Wear resistance of hot-work tool steel

Z vse bolj razširjeno uporabo visoko trdnih jekel pri izdelavi modernih komponent, predvsem v avtomobilski industriji, se povečuje tudi obremenitev preoblikovalnih orodij. Ta so izpostavljena kompleksnim obremenitvam kot so obraba, plastična deformacija in utrujanje, ki rezultirajo v nastanku poškodb in odpovedi orodja. Na splošno se kot osnovno lastnost karakterizacije orodja uporablja trdota, kar pa v zadnjem času ne zadošča. Potrebno je raziskovanje celotnega spektra mehanskih lastnosti, kakor tudi parametrov obrabne obstojnosti ter preoblikovalnosti. Preoblikovalna orodja so izpostavljena kombinaciji kompleksnih obremenitev. Da bi se ustrezno zoperstavili omenjenim obremenitvam in posledično z njimi nastalimi problemi, moramo poznati različne lastnosti materiala, vpliv legirnih elementov, proces toplotne obdelave in obnašanje materiala tekom le-te. Kljub temu, da je glavna mehanska lastnost trdota, pa na lastnosti preoblikovalnega orodja vplivajo še kombinacija tlačne in upogibne trdnosti ter lomne žilavosti, ki vplivajo na obrabno obstojnost, dobo trajanja orodja in njegovo vzdržljivost v industrijskem procesu.With the increased use of high strength steels, especially in the automotive industry, the load of the forming tools increases. These are exposed to complex loads such as wear, plastic deformation and fatigue, which result in damage and tool failure. In general, hardness is used as the basic characteristic of the tool, which, however, is not sufficient anymore. It is necessary to take into account the entire spectrum of mechanical properties and parameters, including wear resistance and formability. Forming tools are exposed to a combination of complex loads. In order to adequately address these loads and consequently the associated problems, we need to know a large set of properties of the material, the influence of the alloying elements, the heat treatment process and the behaviour of the material during heat treatment and use. Although the main mechanical property is hardness, it is required to know also the combination of compressive and bending strength as well as fracture toughness to successfully characterize tool performance. All these properties influence on tool wear resistance, lifetime and durability during the industrial processes