Mould steel grades and standard component brands, and why they appear on the quotation
Two tooling quotations for the same part can differ by a third. Almost all of that gap hides in the steel grade and the component brands, and neither is usually written down.
7 min read · TJ-Teck engineering notes
Why the grade belongs on the quotation
A cavity in 1.1730 and a cavity in S136 are not the same product, and a tool that will polish to a mirror is not the same tool as one that will not. Putting the grade on the quotation is what makes two prices comparable.
Pre-hardened working grades
1.2311, 1.2312 and the 1.2738 family are the pre-hardened grades that cover most production tooling. The H and HH variants of 1.2738 are the higher and more uniform hardness versions, used where the tool sees longer runs.
Hot work and through-hardening grades
1.2343 and 1.2344, and their ESU remelted versions, are the hot-work grades, with H13 as the equivalent designation. They are specified where thermal cycling and wear on slide faces matter more than machinability.
Corrosion resistance and polish
S136, 1.2083, 1.2316 and 420SS are the stainless and corrosion-resistant grades. They are what a transparent part or a part moulded in an aggressive material needs, because they take a mirror polish and hold it.
Soft and free-machining grades
1.1730 is the general-purpose plate grade for non-working components. NAK80 is the pre-hardened, polishable grade used where a high finish is needed without heat treatment distortion.
Component brands are a service decision
A mould base and hot runner from brands your own toolroom already stocks means a wear part is an order, not a project. That is the argument for specifying Hasco, DME, Meusburger, Misumi, Progress, Cumsa, Staubli, AHP Merkle, HPS, Parker or HEB by name.
The published reference lists
Steel suppliers quoted
- LKM
- Gröditz
- Buderus
- Bohler
- Assab
- Finkl
- ThyssenKrupp
- SCHMOLZ-BICKENBACH
Steel grades quoted
- 1.2311
- 1.1730
- 1.2312
- 1.2738
- 1.2738H
- 1.2738HH
- 1.2343
- 1.2343 ESU
- 1.2344
- 1.2344 ESU
- 1.2767
- 1.2083
- 1.2316
- 420SS
- S136
- H13
- NAK80
Standard component suppliers
- Hasco
- DME
- Meusburger
- Progress
- Misumi
- Cumsa
- Staubli
- AHP Merkle
- HPS
- Parker
- HEB
Hot runner suppliers
- HRS
- DME
- Synventive
- Ewikon
- Husky
- Incoe
- Runipsys
- Mold Master
- YUDO
- Mastip
Frequently asked questions
Which grade should we specify if we do not know?
Say what the part is moulded in, roughly how many shots a year the tool will see, and whether any face has to be polished. The quotation then proposes a grade and states it.
Can you build in a grade not on the list?
Ask. The list is what is quoted as standard, sourced from LKM, Gröditz, Buderus, Bohler, Assab, Finkl, ThyssenKrupp and SCHMOLZ-BICKENBACH.
Related notes
Choosing between the eight injection mould types
Standard, prototype, reversed, multi-cavity, unscrewing, hot runner, 2K over mould and 2K rotational: what each one is for and what it costs you.
6 min read
The fourteen DFM checks, and what each one catches
De-molding direction through markings and graining: the fourteen items in a TJ-Teck DFM report and the defect each one exists to prevent.
8 min readApply this to your own part
Send 2D and 3D data with the annual volume and the surface requirement. A quotation comes back in 1-3 working days.