Thermodur 2322

Bainitic hot work tool steel for forging dies

Forging is one of the most important hot forming processes within industrial manufacturing. Forging processes have an important significance in the production of series parts in high quantities and this in the shortest possible cycle or production times.

The requirements for the production parts are essentially dictated by the demands of the consumer. The tools - in this case the forging dies - must be designed accordingly.

Forging dies should have the following prominent characteristics to withstand as many forging cycles as possible while maintaining quality:

  • High hardness at forging temperature
  • Good toughness properties at elevated temperatures
  • Good toughness to withstand rapid successive temperature changes
  • Excellent wear resistance
  • Good tempering resistance to guarantee consistent material properties over the longest possible production cycle

 

For use as a forging die, Thermodur® 2322 offers advantages

  • Very good heat resistance
  • Very good thermal shock resistance to prevent premature cracking
  • Good toughness at higher temperatures
  • Excellent high-temperature properties in the range of the operating temperature of forging dies (> 300 °C)

 

Comparison with other common hot-work steels used for forging dies shows that Thermodur® 2322 can not only keep up but has clear advantages in some areas.

For the toolmaker, economic reasons are decisive in the design of the tool and thus the choice of the right tool steel:

  • Good machinability at room temperature
  • Good weldability
  • Low tendency to warp
  • Low energy consumption, e.g. by avoiding additional heat treatments
  • Low carbon footprint

 

The alloying concept of Thermodur® 2322 helps to avoid high costs for the moldmaker:

  • Low nickel content
  • Extremely low tendency to warp
  • Very good machinability
  • Very good weldability

 

Thermodur®  2322 is supplied as standard with a hardness of 36 - 38 HRC and does not require any further heat treatment after machining by the toolmaker. Therefore, costs and emissions for further heat treatment can be saved by using this material. At the same time, the material can be machined very well at room temperature due to its lower hardness. In addition, the alloying concept also helps to reduce CO2 emissions. Alongside the cost effects, these arguments are increasingly becoming the focus of procurement!