The production of hot work dies involves various hot and cold processing steps from raw materials to finished molds. The process performance of die materials directly affects their promotion and application. Therefore, the following process performance requirements are specified for hot work die materials:
(1) Forgeability
For various hot work die materials under the same hot processing parameters, lower high-temperature strength and higher elongation result in lower forging deformation resistance and improved forgeability.
(2) Quenchability
Hot work dies are generally large, especially hot forging dies. To ensure uniform mechanical properties across the die section, hot work die materials must have high hardenability.
(3) Machinability
Machining costs account for approximately 90% of the total processing costs for hot work dies. Therefore, the machinability of hot work die materials directly impacts their promotion and application.
