• Design & Manufacturing
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.23-29
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• 2014

Salt bath heat treatment is usually used but recently vacuum heat treatment is increased for the heat treatment of hot work die steels. The differences in two heat treatment processes were compared by testing the mechanical properties of heat treated products. With two different features of processes, mechanical properties such as hardness, tensile strength and impact strength of products show very different results. In this study salt bath heat treated products showed higher tensile strength and impact strength than vacuum heat treated products but hardness was not much different. These lower mechanical properties of vacuum heat treated products are due to differences in heating and quenching process.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.7-13
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• 2013

Vacuum heat treatment(indirect heating method) has long exposure time at high temperature and low quenching rate. Contrarily salt bath heat treatment (direct heating method) has short exposure time at high temperature and fast cooling rate. With these different features of processes, mechanical properties such as hardness, tensile strength and impact strength of products show very different results. In this study, Salt bath heat treated products showed higher tensile strength and impact strength than vacuum heat treated products but hardness was not much different. These lower mechanical properties of vacuum heat treated products are due to differences in heat process and secondary hardening with high temperature tempering process. Consequently, It indicates that salt bath heat treatment is better way than vacuum heat treatment for product to have high mechanical properties.