Failure analysis of mould dies of an industrial punching machine

In this research, the high failure rate of indigenously produced mould die of an industrial punching machine utilized for the production of cable trays was investigated. This was aimed at discovering the reason(s) for the disparity in the service life of the indigenously produced die as against the imported ones that had longer service life. The failure investigation was carried out utilizing visual examination, microstructural examination, hardness test and chemical composition determination. The analysis show that the short service life of the indigenous die component is due to incorrect heat-treatment which did not remove the cold-worked structure in built in the material during production, thus resulting in inferior toughness and/or fatigue resistance. It was equally identified that occasional misalignment of the mould upper die teeth and lower die plate due to over exertion of the machine contributes to failure of the die material.