Tool Steel Supplier

When selecting a metal for a specific project, one of the most important considerations – especially when it comes to structural applications – is tensile strength and impact strength. Knowing what these mechanical properties are and how to evaluate them is essential to selecting the correct metal for your project. What Is Tensile Strength? Tensile strength is a value that indicates a metal’s ability to resist deformation and failure when loads are applied that pull it apart (known as tensile loads). Tensile strength is typically quantified through units of pounds per square inch (PSI) or pascals (Pa). There are 3 different types of tensile strengths: Tensile yield strength Ultimate tensile strength Fracture tensile strength The yield strength is the strength a metal has before it begins to plastically deform. The ultimate tensile strength is the maximum tensile strength a metal has, and it typically is found after plastic deformation has begun to occur. The fracture te...

Tool steels feature the increased amount of carbon and other alloying elements which give them enhanced physical properties, making them the ideal choice for a variety of applications. Cutting tools, cams, dies, chuck jaws, blocks, gages, and drill bits are just some examples of the many different tool steel applications. Along with many different applications, there are also many different tool steel grades available, including cold-working tool steels that encompass water-hardening tool steels, oil-hardening tool steels, and air-hardening tool steels. There are high-speed tool steels, hot-working tool steels, and shock-resisting tool steels as well. With so many different choices, it is necessary to be able to identify the correct tool steel for the job. Listed in this article are seven things to consider when selecting a tool steel grade. Will the tool steel be subjected to large impacts? Tool steels are generally hard and brittle. When impacts occur on materials like this, it...

Steel parts often require some form of heat treatment to achieve an increase in hardness and obtain maximum strength and durability. Through the many different processes of heat treatment, the properties of steel are changed via physical and mechanical channels. As an added benefit, heat treatment can also aid in the manufacturing process. When we talk about the change of mechanical properties, we’re referring to the shear strength, toughness and tensile strength of the steel. Allowing for this mechanical change in properties enables your product to be more efficient in its daily duties and more resistant to wear and tear during even its toughest jobs. There are a number of different heat treatment options to choose from—and they all are dependent on the properties required for the steel’s end function. It’s essential to work with an established company that recognizes these differences to ensure that your product meets the specified requirements you have in mind for it. Like...

Computer controls and automation can greatly enhance certain manufacturing capabilities. Under computer numerical control (CNC) parameters, tasks that were formerly considered impractical can be accomplished quickly and with a high degree of precision. CNC programming can be designed to match multiple production needs, allowing an automated machine to specialize in a range of fabrication projects. Despite the expanding role of computer controls, CNC-based production is still dependent on its machinery. This makes selecting the appropriate components and machine tools a priority regardless of the level of automation in a system. In the case of drilling machines, such as mills and routers, the type of drill bit used can be a significant influence on the final product. CNC programming can control the feed and depth rate in a drilling cycle, as well as the repetition of specific drilling operations, but choosing a well-suited drill bit remains the manufacturer’s decision. Twist and...

Fasteners are often made of steel, but there are many different types of steel. Here are the steels most commonly used for fasteners: Alloy steels: Steels alloyed with molybdenum, nickel, and chromium (AISI 4037, 4130, 8630) are best if strength is required. These steels also have good cold-forming properties when annealed and can be heat-treated for the best combination of strength, toughness, and shock resistance. Carbon steels: Fine-grain, fully killed (i.e., completely deoxidized) basic steel with no alloying agent. Low-carbon steels have from 0.06 to 0.22% carbon content (AISI 1008, 1010, 1018, and 1022) and exhibit good ductility for cold-forming. Medium-carbon steels contain 0.30 to 0.50% carbon content (AISI 1038, 1045) and are stronger but less ductile. These steels respond well to quench and temper. High-carbon steels contain 0.50% or more carbon (AISI 1066, 1095). They are difficult to cold-form unless annealed. They do, however, have high strength and can be heat-tre...

P20, a 4130, 4135 modified material, has long been the steel of choice for pre-hardened mold steels. P20 is classified as a chrome-moly alloy, with a carbon content of approximately 0.30 to 0.40. Over time, many variations on basic P20 chemistry have been introduced to the marketplace. Each modification can have an effect on the various processes used in the fabrication of a mold. Types of Material The moldmaking industry in the U.S. is Eurocentric in nature. European immigrants came to the U.S. with trade backgrounds and had a large influence on the mold building industry. They naturally gravitated to building molds with the chrome-moly steels they were used to, such as DIN 1.2311 and DIN 1.2312, or their close cousin, AISI P20. Basically, China's moulds can produce all kinds of moulds according to the requirements of customers. P20 differs from region to region in the worldwide market. Europeans generally use the DIN spec materials (1.2311 and 1.2312), while in Japan, PX5...

