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moldmakingtechnology.com 15 As much as demand for pre-hardened materials is on the rise, Wagner says that surface treatments continue to play a critical role for moldmaking and molding. "The use of surface coatings for mold inserts is increasing, relating to features like wear resistance, part release and surface finish. More coating choices are available today that provide solutions for specific applications," he says. For example, diamond-like car- bon (DLC) coatings can provide hard substrate surfaces and are suitable for use on most materials. Also, DLC is typically applied below tempering temperatures, making it eligible for most steels. An Education in Mold Materials "With the market picking up and metal prices on the rise, we have seen more interest in materials education," says David Wirth, mold plate product manager at Clinton Aluminum and Stainless Steel (Clinton, Ohio). "Metal pricing has gone up tre- mendously, so moldmakers are being even more diligent about finding the right aluminum alloy for the right application." He explains that it can be a frustrating task for moldmakers to select the material that is best suited to deliver their desired results. This is because no two alloys are alike—each has its own strengths and weaknesses. It is important to understand how the varying grades of alloys react to molding tempera- tures. For instance, on paper, a 7,000-series aluminum product is the toughest out there, but moldmakers molding at high temperatures of about 280°F or higher will probably experi- ence some problems regarding mechanical properties. Paul Britton of International Mold Steel concurs with the steel pricing trend, saying that the industry is seeing some shortages regarding what suppliers are carrying in inven- tory. "Electrodes are causing the price increases because they are in short supply. Electrodes are necessary to make steel." Graphite electrodes are the main heating element used to produce the intense heat (2,912°F) that is needed to run an electric arc furnace in a steel factory. In mid-2017, after about four years of a soft market and surplus materials, the U.S. steel industry rebounded. Still, many graphite electrode producers closed their doors. This happened domestically because of low capacity utilization and in China because environmental restrictions were put in place, and the clos- ings caused the current shortage. "One major electrode sup- plier closed, and another major supplier in China is raising prices. Most of the major materials suppliers have announced price increases because of changes like this that are occurring in the steel marketplace," he says. "Business for moldmakers seems to be steady or is even picking up, making lead times longer because of low inventory. Suppliers are simply run- ning out, and this applies to almost every grade of steel." To address these challenges, Britton says that International Mold Steel is increasing the tonnage on its floor and adding new equipment to keep delivery times at a minimum. "We are trying to minimize the pricing increases, but we can only absorb so much, so we are adding materials handling equip- ment, saws and so on to speed production and order fulfillment," he says. Kilian Wagner of Edro Specialty Steels says, "Many end users specify traditional AISI-designated tool-steel grades and heat treatments for their molds. This limits the moldmakers' own input and choice of materials. At Edro, the availability of information on new prod- ucts and the technical sup- port for these products is a core focus." He says that soon the company will introduce several unique tool-steel grades that were developed and introduced outside of the United States over the last five to 10 years. The company will place a strong focus on education and technical training to ensure that customers know what is available and how these products can help the performance of their tooling. Rich Polenick says that Ellwood Specialty Steel's in-house R&D; team continues to evaluate improvements in mold steels. "However, improving moldmaking, maintenance and repair or even the molding process is a tall task for steel. As in all The introduction of low-carbon steel grades combined with new re-melting techniques has resulted in the development of new grades with improved toughness, cleanliness and thermal conductivity. Forged blocks of mold and die steel are stacked for shipment to mold manufacturers across the United States from Ellwood Specialty Steel. Demand is up, suppliers say, but materials are in shorter supply, and therefore prices are going up. To serve customers' needs better, suppliers are developing new grades of steel to improve performance characteristics like hardness, installing equipment to process orders more quickly and educating customers so they can choose the best material for their projects. Image courtesy of Ellwood Specialty Steel.