POLISHING IN

MOLD MAKING

voestalpine BÖHLER Edelstahl GmbH & Co KG

[Link]/bohler-edelstahl
BÖHLER KUNSTSTOFFFORMENSTAHL
POLISHING IN
MOLD MAKING
THE SURFACE AS A MIRROR OF TIME

But what do they look like, the modern, future-oriented surfaces? Aesthe-
tic, high-quality, robust, easy-care, with top-finish? The requirements to the
perfect outer skin are varied. Likewise the fields of application.

The polishing ability of steel for certain application fields is of high impor-
tance. Especially in the plastics processing industry very high expectations
are often placed on the surfaces of the tools.

The highest surface quality of the tools offers many advantages:

» Highest quality surfaces of plastic parts
» Good release properties (easy ejection) of plastic parts
» Improved optical properties (e.g. for glasses, lenses, flat screens,
headlights in the automotive industry)

Highly polished surfaces also offer technological advantages:

» Improved corrosion resistance
Polished surfaces tend to have much smaller corrosive attack
than ground surfaces
» Improved security against breaks or cracks
A polished surface has a higher endurance strength and has
lower notch effects than ground surfaces.
This results in an increased tool life.

2
REQUIREMENTS FOR STEELS
REGARDING GOOD POLISHABILITY

Important parameters for the polishability of steels are the A modern steelworks technology with corresponding secon-
level of purity, the homogeneity of the microstructure and dary metallurgy reduces the oxygen content and thus the
the size or respectively the distribution of carbides and other oxide content in the steel so far that critical inclusion sizes
hard constituents in the steel matrix. Especially inhomo- can be minimized. Block formats adapted to the final di-
geneities can cause significant problems in polishing. mensions and a heat treatment appropriate to the materi-
al reduce segregations, and therefore compensate the
The homogeneity and purity of steel is significantly influenced differences in hardness, so that homogeneity differences
by the manufacturing process. Primarily the melting tech- hardly influence the polishing result.
nology as the first step of the production is crucial.
In principle, the segregation state and thus the homogenei-
With open melting, oxide inclusions, with larger blocks, ty of the steel can be improved by remelting processes such
cannot be completely ruled out. But not only the size and as vacuum arc remelting (VLBO) or electroslag remelting
quantity of inclusion are important for the polishing result, (ESR). At the same time, non-metallic inclusions are minimized
but above all the type of inclusion, which depends on the in these processes. The best level of purity is achieved by
deoxidation process in steelmaking. Disadvantageous are melting in the vacuum induction furnace (VIM) or remelting
larger, hard and brittle oxides, as they are „polished out“ under vacuum (VLBO).
during the polishing process and thus pores can be left
behind.

POLISHING IN MOLD MAKING 3

INFLUENCING FACTORS
ON POLISHABILITY
STEEL QUALITY

» The melting process is decisive for the purity of steel

» Inclusions in steel, mostly sulphidic, can be harder than the surrounding
material and thus lead to elutriation
» Often, inclusions are several microns in size and have elongated shapes

ALLOYING COMPONENTS

» Form hardness differences in the structure

» Lead to elutriation
» in crystal form lead to breakouts of the surface

How the alloying design influences Surface comparison

the polishability shows the following
example: Surface profile
In the case of steel 1.2316, the hard
carbide phases embedded in the soft
delta ferrite zone give a more irregular
polishing result. In return, BÖHLER soft δ-ferrite
zone
M303 EXTRA offers a uniform polishing
1.2316 abrasive hard
pattern and thus a clear advantage phase
compared to the standard.

Surface profile

BÖHLER M303 homogeneous

surface
structure

4
MANUFACTURING PROCESSES

Remelted steels
have the following advantages compared to conventionally
produced steels:
» Uniform primary structure and extensive absence from block
segregation and internal defects due to solidification
» Low crystal segregations and thus more uniform microscopic
microstructure
» Reduced quantity and size as well as better distribution of
non-metallic inclusions (better level of purity)

Powder metallurgically produced steels

are mostly high-alloy tool steels and have isotropic properties as well
as a fine structure. The carbides are homogeneously distributed in the
size of a few microns in the matrix, which has a positive effect on the
polishability.

POLISHING IN MOLD MAKING 5

 Purity depending on the melting process

worse
50
Typical values

40
K 1 (K0) DIN 50602

30

20

10

K0
better

BÖHLER M390 BÖHLER W302 BÖHLER W302 BÖHLER M333 BÖHLER M268

PM EAF ESR PESR VAR

HEAT TREATMENT

For best polishing properties the heat treatment should be performed

very carefully and preferably in vacuum or protected gas furnaces.
Due to carburization or decarburization effects in course of the heat
treatment uneven hardness at the tool surface and so worse polishing
behavior can arise. Either precipitations at the grain boundaries or
grain growth due to unfavorable austenitizing temperatures, holding
times as well as slow cooling rates can influence the polishability
negatively.

