The application of high-tensile steel sheets is expanding forautomotive frame parts (stamped parts) as a way to improve collision safety and reduce weight. Use of high-tensile steel sheets with higher strength and hardness has made damage to molds during processing a serious issue. Moreover, owing demands to shorten lead times throughout supply chains, there is a growing need to shorten the processing preparation time, including mold production, process control, and design in the development and production of processed products.

SLD^®-f new cold dies steel with high toughness and machinability developed by Proterial has a composition that facilitates the creation of Belag^*2 as well as carbide miniaturization and reduction, allowing for high machinability^*3 that is approximately 3.5 times higher than the standard cutting conditions of SKD11, which is the cold dies steel in general use, thus contributing to improved cutting speed and shorter mold processing time for customers. Moreover, because of its high toughness, it exhibits excellent durability and chipping resistance when used as a mold. Stable hardness can be achieved even with the application of high-temperature tempering, so it is effective in keeping down dimensional changes during PVD treatment^*4.

Proterial will continue to propose solutions that support transformation in the mold industry to meet the needs of achieving higher quality by developing new materials and solution technologies that solve customer issues.