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Common surface treatment methods for molds
In addition to the need for high strength and toughness in mold operations, the surface properties of the mold play a crucial role in determining its performance and service life. These surface characteristics include wear resistance, corrosion resistance, friction coefficient, fatigue resistance, and more. Relying solely on improving the base material to enhance these properties is often limited in effectiveness and cost-inefficient. This is where surface treatment technologies come into play, offering a more efficient and economical solution by significantly improving the surface performance without altering the core material. As a result, surface treatment techniques have seen rapid development and widespread application in the industry.
Mold surface treatment involves systematically modifying the morphology, chemical composition, microstructure, and stress state of the mold’s surface through methods such as coating, surface modification, or combined treatments. These techniques can be categorized into chemical, physical, physicochemical, and mechanical methods. While new technologies continue to emerge, the most commonly used in mold manufacturing are nitriding, carburizing, and hardening film deposition. Nitriding, in particular, is widely applied due to its ability to produce surfaces with excellent performance. It integrates well with the quenching process of die steel, operates at lower temperatures, and minimizes deformation, making it one of the earliest and most popular surface strengthening methods.
Carburizing is primarily aimed at enhancing the overall toughness of the mold, especially the working surface, which requires high strength and wear resistance. The technique involves using a lower-grade material that is then carburized and quenched, instead of relying on higher-grade materials, thus reducing production costs. Among the various coating technologies, CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) and PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) are the most mature. To improve adhesion between the coating and the workpiece, enhanced versions of these techniques have been developed. Initially applied to cutting tools and measuring instruments, hardened film technology has proven highly effective. It has since become a standard process in tool manufacturing. Molds began adopting this technology in the 1980s. However, the high cost of equipment still limits its use mainly to precision and long-life molds. Establishing a centralized heat treatment facility could significantly reduce coating costs, allowing more molds to benefit from this advanced technology and ultimately raising the overall standard of mold manufacturing in China.
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**Tags:** surface treatment technology, mold manufacturing, carburizing, quenching, quenching process, surface properties
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