ERODE

Eroded surfaces should be given special attention during polishing.

The erosion process causes a structural change on the surface. It can
lead to an enrichment of the steel surface with carbon, which in turn
leads to the formation of carbides. Furthermore, the rapid local soli-
dification leads to a very brittle martensite. This so generated carbides
increase the risk of pinholing, breakouts and orange peel. For a good
mirror finish polish, the material must be removed to below the eroding
skin.

6
3 QUALITY LEVELS
3 TECHNOLOGIES

BASIC
Conventional production
Products made using the electric arc process are designated
as conventionally melted materials and are the “basic ma-
terials” for ordinary loading, with the following primary
properties:
» Banded carbide distribution
» Sufficient cleanliness

Micro structure of
conventional 12%
chromium steel

POLISHING IN MOLD MAKING 7

PREMIUM
ESR / PESR Manufacture
Products with improved properties can be produced using
the ESR or PESR method. Using remelted materials leads to
longer tool life due to:
» High level of cleanliness
» Low segregation
» Larger bar dimensions can be produced with the same
carbide distribution
» Uniform dimensional changes
» Improved toughness

Microstructure of
8% chromium steel
in ESR grade

SUPERIOR
Powder metallurgical production
Materials produced using powder metallurgy are increasin-
gly being used to meet the most stringent requirements with
various processing methods. These materials offer properties
that meet demanding requirements:
» No segregation
» Extremely fine carbide distribution
» Homogeneous properties
» High wear resistance
» Very good dimensional stability
» High compressive strength
» High toughness with high hardness

Microstructure
of PM materials

8
THE RIGHT
POLISHING
TECHNOLOGY
IS DECISIVE
TYPES OF POLISHING

The requirements for the surface of a workpiece arise from

the intended application areas. It is roughly divided into 4
qualities:

Stroke polish Dimensionally accurate and form-true mirror finish

» Simple surfaces - finishing mostly with abrasive cloths, » Highest demands on the surface
polishing bench stones or files » In addition to the crack-free high gloss also the
» Used to facilitate demoulding of molded or die cast parts adherence with the macrostructure is required,
» Applying with non-visible surfaces, e.g. inside of a housing i.e. flatness, sharp edges and angularity
» As a preparation for nitrating and graining
» Tools used have a grain size between 320 – 400

Gloss polish
» Smaller processing marks are often still visible
» Surfaces and recesses are shiny
» Especially for visible parts, which should be visually
appealing (household items, transparent parts...)
» Clean shiny surface, controllable with the eye
» Final polish with felt and diamond pastes between
3 – 6 μm achievable

Mirror finish
» No visible scratches or cords (crack-free mirror finish)
» Especially used when products are chrome-plated

POLISHING IN MOLD MAKING 9

INFLUENCE OF CARRIER MATERIAL / POLISHING TOOL
The hardness of the carrier material and the size of the Requirements for a successful polishing are:
polishing grain can be decisive for the roughness depth of » Proper rough grinding and finishing
the surface to be processed. The greater the penetration » Selection of suitable polishing tools and polishing pastes
depth into the polishing tool at same grain size, the lower » Avoidance of overpolishing
the penetration depth into the workpiece surface or the » Avoidance of high contact pressures
cutting performance of the polishing agent. The adhesion » Careful care and cleaning of the polishing tools
of the grains in the polish carrier is crucial for the polishing » Cleanliness (best cleanroom-like conditions)
result. If the grains adhere firmly to the polishing agent
carrier, the cutting process is favored and rolling of the
polishing agent on the workpiece surface is avoided. The
stickiness of the grains can in turn be influenced by the
processing pressure or the liquid used.

Steel
Felt Wood
Brass, Copper

Tool steel

Increasing cutting performance

10
LISTEN TO
YOUR EYES

POLISHING PROCEDURE

Due to the mutual influence of the many influencing factors, The polishing process follows in several steps. Starting with
it is not possible to draw up general guidelines for the crea- a harder carrier such as hardwood, brass or plastic with a
tion of a polished surface. The selection of the individual paste of about 15 microns (roughly corresponds to an ab-
work steps and the respective polishing agents and tools is rasive grain of 1000 – 1200). All traces from the previous
primarily determined by experiments and experiences. The step should be removed. Subsequently, the hardness of the
following polishing guide represents a common sequence carrier / tool is maintained but the grain of the paste is re-
of operations from machining to polishing. duced e.g. 9 μm. After this step, the carrier can be changed
to a softer medium such as e.g. felt or softwood. This scheme
Depending on the quality and processing of the starting is repeated until finally the grain size 1 – 3 microns with felt
surface (eroded, milled or ground), an abrasive wheel with or a flocced cloth is used.
a grain size of 320, 400 or 600 is chosen to completely re-
move the traces of prefabrication. An optimized polishing
result is achieved by sandblasting after the finishing, whe-
reby the surface is compacted.

