To develop procedures and recommendations that successfully perform this gun drilling process in Toolox, SSAB found it beneficial to cooperate technically with tool supplier Botek GmbH (Riederich, Germany) and the French long hole drilling specialist René Devaux (Montreal Lacluse, France). Long hole drilling is typically carried out in mold and die making when cooling channels are required in the tool. The most critical operation has been found to be long hole drilling (i.e., gun drilling). However, mold and die sometimes have machining difficulties the first time they use this steel. Toolox 44 has a high hardness of 45 HRC and an excellent machinability thanks to its low carbon content and high homogenity. Currently, the prehardened steel with the highest toughness and hardness in the market is the tool steel Toolox, manufactured by Swedish steel maker SSAB Oxelösund AB (Oxelösund, Sweden). To meet this increasing interest in avoiding heat treatments, steel makers are manufacturing more wear resistant and harder mold and die steels.
At the same time, long production runs are not as common as before, making it even less important to heat treat the molds and dies to the highest hardness possible. Mold and die makers must be even more competitive with their costs, but it is also crucial to be able to deliver the products in as short time as possible, especially with the end customers placing the orders as late as possible. This trend has become even more critical during these difficult economical conditions. There are several benefits in doing this: the obvious lower costs, shorter delivery times, and a controlled consistency of the properties, as the risk involved with heat treatment can be avoided.
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