I am interested in making some guitar tremolos by die casting. I know that the recommended mold / die materials are: H20, H21 H22 are ideal but difficult to source, I can' t find any. H13 Commonly used at 52c, I have made many plastic injection molds with it. At this stage I am prototyping and experimenting, so I am wondering if any less expensive, easier to work steel can be used as an alternative until the design is perfected. Does anyone have experience with something like 4130?
Welcome to the forum Jonathan. I don't have the answer to your tool steel question, but if you are prototyping and experimenting, why would you jump directly to hard/permanent tooling? It would be much more practical to 3D print an evaporative pattern and use a shell or block investment casting process. If you can CAD model and 3D print your initial investment could be quite small. If your intended production quantity is small, it may even be a sensible process for that as well. Best, Kelly
Thanks for the reply, an investment might be worth a try. I have already prototyped the design on a FormLabs resin printer with Rigid 10K. Most of the experimentation will be related to the die casting itself such as temperatures, filling design and part quality.
I have 0 experience with die casting. But wouldn't just about any steel work for prototyping? The Harder tool steels are only really needed if you want better tool life. I'd saw with a wash inside the mold even something like A36 would hold up to a short run. Heck I'm sure my muffin tin is made of the finest grade chineesium sheet steel and it's held up to 100's of pours...
Hey Jonathan, Welcome here! Do you cast some Old Burns Tremolo systems? Greetings from a gretsch guitar player
