Materials database

Pre-hardened plastic mold steel — delivered at 28-32 HRC, ready for machining without further heat treatment. The European equivalent of AISI P20. Cr-Mn-Mo composition for good through-hardenability in large sections. THE workhorse mold base material for injection molds, compression molds, and die casting dies. Good machinability, polishability, and photo-etchability. Used for mold frames, large injection molds, blow molds, and structural die components.

Free-machining variant of 40CrMnMo7 (1.2311/P20) — sulfur addition (0.05-0.10%) for significantly improved machinability. Same pre-hardened delivery condition (28-32 HRC). 30-40% faster machining than 1.2311. Slight trade-off in polishability due to MnS inclusions. Used where machining cost matters more than mirror polish: large mold frames, structural mold components, and prototype molds.

Pre-hardened mould steel with nickel addition for uniform hardness through large cross-sections. Delivered at 280-325 HB. The Ni addition (0.90-1.20%) provides better through-hardening than 1.2311/1.2312, making it suitable for large moulds with sections >400mm. Used for large injection moulds for automotive, household appliance, and furniture industry. The standard choice for large, complex mould frames. Similar to AISI P20+Ni.

Nickel-chromium-molybdenum-vanadium hot work tool steel with outstanding toughness. 1.7% Ni provides superior shock resistance and toughness at working temperatures. Hardened to 44–50 HRC. Used where maximum impact resistance is needed: hammer dies, forging dies, drop forge inserts, hot shear blades, plastic mold base plates and large press tools. The standard material for heavy forging dies in the automotive and aerospace forging industry.

Heavy-duty hot work tool steel with high Ni (1.5-1.8%) for exceptional toughness at working hardness. THE forging die material for hammers and presses. Better impact resistance than H13 but lower hot hardness. Also used as backing steel for composite dies. Applications: forging dies, die holders, press tools, shear blades, and heavy-duty punches.

Shock-resisting cold work tool steel (AISI S1) with tungsten and high silicon for exceptional toughness and impact resistance. Oil hardening. Achieves 52-60 HRC. Very good dimensional stability during heat treatment. Used for blanking and stamping dies for sheet up to 12mm, cold piercing punches, shear blades, pneumatic chisels, coining tools, woodworking tools, and ejectors. The premium choice where impact resistance is more critical than maximum wear resistance. Also known as 60WCrV7 (older DIN designation).

Universal cold work tool steel with high carbon and manganese. Oil hardening (AISI O2). Excellent dimensional stability during heat treatment, good wear resistance, and high hardness up to 63 HRC. Easy to machine in annealed condition. Used for blanking and stamping tools, precision punches, shear blades, thread chasers, reamers, measuring gauges, woodworking tools, and cold forming dies. Equivalent to AISI O2.

Air-hardening cold-work tool steel. Combines good wear resistance with excellent dimensional stability during heat treatment (minimal distortion). Used for punching/blanking dies, forming tools, shear blades, gauges, and precision tooling where low distortion is critical.

Crucible Particle Metallurgy stainless cold work steel — virtually identical to Böhler M390 and Carpenter CTS-204P. 1.9% C, 20% Cr, 4% V, 1% Mo. The highest corrosion resistance of any PM tool steel while maintaining 58–62 HRC hardness and outstanding edge retention. Considered the current benchmark for premium stainless knife steel. Also used for plastic injection mold cavities (mirror polish + corrosion resistance) and food processing cutting tools.

Crucible Particle Metallurgy high-speed steel with exceptionally high vanadium (4%) and carbon (1.42%) content. Combines the red hardness of M2 HSS with wear resistance approaching carbide. PM process ensures uniform fine carbide distribution impossible in conventional melting. Hardened to 62–66 HRC. Used for end mills, broaches, hobs, form tools, cold heading dies, slitter knives and applications where conventional HSS wears too fast but carbide is too brittle. Popular in knife community for extreme edge retention.

Premium high-carbon high-chromium cold-work tool steel with vanadium and molybdenum. Air-hardening with minimal distortion. Superior wear resistance and edge retention. The global benchmark for cold stamping dies, blanking tools, shear blades, and forming tools.

