Tool steel

Tool steel ( Ws) is steel, which is used for the manufacture of tools and molds. After the composition is made between carbon and alloy tool steels. The consumption of tool steels worldwide is about 1 million tons per year.

Non-alloy tool steels

The carbon content of unalloyed tool steels is between 0.5 % and 1.5 %, often have small amounts of tungsten. Through a payment of their surface hardness is increased drastically, which Aufhärtbarkeit is mainly on the carbon content of the steel depends. However, non-alloyed tool steels not durchhärtbar (large critical cooling rate ) and also not for high operating temperatures are suitable, since already at about 200 ° C, the temperature-induced decrease in hardness occurs. Why drop the unalloyed tool steels in the cold work tool steel category.

Be made ​​of this steel easy cutting plates and stamps, as well as drawing and bending tools.

Examples: C85W1 → tool steel, Grade 1; C85W2 → tool steel, Grade 2

Alloyed tool steels

Alloyed tool steels are used in highly stressed tools and are mostly durchhärtbar. In addition, they do not warp during curing so much, depending on which alloying elements are present. These may be chromium, vanadium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, tungsten and cobalt.

A distinction is cold work tool steel ( operating temperature up to 200 ° C), hot working steel ( operating temperature up to 400 ° C) and high-speed steel ( operating temperature up to 600 ° C).

Properties of tool steels

A tool steel of different properties can be expected depending on the application. In a few cases, only one property is relevant, but often several properties are required in combination on the part of the designer. The main criteria include, for example:

  • Tensile strength in the delivery condition
  • Desired ( recoverable ) working hardness
  • Permissible operating temperature
  • Machinability in delivery state
  • Toughness
  • Wear resistance
  • Corrosion resistance

In order to find a suitable tool steel as possible for a tool based on several criteria, aids are used in software.

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