H-13 fails at temperature. Molyclast® doesn’t.
Every casting cycle subjects a die surface to rapid heating and cooling, a thermal shock that allows cracks to grow and causes heat checking. At thin sections of the die where molten metal flow velocity is highest, erosion removes material shot by shot. And above 600°C, a typical H-13 die’s hardness drops sharply and keeps dropping with each thermal exposure, causing eventual deformation.
Three distinct failure modes. All of them well understood. All of them a function of the material.
MC1200 is a carbide and oxide reinforced molybdenum alloy built for the conditions where tool steels fail. Its microstructure provides enhanced hardness and corrosion resistance, as well as high temperature stability to resist erosion without the degradation that limits H-13.
The mechanism is different by design. MC1200 is strengthened by carbides and doesn’t soften: it delivers consistent hardness across the full operating range. It has a higher hardness than H-13 above 650C. Its properties hold after long thermal exposure. 97% hardness retention after 96 continuous hours at 1,000°C.
Higher thermal conductivity distributes heat more evenly across the die face: less gradient, less thermal shock, fewer cracks. And where erosion is the primary failure mode — thin sections, high-velocity flow — Molyclast® alloys lose 10× less mass than H-13 in molten aluminum.
The result: a die surface that holds its geometry. Less drift, less scrap, longer runs before reconditioning.
4× crack resistance and 10× less erosion can translate to fewer die replacements and longer runs between tool changes.
Lower thermal expansion (CTE: 5.3 × 10⁻⁶ /°C) and higher conductivity (140 W/m·K) can reduce dimensional drift. Less variability, less scrap.
Less downtime reconditioning and replacing dies means more time casting. The math closes quickly on high-volume runs.
MC1200 has higher hardness than H-13 above 650°C. Opens the design space to new casting materials and geometries.
