TREATMENT OF TOOL STEEL

HEAT TREATMENT
OF TOOL STEEL

Wherever tools are made

Wherever tools are used
 Heat treatment

Contents
What is tool steel? ................................................. 3
Hardening and tempering .................................... 3
Dimensional and shape stability .......................... 8
Surface treatment .................................................. 10
Testing of mechanical properties ........................12
Some words of advice to tool designers .............13

This information is based on our present state of knowledge and is

intended to provide general notes on our products and their uses.
It should not therefore be construed as a warranty of specific
properties of the products described or a warranty for fitness for a
particular purpose.

2
 Heat treatment

The purpose of this brochure is to provide some becomes alloyed with carbon and carbide-forming
idea of how tool steel is heat-treated and how it elements.
behaves. When the steel is heated to the hardening tem-
Special attention is paid to hardness, tough- perature (austenitizing temperature), the carbides
ness and dimensional stability. are partially dissolved, and the matrix is also
altered. It is transformed from ferrite to austenite.
This means that the iron atoms change their posi-
What is tool steel? tion in the atomic lattice and make room for atoms
of carbon and alloying elements. The carbon and
Uddeholm has concentrated its tool steel range on alloying elements from the carbides are dissolved
high-alloyed types of steel, intended primarily for in the matrix.
purposes such as plastics moulding, blanking and If the steel is quenched sufficiently rapid in the
forming, die-casting, extrusion, forging and wood- hardening process, the carbon atoms do not have
working. time to reposition themselves to allow the re-form-
Conventional high-speed steels and powder ing of ferrite from austenite, i.e. as in annealing.
metallurgy (PM) steels are also included in the Instead, they are fixed in positions where they really
range. do not have enough room, and the result is high
Tool steel is normally delivered in the soft an- microstresses that can be defined as increased
nealed condition. This is to make the material easy hardness. This hard structure is called martensite.
to machine with cutting tools and to give it a micro- Thus, martensite can be seen as a forced solution
structure suitable for hardening. of carbon in ferrite.
The microstructure consists of a soft matrix in
which carbides are embedded. In carbon steel, = Iron atoms
these carbides consist of iron carbide, while in the = Possible positions for carbon atoms
alloyed steel they are chromium (Cr), tungsten
(W), molybdenum (Mo) or vanadium (V) car-
bides, depending on the composition of the steel.
Carbides are compounds of carbon and these
alloying elements and are characterized by very
high hardness. A higher carbide content means
higher resistance to wear.
In alloy steels, it is important that the carbides
are evenly distributed. 2,86 A
Other alloying elements are also used in tool
steel, such as cobalt (Co) and nickel (Ni), but Unit cell in a ferrite crystal. Body-centred cubic (BCC).
these do not form carbides. Cobalt is normally
used to improve red hardness in high-speed steels,
nickel to improve through-hardening properties.

3,57 A

Hardening
and tempering
When a tool is hardened, many factors influence 3,57 A
the result.
Unit cell in an austenite crystal. Face-centred cubic (FCC).
SOME THEORETICAL ASPECTS
In soft annealed tool steel, most of the alloying ele-
ments are bound up with carbon in carbides. In
addition to these there are the alloying elements
cobalt and nickel, which do not form carbides but
2,98 A
are instead dissolved in the matrix.
When the steel is heated for hardening, the
basic idea is to dissolve the carbides to such a de-
gree that the matrix acquires an alloying content
that gives the hardening effectwithout becoming
2,85 A
coarse-grained and brittle. Note that the carbides
are partially dissolved. This means that the matrix Unit cell in a martensite crystal.
3
 Heat treatment

When a steel is hardened, the matrix is not Tool steel should always be double-tempered.
completely converted into martensite. Some auste- The second tempering takes care of the secondary
nite is always left and is called retained austenite. martensite formed after the first tempering. Three
The amount increases with increasing alloying tempers are recommended for high-speed steel
content, higher hardening temperature and longer with a high carbon content.
soaking times.
After quenching, the steel has a microstruc-
ture consisting of martensite, retained austenite
and carbides.
This structure contains inherent stresses that
can easily cause cracking. But this can be pre-
vented by reheating the steel to a certain tempera-
ture, reducing the stresses and transforming the re-
tained austenite to an extent that depends upon
the reheating temperature.
This reheating after hardening is called tem-
pering. Hardening of a tool steel should always be
followed immediately by tempering. Tempered once. Tempered twice. 1000x
It should be noted that tempering at low tem- RIGOR, hardened and tempered.
peratures only affects the martensite, while tem-
pering at high temperature also affects the retained
austenite.
After one tempering at high temperature, the HOW HARDENING AND TEMPERING
microstructure consists of tempered martensite, IS DONE IN PRACTICE
newlyformed martensite, some retained austenite
and carbides. Precipitated secondary (newly- Distortion due to hardening must be taken into
formed) carbides and newly-formed martensite can consideration when a tool is rough-machined.
increase hardness during high-temperature tem- Rough machining causes local heating and mech-
pering. Typical of this is the so-called secondary anical working of the steel, which gives rise to
hardening of e.g. high-speed steel and high-alloyed inherent stresses. This is not serious on a symmet-
tool steels. rical part of simple design, but can be significant in
asymmetrical machining, for example of one half
Hardness of a die-casting die. Here, stress-relieving is always
recommended.
C
B Stress relieving
This treatment is done after rough machining and
D
entails heating to 550650C (10201200F). The
material should be heated until it has achieved
uniform temperature all the way through and then
A
cooled slowly, for example in a furnace.
The idea behind stress relieving is that the
yield strength of the material at the elevated tem-
perature is so low that the material cannot resist
Tempering temperature.
the inherent stresses. The yield strength is ex-
ceeded and these stresses are released, resulting
A = martensite tempering in a greater or lesser degree of distortion.
B = carbide precipitation
C = transformation of retained austenite to martensite
D = tempering diagram for high speed steel and high-alloy The correct work sequence is: rough machining,
tool steel stress relieving and finish machining
A+B+C = D
The excuse that stress relieving takes too
much time is hardly valid. Rectifying a part during
finish machining of an annealed material is with
few exceptions cheaper than making dimensional
adjustments on a hardened tool.

