MOLD MATERIALS FOR GLASS PRODUCTION

S. I. S i l ' v e s t r o v i c h and V. P. Khramkov UDC 666.1.032.5

The p r o b l e m of the c h o i c e of m a t e r i a l for making g l a s s molds has been given great attention and is
widely being evaluated in Soviet and foreign literature [1-5].
The c o m p o s i t i o n s of the irons used for making g l a s s molds in v a r i o u s countries (Table 1) are c l o s e
as r e g a r d s the basic e l e m e n t s , but v e r y different in t e r m s of the concentration of phosphorus and sulfur,
and in s o m e c a s e s in t e r m s of the alloying additives.
As shown by r e s e a r c h [6] an i n c r e a s e d concentration of phosphorus (up to 0.6%) and sulfur (up to 0.11%)
does not i n c r e a s e the brittleness of the m a t e r i a l .
In addition to e a s t iron, in r e c e n t y e a r s for the production of m o l d s (pressed), a start has been made
using alloy s t e e l s , which c o m p a r e d with c a s t iron have greater slag and t h e r m a l - s h o c k r e s i s t a n c e . Even
during prolonged heating the phenomenon of "growth" does not o c c u r . In the USSR for p r e s s i n g headlamp
diffusers and other g l a s s products use is being made of s t e e l grades 4Khl3, 1Khl8N9T, etc. In France for
p r e s s e d mold i n s e r t s they are using a s t e e l which approximately c o r r e s p o n d s to the Soviet grade 3Khl3.
It should be noted that there is a g r e a t e r tendency to use alloy s t e e l s , e s p e c i a l l y for molding products made
f r o m c o r r o s i v e g l a s s e s (for e x a m p l e , those containing fluorine) and b e c a u s e of demands for a higher quality
s u r f a c e of the g l a s s a r t i c l e .
Together with f e r r o u s m e t a l s for making individual components of the m o l d s use is also being found
for nonferrous m e t a l s and a l l o y s . In particular in C z e c h o s l o v a k i a u s e s are being found for aluminum b r o n -
zes for obtaining optical blanks. As a rule, bronze is used for mold components subjected to substantial
heat loads (plungers, bottom g r i l l s , and throat r i n g s , etc). USA p r o d u c e r s are using a l u m i n u m - n i c k e l
bronze "Incramet-800" (13.5-16.5% Ni, 9-11% A1, 1-2% Co, 0.4-1% Fe, the r e m a i n d e r being Cu). In Eng-
land "Minox" is r e c o m m e n d e d for these p u r p o s e s (15% Ni, 9% A1, 7% Zn, 3% Mn, 0.2% Pb, 1% F e , and the
r e m a i n d e r being Cu).
The output of g l a s s - m o l d i n g m a c h i n e s depends on the cooling rate of the g l a s s which d e t e r m i n e s the
molding c y c l e . In s e l e c t i n g the m a t e r i a l for the mold it is n e c e s s a r y to take into account not only its m e -
chanical p r o p e r t i e s but its influence on the rate of cooling of the g l a s s .

TABLE 1

Country,
Chemical composition of cast iron, in ~o Micro-
structure
HB;
I kg/
. Recommended
I for making
company following
Ctotal Si Mn P Ni Cr Ti Mo ram2 molds
S
V
Czechoslovakia
USSR
3,5•177
L0-3.5 1,9-2
0.6• Upto0.' U p t o O . l - -
0.4-OJ Upto02 UptoO.l 1.0-1.5 9.3-I
Perlite ~I 3i2
Ferrite ~L, 0-1
For most molds
)l Same
Poland, Ivtchney Perlite / /
glass factory 3,12 I 2.02 0.4 0.6 0,i 0.5 0.~= Same I 183 ] For pressing
Bulgaria 3.3• 2.2• 0.65• Upto Upto0.1 1.8• ).25• Up to Ferrim or 150 } ELT screens
i
0.25 0.15 0.12 0.05
England, Johnson
Radley 3.4 2.14 0.61 Upto0.15 0.1 0.29 0.l 0.I O.02 0.26
~r[2~e- ] FOrForSameglassContainerparison
Belgium, OMKO 4-3.7 1.8-2.2 0.6-0.85 0.12 0.07 -- -- 0.2 - 0.~ 0.3- Ol 02
0.45 molds for bottles
Japan 3.37 i 1.68 [ 0.4s 0.14 0.06 - o.~ 0.2 Same

