Influence of cooling rate on phase formation in spray-formed H13 tool steel

Spray forming is an effective way to process many tool steels into near-net-shape molds, dies, and related tooling. The general approach involves depositing atomized droplets onto a refractory pattern in order to image the pattern's features. The pattern is removed and the die insert is mounted in a standard mold base or holding block. This approach results in significant cost and lead-time savings compared to conventional machining. Spray-formed dies perform well in many industrial forming operations, oftentimes exhibiting extended die life compared to conventional dies of the same material and design.Care must be exercised when spray forming tool steel dies to minimize porosity and control the nature and distribution of phases and residual stresses. Selection of post-deposition heat treatment is important to tailor the die's properties (hardness, strength, impact energy, etc.) for a particular application. This paper examines how the cooling rate during spray processing and heat treatment of H13 tool steel influences phase formation. Porosity and hardness were evaluated over a range of deposit cooling rates and residual stresses were evaluated for a die in the as-deposited condition. Finally, the performance of spray-formed dies during production runs in forging, extrusion, and die casting is described.