Surface coating technologies for tool steels are numerous some of which are summarised below, these type of surface coatings find use in drills, reamers, bore cutters, shank cutters, taps, milling tools and dies Steam Tempering Steam tempering gives a strongly adhering blue oxide surface, which acts to retain cutting fluid and prevent chip to tool welding and thereby counteract the formation of built up edge.  Steam tempering can be applied to any bright tool but finds application mainly on drills and taps. Bronze Finish A bronze finish is a thin oxide layer formed on the tool surface and it is applied principally to cobalt high-speed steels. Nitriding Nitriding is a process, which is used to increase the hardness and wear resistance of the surface of a tool.  Particularly suitable for taps that are used on abrasive materials such as castings, bakelite, and the like.  Nitriding is used on twist drills when it is desirable to increase the strength and wear r...

What is 4140 Steel? AISI 4140 steel is a low alloy steel containing chromium, molybdenum, and manganese. It is widely used across numerous industries and is an excellent material choice due to its toughness, high fatigue strength, and abrasion and impact resistance. Not many grades can match the versatility and usefulness of 4140. 4140 Grade Designation When discussing AISI 4140, it is important to understand what the grade number means: How is 4140 Steel Made? AISI 4140 is made by placing iron, carbon, and other alloying elements into an electric furnace or oxygen furnace. The major alloying elements added to AISI 4140 are: Chromium Manganese Molybdenum Once the iron, carbon, and other alloying elements have been mixed together in liquid form, it is allowed to cool. The steel may then be annealed; possibly several times. After the annealing is complete, the steel is heated to a molten phase again so that it can be poured into the desired for...

The electric arc furnace The Electric Arc Furnace (EAF), together with the basic oxygen process, is one of the two modern ways of making steel. In China, EAFs are used to produce special quality steels (steels alloyed with other metals) and some ordinary (non-alloy) quality steels - the lighter long products such as those used for reinforcing concrete. Unlike the basic oxygen route, the EAF does not use hot metal. It is charged with "cold" material. This is normally steel scrap (recycled goods made from steel which has reached the end of their useful life). Other forms of raw material are however available which have been produced from iron ore. These include direct reduced iron (DRI) and iron carbide, as well as pig iron, which is iron from a blast furnace which has been cast and allowed to go cold, instead of being charged straight into a basic oxygen vessel. The process Steel scrap (or other ferrous material) is first tipped into the EAF from an overhead crane...

A customer is building a tool/part and wants to know what grade of steel do I need to use? Here are some good starting questions to ask. This list doesn’t cover everything, but it will help to get the conversation started and help narrow down your options more quickly: What performance do I want from the part/tool: form, punch, strike, pierce, wear, etc. a. Based on the function and performance of the part we can talk about options that will meet your performance requirements. Having this conversation is key, the more we know, the better we can assist with giving some options. Ultimately the choice is yours. Do I need wear, toughness, heat resistance or a combination of some or all of them? a. In most applications, a combination of these factors are needed. Increasing wear resistance may decrease toughness and vice versa, you’ll need to determine which one is more important or if both are important. b. Wear, in the most general sense, improves as the hardness increases. Toughn...

Hardness is the resistance of the metal to plastic deformation usually by indentation. Indentation is usually measured by various hardness tests, such as Brinell, Rockwell, Knoop, and Vickers. The most common tests are Brinell & Rockwell scales. The term hardness may also refer to resistance to wear, scratching and cutting. Common misconceptions of hardness are the following: The higher the hardness, the better the tool/part; not true at all since tooling steels have operational “sweet spot hardness” that enable the best performance. Testing of hardness on Rockwell “c” scale should not be used below 22 RC as the results will not be accurate, use the Brinell scale. Testing of hardness above 68rc should be done on the Vickers or Knoop scale to be most accurate. Just because you achieved the Rockwell “C” you wanted, does not mean your tool/part is good, unless you followed proper procedures during the heat treat process.

Tempering is key in developing the final properties of the steel and, in the sequence of the heat treat cycle, is extremely important to perform immediately after quenching. Tempering is reheating hardened steel to convert untempered martensite produced by the proper quenching cycle, to tempered martensite & also reduce the volume of the tooling (a much tighter microstructure) which increases the mechanical properties of the material (increases toughness & enhances wear). Tool steels should never be used in an as quenched (untempered) condition. All grades of tool steels have many tempering temperatures to achieve the best operational hardness that will optimize the performance of the tooling or part. Note: always use the highest tempering temperature to achieve the rockwell hardness you want. Note: 2-3 tempers are highly recommended in all tooling steels as this will assure you of total transformation to tempered martensite & a very homogeneous (tight) micros...