D. I. Mendeleev Institute of C h e m i c a l Technology, M o s c o w . State S c i e n t i f i c - R e s e a r c h Institute of

Glass. T r a n s l a t e d f r o m Steklo i K e r a m i k a , No. 7, pp. 11-13, July, 1972.

9 1975 Consultants Bureau, a division of Plenum Publishing Corporation, 227 West 17th Street, New York,
N. Y. 10011. All rights reserved. This article cannot be reproduced for any purpose whatsoever without
permission of the publisher. A copy of this article is available from the publisher for $15.00.

440
 TABLE 2

Parameters
10

Gob temperature before

pressing, ~C 1098
Specimen temperature
after pressing re, ~ 755
Difference in glass
temperature Ate = t 1 -
re
343
Cooling rate of glass
ZXtc/r, deg/sec 34
Temperature of mold
wall at a depth of
1 mm from the
working surface, ~C
Before pressing t3 450
After pressing t 4 495
Amplitude of oscillatiom
in surface of the mold
zone "C Atf = t4- ts 45

In c o n n e c t i o n w i t h this we c a r r i e d o u t an e x p e r i m e n t a l s t u d y o f the c o o l i n g r a t e of the g l a s s d u r i n g

p r e s s i n g as a f u n c t i o n of the t h e r m a l c o n d u c t i v i t y of the m o l d m a t e r i a l , p r e p a r e d f r o m a l l o y e d s t e e l 1 K h l 7 -
N2, l o w a l l o y c a s t i r o n , and tin b r o n z e B R . O T s S - 6 - 6 - 3 . The t h e r m a l c o n d u c t i v i t y c o e f f i c i e n t s of t h e s e m a -
t e r i a l s a r e e q u a l to 20.8 and 3 9.2 k c a l / m ' , h 9d e g at 400 ~ and 80.6 k c a l / m 9h 9d e g at 20 ~ r e s p e c t i v e l y .
S t u d i e s w e r e m a d e on a l a b o r a t o r y e x p e r i m e n t a l r i g in c o n d i t i o n s a p p r o x i m a t i n g as f a r a s p o s s i b l e
to p r o d u c t i o n c o n d i t i o n s . The o b j e c t of the i n v e s t i g a t i o n c o n s i s t e d of a w i d e l y u s e d s t a n d a r d g l a s s of the
f o l l o w i n g c o m p o s i t i o n (in % by weight) 72.2 SiO 2, 7.4 CaO, 2.13 M g O , 14.2 Na20, 2.99 K20, 0.45 A1203, 0.12
Fe203, 0.6 SO 3 ( U r z h e l ' s k G l a s s F a c t o r y ) .
S p e c i m e n s w e r e p r e s s e d in the f o r m of d i s c s of d i a m e t e r 90 r a m , t h i c k n e s s 10 m m , and w e i g h i n g 1 7 0 g .
The r a t i o of the w e i g h t of the s p e c i m e n to the s u r f a c e a r e a of c o n t a c t with the m o l d w a s 0.9. The i n i t i a l
t e m p e r a t u r e of the m o l d w a s 450 ~ T h e h e a t c o n t e n t of the s p e c i m e n s w a s m e a s u r e d w i t h a c a l o r i m e t e r ,
and then the a v e r a g e t e m p e r a t u r e of the g l a s s w a s d e t e r m i n e d f r o m the w e l l - k n o w n e q u a t i o n [7]. The t e m -
p e r a t u r e of the m o l d w a s c h e c k e d by the c o n t a c t m e t h o d , u s i n g the KhA t h e r m o c o u p l e i n s e r t e d into the body
of the m o l d , and the K V T 6 / E 4 ( E a s t G e r m a n y ) .
An a n a l y s i s of the r e s u l t s o b t a i n e d (Table 2) s h o w s that f o r a l l the i n v e s t i g a t e d m a t e r i a l s the m a x i m u m
c o o l i n g r a t e of the g l a s s is n o t e d a t ' t h e i n i t i a l p r e s s i n g m o m e n t ( r = 2 s e c ) ; and with an i n c r e a s e in the
