Extrusion Dies
International Syalons manufacture sialon extrusion dies for the extrusion and drawing of copper, brass and nimonic alloys in the metal forming industry. Sialons are alloys for silicon nitride and are known for their excellent wear properties, including high strength, hardness and toughness, and thermal and chemical stability.
The metal forming process of extrusion involves the forcing of a hot metal through a die typically to form an extruded bar. During this process the die is subjected to extremely demanding conditions. The die must retain high hot hardness, be strong and tough, be thermal shock resistant and chemically stable.
For the extrusion and drawing of copper, brass and nimonic alloys the die has traditionally been manufactured in steel. However, steel dies are not ideal as they can give a poor surface finish and have a short die life.
To try to eliminate these problems with metal dies, advanced ceramic dies have been investiagted. One the most promising of the ceramic die materials has been sialon (or silicon nitride).
Syalon 101 possesses a number of properties which make it an excellent candidate for extrusion dies. These include high hot hardness, strength and toughness, excellent thermal properties particularly thermal shock resistance, chemical stability and good frictional properties. Also, since Syalon materials do not contain a metallic phase, die pick-up can be eliminated, which results in improved continuity of the extrusion process, enhanced surface finish of the product, reduced scrap rates and increased productivity.
When extruding nimonic alloys, Syalon 101 dies last up to 120 times longer than steel dies. For extruding brass, Syalon 101 dies extruded 250 tons of brass compared to 100 tons through conventional dies. For copper, Syalon extruded 75 tons compared to 40 tons for a conventional die.
To discuss your requirement further or for more information on Syalon ceramics, please contact us. Alternatively download our Extrusion Dies PDF or our Metal Forming Applications PDF.