Emery cloth
Starting Polishing bench Softwood or Polishing felt
or hardwood
surface stone or linen polishing felt or cloth
with paste

Eroded K320 K400 K600 K800 K1000 6 µm 3 µm

15 µm 9 µm

Finely milled

Fine ground

Ra (µm) 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.06 0.03 0.02

Rz (µm) 3.2 2.3 1.2 0.7 0.4 0.2 0.15

POLISHING IN MOLD MAKING 11

CLASSIFICATION
OF POLISH DEFECTS
LAMINARY DEFECTS

Scratches
Non-directional flat recesses, mostly caused by the cutting
edges of the polishing particles or foreign particles (depth
~ roughness Rt).

Tips
» Depending on the requirements of the surface fine
scratches can persist
» Pay attention to the cleanliness of the environment,
that no foreign particles cause scratches
» Final polishing with small abrasive particles

Orange peel
Fine valleys and hills give the appearance of an orange peel.
Excessive pressure or too long polishing time can cause such
a defect.
The content „Classification of polishing defects“ has been provided by courtesy
of the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT.
Tips
Source: PROCESSSTRATEGIES FOR DEFECTFREE POLISHED STEEL SURFACES, » Work with low pressures
pages 9 – 15, Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT
» Do not polish too long (» overpolish «)

Orange Peel Pitting Relief

Orangenhaut
Orangenhaut Pitting
Relief
Pitting Riefen Ver
Orangenhaut
Orangenhaut Pitting
Pitting
Relief Rie
12
 FORM DEVIATIONS
Mist Edge radiusing
Less shiny surfaces. Mist may result from deposits of the Undesired material removal on workpiece edges.
polish.
Tips
Tips » Use suitable polishing tool: hard polishing cloth with
» Use pH-neutral polishes that do not cause a low impact resilience
chemical reaction » Reduce pressure
» Work with low pressures to prevent the polishing
grains from being pushed in
Ripple
According to DIN EN ISO 8785, the ripple is a deviation of
Pitting the actual geometry in the millimeter to centimeter range.
Surface pitting means many small holes that are spread It mainly occurs during manual polishing.
over the entire surface.
Tip
Tips » Homogeneous pressure distribution during the polishing
» Keep pressure constant process to achieve a uniform removal
» Short polishing steps, cleaning in between and good
dry to avoid corrosion

Relief
Differences in the removal of individual phases due to dif-
ferent material phases (hard / soft).

Tips
» Before polishing, make sure that the material structure
is as homogeneous as possible in order to keep the
different material phases low
» When polishing, choose a tool that is as hard as
possible, so that the material phases are removed
evenly despite different hardnesses

POLISHING IN MOLD MAKING 13

 CLASSIFICATION
OF POLISH DEFECTS
LOCAL DEFECTS

Cracks
Very deep scratches, sharp edges, mostly due to high ma-
terial stress.

Tip
» Avoidance during the polishing process is not possible,
because it is more a material error. For this reason, the
workpiece should be examined in advance for invisible
cracks / material defects.

Holes / Breakouts
Unevenly shaped holes. They are formed where non-metal-
lic inclusions and carbides are present in the microstructure.

Tips
» Work with low pressures to avoid tearing
» Use the most homogeneous steel structure as possible
in advance, if the surface quality requirements are very
high (purity level)
» Use a napless polishing cloth, as this promotes tearing
out of carbides and inclusions
» Low pressures already during pre-grinding and
fine grinding

Holes / Breakouts Scoring Impurities

ef
Relief Löcher/Ausbrüche
Riefen
Riefen
Orangenhaut
Verunreinigung
Verunreinigung
Pitting
Löcher/Ausbrüche Orangenhaut Pitting
ef Relief14 RiefenRiefen Verunreinigung
Verunreinigung
 FURTHER DEFECTS
Scoring Corrosion
Deep, directional tracks (depth >> roughness Rt). They arise Reaction of machined workpieces with substances from the
when the processing traces of the previous step (usually the environment. Corrosion often results from poor drying after
pre-processing) were not completely eliminated. cleaning.

Tip Tips
» Always remove pre-processing marks thoroughly » Clean and dry samples immediately after processing
» Store samples dry

Peak
Uneven elevations. These are either workpiece material that Burn mark
has been unevenly removed during the polishing process, Fire pattern on the workpiece surface. Caused by too much
or polishing particles that have pressed into the surface heat during the polishing process and often causes dama-
during the polishing process. ge to the surface structure (microcracks).

