Three different die designs were used for this project, as
it is shown in Fig. 1. The design A was the original one
used by Fitco S.A. for the production of the hinge profile.
The materials used for the fabrication of the dies are listed
in Table 1and the different combinations are illustrated in
Table 2. Note that the Stellite 4B material was used both as
a cast and as a powder metallurgy product (P/M). Two
methods for binding the material of the insert to the housing were experimented, shrink fitting and hot isostatic
pressing (HIP), in the last case either with or without a
nickel interlayer. In addition the new dies fabricated with
the original design A were cut with an EDM wire cutting
machine capable of inclined cutting for better finishing.
These dies are designated as A(M) inTable 2.