Heat treating AISI 1144 for best wear resistance.

[STENCH999]

I have a forming tool / press made from AISI 1144, and would like to know the best method to use to get the highest hardness / wear resistance. Strength and toughness do not matter for this application.

Should I even bother heat treating this part made from aisi 1144, or should we make another from a different material (tool steel maybe what i'm after)?.

Any help would be great.

 

[CoryPad]

Selecting a different material would be a very good idea. A tool steel or a cermet (tungsten carbide) would be best for this application.

Regards,

Cory

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips Fora.

 

[unclesyd]

If the part isn't very intricate and as you say strength and toughness are no problem you can use a water quench to get a reasonable hardness without the material being like glass. The following heat treatment will get you by for short time.
Normalize @ 1650°F air cool
Reheat to 1550°F water quench
Temper at 800°F
Hardness Rc 39-40

I have to agree with CoryPad that another material would be the route to take. I would start with the Air Hardening Variety.

 

[TVP]

Be aware that this grade will be quite susceptible to quench cracking when water quenched, so if the tool has sharp corners or drastic changes in section, then this may pose a problem. I agree with the others that a proper tool steel like D2 or M2 would be a good place to start. Manufacturers like Carpenter, Crucible, and Timken Latrobe have a great deal of technical information available from their websites.

 

[STENCH999]

Thank you very much gentlemen, I shall just keep the one I already have for a spare and get another made up out of one of the tool steels. I was thinking along the lines of a A7, seems to have a high wear resistance.

Thanks again.