Cold work tool steel
These steels are intended for the production of tools that operate at temperatures up to approximately 200 °C, meaning without significant heating of the material during use. Typical applications include shearing, punching, bending, cold forming, thread cutting, milling, stamping, pressing, and the production of plastic molds.
🔧 Characteristics
- High hardness and wear resistance
- Good dimensional stability after hardening
- Low ductility and toughness
- Sensitive to impact and sudden temperature changes
- Suitable for precision tools and molds
📈 Typical applications
- Shearing and punching tools
- Knives and cutting plates
- Taps, reamers, milling cutters
- Stamping and pressing tools
- Plastic molds
- Measuring tools
🔥 Heat treatment
- Hardening: 770–1050 °C (depending on the type of steel)
- Tempering: 150–300 °C depending on the required hardness
- After treatment, a hardness of approximately 58–64 HRC is achieved
🧠 Interesting fact
Did you know that cold work tool steel can contain as much as 12–13% chromium, which is almost the same amount as in stainless steels?
The difference is that in tool steel, chromium bonds with carbon to form carbides, which give the material extreme hardness and wear resistance. Unlike stainless steels, however, this does not increase corrosion resistance.