Tips Tip
» Homogeneous pressure distribution » Use sufficient coolant / lubricant during the process
» Use high viscosity polish

Discoloration
Comet tails Area that appears differently (in most cases dull) to the
Inclusions that have a „tail“ and therefore the appearance actual surface. Topographically, there is usually no difference.
of a comet.
Tips
Tips » Use neutral polishes to avoid damage to the surface
» In the metallographic sample preparation, it should not » For soft material, work with low pressures to prevent
be possible to polish in synchronism when comets appear polishing grains from settling in the surface
» When polishing manually, a higher speed can prevent
comet formation

Impurities
A hole filled with foreign material (dirt particles or material
removal products).

Tips
» Working clean
» Use low pressures to prevent the particles from getting
into the hole

POLISHING IN MOLD MAKING 15

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Asselborner Weg 14-16 • D-51429 Bergisch Gladbach
Tel. +49 (0) 22 04 / 8 39-0 • Fax +49 (0) 22 04 / 8 39-60
16 Mail info@[Link] • Web [Link]
ASSESSMENT
OF POLISHABILITY
The surface quality of forming parts of compression or injection molds is often
defined by indications such as „polished“ or „mirror polished“, without these terms
being defined in standards by measurable variables. Although a good reprodu-
cibility can be achieved by specifying the processing steps required for a certain
surface quality, however, no guarantee of the predefined polishing quality can
be given by the before mentioned influences.

The visual impression of a smooth, shiny surface is composed of a variety of

optical and physiological effects. As a result, the correlation of the visual impres-
sion with quantitatively measurable variables is difficult. Therefore, the subjecti-
ve assessment of the surface finish by experts is widespread.

POLISHING IN MOLD MAKING 17

 POLISHING OF
BÖHLER GRADES
The following assessment of polishability was conducted with experienced polish specialists
at joke-Technologies. The assessment is based on the basic suitability of the material for
mirror polishing and the time required for polishing.

The assessment refers to small round dimensions (50-80 mm) and polishing transverse to
the grain direction and represents a principal comparison of the polishability of the grades.
In actual workpieces, deviations from the polishability due to the dimension, the removal
position and the structural coherency between the fiber direction and surface of the work-
piece to be polished may occur. In addition, the polishability depends on the type of polishing
process and the sequence of polishing steps.

Wear-resistant, non- Hot work tool steels Hardenable, corrosion

corrosion resistant steels resistant steels
BÖHLER K110 ★ BÖHLER W300 ★★★ BÖHLER M310 ★★★

BÖHLER K340 ★★ BÖHLER W302 ★★ BÖHLER M333 ★★★★★

BÖHLER K360 ★★ BÖHLER W350 ★★★★ BÖHLER M340 ★★

BÖHLER K390 ★★★★ BÖHLER W360 ★★★★ BÖHLER M368 ★★★★

BÖHLER W400 ★★★★★ BÖHLER M390 ★★★

BÖHLER K490 ★★★★★
BÖHLER W403 ★★★★★ BÖHLER N685 ★
BÖHLER K600 ★★★★★

BÖHLER K890 ★★★★★

BÖHLER S390 ★★★★

Prehardened steels, Prehardened steels,
non-corrosion resistant corrosion resistant
BÖHLER M200 ★★ BÖHLER M303 ★★★★

BÖHLER M261 ★★★ BÖHLER M303 ★★★★★

HIGH HARD

BÖHLER M238 ★★★

BÖHLER M314 ★★
BÖHLER M238 ★★★★
BÖHLER M315 ★
HIGH HARD

BÖHLER M268 ★★★★★ BÖHLER N700 ★★★

The comparative assessment of polishability takes place within material groups.

A comparison of the evaluation of grades of different groups does not make sense.

18
CASE STUDIES
16

14

12
~ 30 %

Time effort (h/100 cm²)

LESS TIME
The following comparison illustrates exemplarily 10 EFFORT
the time effort reaching a mirror-polished surface 8
starting from a pre-ground surface.
6

BÖHLER M238 BÖHLER M268

1.2738, P20+Ni

30 16

14
25
12
Time effort (h/100 cm²)

Time effort (h/100 cm²)

20
~ 45 % 10
LESS TIME ~ 40 %
15 EFFORT 8 LESS TIME
EFFORT
6
10
4
5
2

BÖHLER M310 BÖHLER M333 BÖHLER W300 BÖHLER W400

1.2083, 420 ESR 1.2343, H11 ESR

Polishing steps
K400 K600 25 µm 14 µm 9 µm 6 µm 3 µm

coarse fine

POLISHING IN MOLD MAKING 19

voestalpine BÖHLER Edelstahl GmbH & Co KG
Mariazeller Straße 25
8605 Kapfenberg, Austria
P. +43/3862/20-6046
F. +43/3862/20-7563
E. info@[Link]
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