Tool steels are very high quality steels made to close chemical and physical tolerances; they are used for making cutting or shaping tools or to manufacture critical mechanical components.

These complex alloyed tool steels, which may contain, among other elements, relatively large amounts of tungsten, molybdenum, vanadium and chromium, make it possible to meet increasingly severe service demands and to provide greater dimensional control and freedom from cracking during heat treating.

General properties :

• Highest possible hardness: to provide maximum resistance to deformation when cutting, punching or shearing;
• High wear resistance: defined as resistance to the tearing-off of particles through friction;
• Great toughness: capacity to endure high stress loads without breaking (often complemented by good repetitive impact resistance).

Tool performance depends on four important features :

• Proper tool design;
• The accuracy with which the tool is made;
• The selection of the proper tool steel;
• The appropriate heat treatment. Our experience shows that while the tool’s hardness is a key element, even more crucial is its metallurgical structure, which, in turn, depends entirely on the selection and use of the best treatment processes and the right equipment.