What is tool steel?

Tool steel refers to various carbon and alloy steels especially suitable for making tools. Their suitability stems from their unique hardness, wear and deformation resistance, as well as their ability to hold cutting edges at high temperatures. Therefore, tool steel is suitable for forming other materials. Tool steels with a carbon content of between 0.5% and 1.5% are manufactured under strictly controlled conditions to achieve the desired quality. The presence of carbide in the matrix plays a leading role in the quality of tool steel. The four main alloying elements that form carbides in tool steel are tungsten, chromium, vanadium, and molybdenum. The rate at which different carbides dissolve into the austenitic form of iron determines the high-temperature properties of the steel (the slower the better, suitable for heat-resistant steels). Proper heat treatment of these steels is important to obtain adequate properties. The manganese content is usually kept low to minimize the possibility of cracking when quenching water.

There are six groups of tool steels: water hardened, cold working, earthquake resistant, high speed, hot working and special purpose. The selection of selection groups depends on cost, operating temperature, desired surface hardness, strength, shock resistance and toughness requirements. The harsher the service conditions (temperature, wear, corrosion, load), the higher the alloy content required for tool steel and the consequent amount of carbide.

Tool steel is used to cut, press, extrude and press metals and other materials. Their use in tools is essential; For example, injection moulds require the wear resistance of tool steel - an important criterion for the durability of the mould, which can perform hundreds of thousands of molding operations throughout its life cycle.

The AISI-SAE tool steel grade is the most common scale used to identify various grades of tool steel. Each alloy in a grade is assigned a number; For example, A2 and O1.