Chapter 15: Mold Steels

Mold steels are used for plastic molding and certain die-casting applications and are designated as group P steels in the AISI classification system. The fabrication and performance requirements that differentiate them from other types of tool steels are described in this chapter. It provides information on hubbing and machined cavity grades of mold steels and describes the performance of the corrosion-resistant mold steels. The chapter discusses the processes involved in forging, annealing, stress relieving, carburizing, hardening, and tempering of mold steels. It presents the selection criteria and applications of mold steels.