Step 1 of 10
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Forge die building: why this course exists
The eight decisions that set forge die life before the first hit, and why the build is a chain where the weakest link sets the floor.
Step 1 of 10Decision 1 — Steel grade
The substrate is the floor on every downstream property. The realistic field of choices is narrow: standard H13, premium ESR H13, a premium hot-work variant (DIEVAR, QRO 90 Supreme, W360 ISOBLOC), a PM hot-form grade such as Crucible CPM 1V, H11 for impact-dominated work, or Nitralloy 135M for warm-work parts that will be nitrided. Lesson 2 builds the decision rule from the dominant failure mode backward.
Quick check
A high-cycle press die targeting 200,000 hits is scrapping at 80,000 by heat checking through the cavity face. The shop is debating standard H13 versus premium ESR H13 for the next build. Which way does steel grade swing the decision on this failure mode?