The quenching operation is extremely important in setting up the proper microstructure of the steel.  There are many mediums that can be used to quench steel such as oil, air, salt and steam to name a few. The purpose of quenching is to transform austenite to martensite, or in simpler words, create a martensitic structure (larger volume) and stop the cooking process.  The goal of an optimal quench cycle is to achieve as much transformation as possible to martensite with no or very little austenite (retained austenite) left in the steel. Note: if the material is still non-magnetic after quenching, the cooling rate was too slow (no transformation has taken place) and your datums have probably shrunk. The material should be transferred to tempering immediately after tempering and while the steel is between 90f and 120f.  Allowing it to fully cool to room temperature could result in the build-up of an excessive amount of quench stresses, which could cause cracking. ...

The hardening process and what transformation the steel goes through during the hardening process. Hardening (A specific heating and cooling process based on the chemistry of the material) is performed on all ferrous steels to develop the proper microstructure and optimal properties of the material. The 1st stage of hardening is the preheat cycle.  Preheating the steel helps to prevent thermal shock & helps the material adjust to the higher hardening temperatures. During the heat treating cycle, the material goes through many transformation stages, usually 10-12 stages.  During this process the material will shrink & grow.  It will form austenite (material will shrink and become non-magnetic), then martensite (Growth larger than its starting size at room temperature), then tempered martensite (returns to dimensions very close to starting datums at the start point). Note: Proper hardening processes will produce as close to a homogeneous (tight) microstru...

ANNEALING ANNEALING IS AN ASPECT OF HEAT TREATMENT USED TO SOFTEN STEELS AND TO IMPROVE MACHINABILITY, MATERIAL STABILITY & MECHANICAL OR ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES. THIS IS ACCOMPLISHED BY BRINGING THE STEEL TO A SPECIFIED TEMPERATURE ABOVE THE UPPER CRITICAL TEMPERATURE AND HOLDING AT THAT TEMPERATURE FOR A SPECIFIC AMOUNT OF TIME ACCORDING TO THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THAT GRADE. ALL TOOL STEELS ARE SPHEROIDIZED ANNEALED (SPHEROIDAL OR GLOBULAR MICROSTRUCTURE) WHICH PRODUCES A FINE GRAIN STRUCTURE. THE FINE GRAIN STRUCTURE ACHIEVED THROUGH THIS ANNEALING PROCESS ALLOWS TOOL STEELS TO EXPERIENCE FORECASTED GROWTH DURING HEAT TREAT. THIS EXPECTED GROWTH IS CRITICAL TO TOOL MAKERS PRODUCING TOOLS AND PARTS OUT OF TOOL STEEL. TOOL STEELS ARE ANNEALED AT THE MILL DURING INITIAL PRODUCTION TO DIFFERENT BRINELL HARDNESS RANGES (BHN) DEPENDING ON THE SPECIFIC GRADE OF TOOL STEEL; FOR INSTANCE, AN O1 TOOL STEEL WILL BE NEAR 201 BHN IN THE AS-SHIPPED CONDITION, A SUPER HIGH SPEED GRADE SUCH...

What is heat treating?  Simply defined, it is the controlled heating and cooling of steel in order to enhance certain mechanical and physical properties.  We could go into a deep metallurgical explanation, but you would probably fall asleep, or get easily distracted by all the extra research you would do on tempered martensite or retained austenite.   Heat treating is a commonly misunderstood topic, we hope to guide you in understanding some of the basic processes that will hopefully lead you to ask the right questions about the materials you select and the processes you specify in order to build the best tool you can build. The following is a list of some basic processes that should be considered with any tool steel heat treatment: Stress relief… Why? It reduces dimensional distortion Preheating… Why? Minimizes thermal shock Hardening temperatures and times… Why? Proper temperature and times are critical in producing the desired properties. Quench m...

In this article, we would like to discuss the elements that make up tool & high speed steels. What do these elements do to provide the mechanical and physical properties we need for our applications? The most common elements are the following: CARBON (C): this is the most basic alloying element which enables steel to harden. Carbon combines with the other elements to form hard, wear-resistant carbides. MANGANESE (Mn): controls hardenability in alloy cold work steels. SILICON (Si): improves toughness in the shock resisting steels group. Added to hot work steels to raise critical points and reduce scaling tendencies. Added to O-6 & A-10 to form graphite. CHROMIUM (Cr): controls hardenability and is added for abrasion resistance and hot hardness. TUNGSTEN (W): provides red hardness and hard wear resistant carbides that are harder than chrome and iron carbides. Also used to improve hardenability in tool & high speed steels. Combines very well with molybdenu...