Modified D2 cold-work tool steel developed by Daido Steel (Japan). Refined Cr-Mo-V composition with higher tempering temperature capability gives ~2x the toughness of standard D2 at equal hardness (62-63 HRC). Used as D2 replacement for progressive dies, blanking tools, and cold forging where chipping is a problem.

Cr-Mo-V hot-work tool steel — close relative of H13 with slightly lower C and V. Good hot hardness, thermal fatigue resistance and toughness. Used for forging dies, extrusion tooling, mandrels, and die-casting tools. Often preferred over H13 where higher toughness is needed.

The most widely used hot-work tool steel globally. Excellent combination of hot hardness, toughness, and thermal fatigue resistance. Used for die-casting dies (aluminum, zinc, magnesium), forging dies, extrusion tooling, and hot shear blades.

The most widely used high-speed steel worldwide, known as AISI M2. Contains 6% W, 5% Mo and 2% V providing excellent red hardness (retains cutting ability at 600°C+), high wear resistance and good toughness. Hardened to 62–65 HRC. Standard material for twist drills, milling cutters, taps, reamers, broaches, saw blades, cold forming tools and punches. PM (powder metallurgy) variants available for improved toughness and grindability.

Standard cobalt high speed steel with 5% Co — the most widely used cobalt HSS grade. Also known as M35 or HSS-E/HSSE. Better hot hardness and cutting performance than M2, lower cost than M42. HRC 64-66 hardened. The "go-to upgrade" when M2 performance is insufficient. Used for drill bits (HSS-Co branded), taps, end mills, saw blades, and general-purpose cutting tools for stainless steel and medium-hard alloys.

The most widely used high-speed steel worldwide. W-Mo-Cr-V composition gives excellent red hardness (cuts at temperatures up to 600°C). Used for twist drills, end mills, taps, reamers, bandsaw blades, and general-purpose cutting tools. The benchmark HSS grade.

Cobalt super high speed steel — 8% Co for maximum hot hardness (HRC 69 at 550°C). THE HSS for machining superalloys, titanium, and pre-hardened steels where M2 burns out. Mo-series (not W-series like T15). Reaches HRC 68-70 after hardening — among the hardest HSS grades. Also known as HS2-9-1-8 (EN) or SKH59 (JIS). Used for drills, end mills, taps, broaches, and milling cutters for difficult-to-machine materials.

Oil-hardening cold-work tool steel. Good balance of wear resistance, toughness, and machinability at moderate cost. Very predictable heat treatment response. The standard choice for hand tools, gauges, jigs, fixtures, taps, reamers, and general precision tooling.

Pre-hardened plastic mold steel (usually delivered at 28-34 HRC). The most widely used mold base steel globally. Good machinability in pre-hardened condition, good polishability. Used for injection molds, die-casting dies, extrusion tooling, and structural mold components.

Shock-resistant tool steel with excellent toughness at high hardness. Air or oil hardening. Used for chisels, shear blades, punches, rivet sets, and any tooling subjected to heavy impact loading. The primary S-type tool steel in AISI classification.

The simplest and cheapest tool steel — plain high-carbon steel with no significant alloy additions. Water-hardening with shallow hardening depth. Used for cold chisels, center punches, hand tools, scribers, woodworking tools, and simple cutting tools where only the surface needs to be hard.

Air-hardening medium-alloy cold work tool steel, known as AISI A2. 5% Cr provides good through-hardening and excellent dimensional stability during heat treatment — minimal distortion compared to oil-hardening grades. Hardened to 57–62 HRC. Good combination of wear resistance and toughness — tougher than D2 (1.2379) at similar hardness. Used for blanking dies, trimming dies, forming tools, gauges, shear blades, coining tools and precision components requiring minimal distortion.

High-carbon high-chromium ledeburitic cold work tool steel — AISI D2. 12% Cr + 1.5% C forms massive M7C3 carbides giving outstanding wear resistance and cutting edge retention. Air-hardening with minimal distortion. Lower toughness than H13. Used for blanking/stamping dies, thread rolling dies, cold forming tools, slitting cutters, and wear parts. Also popular as high-end knife steel.