Instructions for processing

CARODUR^® - alloys have good cold forming and excellent hot forming qualities.

Cold forming

All standard cold forming methods can be carried out, e.g. drawing, upsetting, bending, cold hammering, extruding and thread rolling. The recommended condition for semi-finished products that are further processed by cold forming, depend on type and extent of shaping and the demands upon the finished products. Therefore the requested conditions can be:

• extruded, suitable for thermosetting or

• drawn, suitable for thermosetting

The thermosetting stage can be done on the finished parts.

Hot forming

CARODUR^® - alloys have excellent hot forming qualities and are especially suitable for the production of drop forging and hammer forging parts.We recommend using the "extruded" condition – working temperature approx. 880 - 900°C. If the part is cooled off quickly from the forging heat, the part’s condition is solution annealed, suitable for thermosetting and can be thermoset by heat treatment.

Thermosetting

During the thermosetting process, tensile strength, yield strength and hardness increase, while elongation values decrease. At the same time, the electrical conductivity increases considerably. The thermosetting temperature depends on the demands upon the finished product. As a general guideline we can assume approximately 450°C. Before you start a new process we recommend discussing the best thermosetting temperature with our technicians.

Metal cutting treatment

The "thermoset" condition is most suitable for metal cutting treatment. If the parts are hot or cold formed first and than mechanically treated, it is most appropriate to do the thermosetting stage after the forming and before the cutting treatment.

Important note

Any products that are to be delivered in "thermoset" condition should not be heat-treated later on. In this event the mechanical properties that characterize this condition are lost. For the same reason these parts are not to be welded.