c y c l e (up to 10 s e c ) i t is m a r k e d l y r e d u c e d , and h a r d l y d e p e n d s on the type of m a t e r i a l . The m a x i m u m
c o o l i n g r a t e ( F i g . 1) i s a c h i e v e d in the m o l d s m a d e f r o m b r o n z e (130 d e g / s e c ) , w h i l e in the m o l d s m a d e f r o m
c a s t i r o n and s t e e l it is i d e n t i c a l (95 d e g / s e c ) , d e s p i t e the f a c t that the t h e r m a l c o n d u c t i v i t y of the c a s t i r o n
is a l m o s t t w i c e that of s t e e l . T h i s is a p p a r e n t l y e x p l a i n e d by the i r r e g u l a r r a t e of t h e r m a l flow in the
m o l d s i n v e s t i g a t e d , and a c c o r d i n g l y the d i f f e r e n t c o n t a c t c o n d i t i o n s f o r the c o o l i n g of the s u r f a c e of the g l a s s
being molded.
In l e s s t h e r m a l - c o n d u c t i n g s t e e l m o l d s the r a t e of h e a t flow is r e s t r i c t e d , w h i c h c r e a t e s a m a x i m u m
t e m p e r a t u r e g r a d i e n t in the s u r f a c e zone of the m o l d d u r i n g p r e s s i n g ( F i g . 2), and c a u s e s m o r e i n t e n s i v e
h e a t i n g in the m o l d . In the i n i t i a l m o m e n t this p r e v e n t s r a p i d c o o l i n g and h a r d e n i n g of the s u r f a c e of the
g l a s s , w h i c h i m p r o v e s the c o n t a c t and h e a t e x c h a n g e of this s u r f a c e w i t h the m o l d .
In c a s t i r o n and e s p e c i a l l y in b r o n z e m o l d s the c o n t a c t c o n d i t i o n s of the c o o l i n g of the g l a s s s u r f a c e
a r e i m p a i r e d a s a r e s u l t of i t s r a p i d c o o l i n g (chilling) in the i n i t i a l m o m e n t of p r e s s i n g . The i n c r e a s e in
the r a t e of c o o l i n g in the m o l d s m a d e f r o m b r o n z e is due to i t s h i g h t h e r m a l c o n d u c t i v i t y . It is t y p i c a l that
in b r o n z e and c a s t i r o n m o l d s the a m p l i t u d e of the t e m p e r a t u r e o s c i l l a t i o n s m o d e r a t e l y i n c r e a s e s w i t h an
i n c r e a s e in the p r e s s i n g c y c l e , w h i l e in the s t e e l m o l d the c h a n g e is i r r e g u l a r (see F i g . 2).
In c a r r y i n g out the e x p e r i m e n t s we n o t e d s t i c k i n g of the g l a s s to the w o r k i n g s u r f a c e of the s t e e l m o l d
due to i t s o v e r h e a t i n g (the t e m p e r a t u r e r e a c h e d 646 ~) w h i l e in the c a s t i r o n and b r o n z e m o l d s this w a s n o t
observed.

441
 At f ~
deg/sec

igO --- / ~ _ -'{

/00 ~ l
12g-- - -

80 1-

80--- 2
.•,J --

j~'~ 9 i.~ ..~

2g
O 2 4 # 8 10 g 2 z~ e g ?0 t~
7" *~,C T Sec

Fig. 1 Fig. 2
Fig. 1. Relationship between the cooling r a t e of the
g l a s s g and the cycle time for p r e s s i n g T. 1) Alloy
s t e e l ; 2) alloy c a s t iron; 3) tin b r o n z e .
Fig. 2. Relationship between the amplitude of o s c i l l a -
tions of the t e m p e r a t u r e in the s u r f a c e zone of the wall
of the mold Atf and the p r e s s i n g cycle time. 1) Alloy
s t e e l ; 2) alloy e a s t iron; 3) tin b r o n z e .

