under the OSHA Hexavalent Chromium Standard* for all employers, ENGINEERING CONTROLS ARE REQUIRED TO BE IMPLEMENTED BY NO LATER THAN May 31, 2010 to reduce the permissible exposure limit for hexavalent chromium to less than 5 micrograms per cubic meter measured as an 8-hour time-weighted average.
* Chromium (VI) 1910.1026 App A
© The Lincoln Electric Co. All Rights Reserved.
AR10-22