{"id":1523,"date":"2026-05-13T12:06:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T12:06:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.atc-mould.com\/?p=1523"},"modified":"2026-05-13T12:06:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T12:06:34","slug":"what-steel-is-best-for-easily-broken-inserts-in-injection-molds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atc-mould.com\/?p=1523","title":{"rendered":"What Steel is Best for Easily Broken Inserts in Injection Molds?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In injection molding, some product structures inevitably require thin, complex, or high-stress mold inserts. These vulnerable components often become the weakest link in production. In our case, due to the product&#8217;s own design, certain mold inserts would crack or break approximately every 3 months. This severely disrupted production schedules and delivery times.<br>We decided to test multiple steel grades for these inserts. Our key takeaway: higher price or higher hardness does not always mean better durability. Sometimes a steel with excellent toughness and elasticity performs better under repeated impact and stress.<br>Our Testing Experience<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"515\" src=\"https:\/\/www.atc-mould.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-3-1024x515.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1524\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.atc-mould.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-3-1024x515.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.atc-mould.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-3-300x151.png 300w, https:\/\/www.atc-mould.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-3-768x386.png 768w, https:\/\/www.atc-mould.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-3.png 1212w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br>After trying several common mold steels, we found that 60Si2Mn spring steel delivered noticeably better results in real production. It lasted longer before showing signs of cracking compared to other materials we tested.<br>Why does this happen?<br>Mold inserts in fragile areas face cyclic loading, injection pressure shocks, and sometimes thermal stress during cooling and ejection. A very hard but brittle steel may resist wear well but can fracture easily under impact. Conversely, a steel with good toughness and elasticity can absorb energy better and resist crack propagation.<br>Professional Knowledge: Key Factors in Choosing Steel for Fragile Inserts<br>When selecting steel for easily damaged mold inserts, consider these critical properties:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Toughness &amp; Impact Resistance: Essential for areas prone to shock or thin features. Steels that are too brittle fail quickly.<br>Fatigue Strength: The ability to withstand millions of molding cycles without cracking.<br>Hardness: Important for wear resistance, but must be balanced \u2014 excessive hardness often reduces toughness.<br>Thermal Fatigue Resistance: Helps with repeated heating\/cooling cycles.<br>Machinability &amp; Heat Treatment Stability: Affects cost and final performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Common Steel Recommendations for High-Risk Inserts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">S7 Tool Steel (Shock-Resisting Steel): Excellent impact toughness and shock resistance. Often recommended for slides, lifters, and fragile shut-offs. It offers a great balance and can be hardened to 54-56 HRC while maintaining good toughness<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In injection molding, some product structures inevitably require thin, complex, or high-stress mold inserts. These vulnerable components often become the weakest link in production. In our case, due to the product&#8217;s own design, certain mold inserts would crack or break approximately every 3 months. This severely disrupted production schedules and delivery times.We decided to test [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atc-mould.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atc-mould.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atc-mould.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atc-mould.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atc-mould.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1523"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.atc-mould.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1525,"href":"https:\/\/www.atc-mould.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1523\/revisions\/1525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atc-mould.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atc-mould.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atc-mould.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}