The data given indicate that the t h e r m a l p r o p e r t i e s of the mold m a t e r i a l have a c o m p l e x and m u l t i -
d i m e n s i o n a l influence on the cooling p r o c e s s of the g l a s s during molding of the p r o d u c t s .
In s e l e c t i n g m a t e r i a l for making molds it is also n e c e s s a r y to take into account the quality of the s u r -
face of the p r o d u c t s which can be produced by the mold and the p o s s i b l e s e r v i c e life. As was shown p r e -
viously [8, 9], in molding p r o d u c t s in s t e e l m o l d s it b e c o m e s p o s s i b l e to obtain an a r t i c l e with a s m o o t h
and b r i l l i a n t s u r f a c e which was also o b s e r v e d in our e x p e r i m e n t s .
Considering the positive p r o p e r t i e s of s t e e l s and the fact that the cooling r a t e of the g l a s s does not
diminish in s t e e l molds c o m p a r e d with c a s t iron, in p r o c e s s i n g p r e s s e d a r t i c l e s we can r e c o m m e n d that
the production of m o l d s be effected with alloy s t e e l s of the g r a d e s 4Kh13, 1Kh18N9T, and 1Khl7N2, etc.
However it should be noted that the s t e e l molds r e q u i r e m o r e intensive cooling which can be achieved
by i n c r e a s i n g the consumption of cooling a i r , by using silicone l u b r i c a t i o n on the mold, p r e p a r i n g molds
with a m o r e highly developed e x t e r n a l s u r f a c e or combined molds (steel i n s e r t , and c a s t iron f r a m e with
r i b s ) , and also installation on automatic p r e s s e s of not 12, but 16 m o l d s , as is p r a c t i s e d a b r o a d , which will
i n c r e a s e the cooling time for the s t e e l m o l d s , while p r e s e r v i n g , or even exceeding, the p r o c e s s r a t e achieved
in c a s t i r o n m o l d s .
The m a t e r i a l with the high t h e r m a l conductivity (for e x a m p l e , bronze) can be logically used for making
those mold components which withstand high t h e r m a l loads, and w h e r e the possibility of cooling them with
r e s p e c t to industrial conditions is limited. Since bronze does not p o s s e s s sufficient m e c h a n i c a l r e s i s t a n c e ,
it is obviously n e c e s s a r y to tackle the p r o b l e m of designing a r e l i a b l e t h e r m a l - c o n d u c t i n g , m e c h a n i c a l l y
s t r o n g m a t e r i a l , c o r r e s p o n d i n g to production r e q u i r e m e n t s .

LITERATURE CITED
1~ B. I. Yakubovich et al., Steklo i K e r a m . , No. 2 (1970).
2. P. A. Averchenko, Steklo i K e r a m . , No. 11 (1970).
3. S. Islan and W. Wlosinski, Szklo i C e r a m i k a , 19, No. 4, (1968).
4. W. Wiosinski, Szklo i C e r a m i k a , 21, No. 11 (1970).
5. M. V o e n i e h a r o v , B. Slavkov and N. R a s h k o v , S t r o i t e l ' n i M a t e r i a l i i Silikatna P r o m i s h t e n n o s t , 12, No. 10
(1971).
6. A. S m r c e k , Collection of R e s e a r c h P a p e r s in the Glass Industry, Series IX, P r a g u e (1967).
7. L. M. Popov, T h e r m o m e t r y and C a l o r i m e t r y [in Russian], MGU (1954).
8. F. Oberlis and A. Dietzel, Glastechn. B e r . , 24, 79 (1951).
9. A. N. Orlov, Work on Glassmolding Machines and VShM S e m i a u t o m a t i c s [in Russian], Gizlegprom
(1955).

442