Machinability Assessment of Injection Mold Steels Subjected to Distinct Heat Treatment Conditions

Machinability Assessment of Injection Mold Steels Subjected to Distinct Heat Treatment Conditions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Machinability Assessment of Injection Mold Steels Subjected to Distinct Heat Treatment Conditions Flavia Cristina Sousa Silva, Claudio Gomes Nascimento, Feliciano José Ricardo Cangue, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8310286/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 05 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology → Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The increasing demand for high-quality products with reduced delivery times has driven the adoption of increasingly complex manufacturing processes. However, the higher level of sophistication and efficiency of these processes tends to raise the cost of the final products, which makes the optimization of machining operations indispensable. In mould manufacturing, it is estimated that approximately 30% of the total cost of the final product is associated with the mould, and about 65% of this value is directly related to machining operations. These figures highlight the relevance of machinability and of properly defined cutting strategies to ensure the technical and economic feasibility of mould and die production. The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the machinability of steels for plastic injection moulds under high-hardness conditions. End-milling tests were carried out using coated cemented carbide tools, with monitoring of tool life and surface roughness, and external cylindrical turning tests were performed with cemented carbide tools, in which cutting forces and cutting temperature were measured. The materials investigated were: VP50IM steel in the solution-treated and aged condition; N2711 steel in the quenched and tempered condition; and VP20ISO steel, also quenched and tempered. The main input parameters were cutting speed, feed and depth of cut. The results indicated that, in terms of tool life in milling, VP20ISO exhibited the best performance, followed by N2711 and, finally, VP50IM. On the other hand, VP20ISO generally produced the highest surface roughness values, whereas N2711 and VP50IM provided better surface finish under specific cutting conditions. The machining of N2711 required the highest cutting forces, while VP50IM presented the highest temperatures at the chip–tool interface, an effect mainly associated with its higher nickel content and microstructural features. In all conditions, flank wear was the predominant wear mode, and abrasive wear was the main wear mechanism. Overall, the chemical composition; particularly the nickel content and the presence of manganese sulphides, proved to be a key factor governing the machinability of the steels studied, directly affecting heat generation, cutting forces, surface roughness and tool wear rate. machinability injection mold steels heat treatment milling turning Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 05 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Major Revisions Needed 26 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Dec, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 15 Dec, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 15 Dec, 2025 First submitted to journal 11 Dec, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8310286","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":560609522,"identity":"9a4664fc-de0a-45e6-953b-7d571e6de307","order_by":0,"name":"Flavia Cristina Sousa Silva","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Flavia","middleName":"Cristina Sousa","lastName":"Silva","suffix":""},{"id":560609523,"identity":"1dc5d952-7093-4c62-bf03-f205c1af80d1","order_by":1,"name":"Claudio Gomes 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Conditions\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"the-international-journal-of-advanced-manufacturing-technology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"jamt","sideBox":"Learn more about [The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology](https://www.springer.com/journal/170)","snPcode":"170","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/170/3","title":"The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"machinability, injection mold steels, heat treatment, milling, turning","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8310286/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8310286/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe increasing demand for high-quality products with reduced delivery times has driven the adoption of increasingly complex manufacturing processes. However, the higher level of sophistication and efficiency of these processes tends to raise the cost of the final products, which makes the optimization of machining operations indispensable. In mould manufacturing, it is estimated that approximately 30% of the total cost of the final product is associated with the mould, and about 65% of this value is directly related to machining operations. These figures highlight the relevance of machinability and of properly defined cutting strategies to ensure the technical and economic feasibility of mould and die production. The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the machinability of steels for plastic injection moulds under high-hardness conditions. End-milling tests were carried out using coated cemented carbide tools, with monitoring of tool life and surface roughness, and external cylindrical turning tests were performed with cemented carbide tools, in which cutting forces and cutting temperature were measured. The materials investigated were: VP50IM steel in the solution-treated and aged condition; N2711 steel in the quenched and tempered condition; and VP20ISO steel, also quenched and tempered. The main input parameters were cutting speed, feed and depth of cut. The results indicated that, in terms of tool life in milling, VP20ISO exhibited the best performance, followed by N2711 and, finally, VP50IM. On the other hand, VP20ISO generally produced the highest surface roughness values, whereas N2711 and VP50IM provided better surface finish under specific cutting conditions. The machining of N2711 required the highest cutting forces, while VP50IM presented the highest temperatures at the chip\u0026ndash;tool interface, an effect mainly associated with its higher nickel content and microstructural features. In all conditions, flank wear was the predominant wear mode, and abrasive wear was the main wear mechanism. Overall, the chemical composition; particularly the nickel content and the presence of manganese sulphides, proved to be a key factor governing the machinability of the steels studied, directly affecting heat generation, cutting forces, surface roughness and tool wear rate.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Machinability Assessment of Injection Mold Steels Subjected to Distinct Heat Treatment Conditions","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-12-20 14:25:22","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8310286/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Major Revisions Needed","date":"2025-12-26T09:30:21+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"","date":"2025-12-15T13:57:10+00:00","index":0,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-12-15T13:49:36+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-12-15T05:21:08+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology","date":"2025-12-11T08:27:27+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"the-international-journal-of-advanced-manufacturing-technology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"jamt","sideBox":"Learn more about [The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology](https://www.springer.com/journal/170)","snPcode":"170","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/170/3","title":"The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"bf2ca467-cf44-4186-979c-78c81e6c0dfc","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 20th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-09T16:05:47+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-8310286","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-026-17421-1","journal":{"identity":"the-international-journal-of-advanced-manufacturing-technology","isVorOnly":false,"title":"The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology"},"publishedOn":"2026-03-05 16:00:07","publishedOnDateReadable":"March 5th, 2026"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-12-20 14:25:22","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s00170-026-17421-1","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-026-17421-1","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8310286","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8310286","identity":"rs-8310286","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}