Two new dies were fabricated according to the above
cited design using a Stellite 4B P/M insert, as shown in
Table 2 under designation D06. Furthermore, another die
alternative was fabricated (D07) by which the insert length
was the same as the die thickness and it was bonded to the
housing by the HIP process, using a nickel interlayer.
Metallographic study revealed that the nickel interlayer
blocked the diffusion between dissimilar materials and no
transition zone was detected. Furthermore, there was a
good bond between the materials with no cracks or voids,
Fig. 6, and no cracks were observed after the heat treatment of the dies.