4
 Heat treatment

Heating to hardening temperature Furnaces with a controlled protective gas

The fundamental rule for heating to hardening atmosphere or salt baths also provide good protec-
temperature is that it should take place slowly. tion.
This minimizes distortion. If an electric muffle furnace is used, the tool
In vacuum furnaces and furnaces with con- can be protected by packing it in spent charcoal or
trolled protective gas atmosphere, the heat is in- cast-iron chips.
creased gradually. When molten salt baths are It should be observed that these packing
used, preheating is employed, whereas heating is materials can have a carburizing effect if the steels
automatically slow in a muffle furnace when steel is have a low carbon content, such as conventional
packed in cast-iron chips. hot work steels.
In a fluidized bed the advantages of salt bath Wrapping in stainless steel foil also provides
and protective atmosphere are combined. Heating good protection when heating in a muffle furnace.
and cooling rates can be compared with salt bath. Decarburization results in low surface hard-
The Al-oxides and gas used as protective atmos- ness and a risk of cracking.
phere are less detrimental to the environment than Carburization results in a harder surface layer,
salt bath. which can have negative effects.
It is important that the tools are protected
against oxidation and decarburization. The best Holding time at hardening temperature
protection is provided by a vacuum furnace, where
It is not possible to state exact recommendations
the surface of the steel remains unaffected.
briefly to cover all heating situations.
Factors such as furnace type, furnace rating,
temperature level, the weight of the charge in rela-
tion to the size of the furnace etc., must be taken
into consideration in each case.
We can, however, give one recommendation
that is valid in virtually all situations:
when the steel has reached hardening temperature
through its entire thickness, hold at this tempera-
ture for 30 minutes. An exception to this rule is for
thin parts heated in salt baths at high temperature,
or high-speed steel. Here the entire period of
immersion is often only a few minutes.
Vacuum furnace.

Quenching
The choice between a fast and slow quenching rate
is usually a compromise: to get the best micro-
structure and tool performance, the quenching
rate should be rapid; to minimize distortion, a slow
quenching rate is recommended.
Slow quenching results in less temperature
difference between the surface and core of a part,
and sections of different thickness will have a more
uniform cooling rate.
This is of great importance when quenching
Batch-type furnace with a controlled atmosphere. through the martensite range, below the Ms tem-
perature. Martensite formation leads to an increase
in volume and stresses in the material. This is also
the reason why quenching should be interrupted
before room temperature has been reached,
normally at 5070C (120160F).
However, if the quenching rate is too slow,
especially with heavier cross-sections, undersirable
transformations in the microstructure can take
place, risking a poor tool performance.
Water is used as a quenching medium for
unalloyed steels. 810% sodium chloride (salt) or
soda should be added to the water in order to
Salt bath furnace. achieve optimum cooling efficiency.

5
 Heat treatment

Temperature Hardening in oil is not the safest way to

AC3
quench steel, in view of the risks of distortion and
hardening cracks. These risks can be reduced by
AC1
means of martempering. In this process, the ma-
terial is quenched in two steps. First it is cooled
from hardening temperature in a salt bath whose
temperature is just above the MS temperature. It is
kept there until the temperature has equalized
between the surface and the core, after which the
tool can be allowed to cool freely in air down
Core through the martensite transformation range.
Surface When martempering oil-hardening steels, it
should also be kept in mind that the material trans-
forms relatively rapid and should not be kept too
long at the martempering bath temperature. This
MS can lead to excessive bainite transformation and
the risk of low hardness.
High-alloy steels can be hardened in oil, a
Martensite martempering bath or air. The advantages and dis-
Time advantages of the different methods can be dis-
The quenching process as expressed in a cussed.
TTT graph. Oil gives a good finish and high hardness, but
it also maximizes the risk of excessive distortion or
Water hardening can often cause problems in cracking. In the case of thick parts, quenching in
the form of distortion and quench cracks. Oil oil is often the only way to achieve maximum hard-
hardening is safer, but hardening in air or martem- ness.
pering is best of all. Martempering in salt bath produces a good
Oil should be used for low-alloyed steels. finish, high hardness and less risk of excessive
The oil should be of good quality, and prefer- distortion or cracking.
ably of the rapid-quenching type. It should be kept For certain types of steel, the temperature of
clean and must be changed after a certain period of the salt bath is normally kept at about 500C
use. (930F). This temperature ensures a relatively
Hardening oils should have a temperature of mild thermal shock, but a sufficient cooling rate to
6070C (140160F) to give the best cooling effi- avoid phase transformations.
ciency. Lower temperatures mean higher viscosity, Full martensite transformation has, in many
i.e. the oil is thicker. cases, time to occur when the steel is cooled in air
from the martempering bath temperature. How-
Temperature ever, if the dimensions are big, it is often necessary
to use a forced quenching rate depending of the
hardenability of the steel.
AC3 Air quenching entails the least risk of excess-
AC1 ive distortion. A tendency towards lower hardness
is noticeable at greater thicknesses. One disadvan-
tage is a poorer finish. Some oxidation takes place
when the material comes into contact with air and
cools slowly from the high hardening tempera-
tures.
The choice of quenching medium must be
Core
made from job to job, but a general recommenda-
tion could perhaps be made as follows:
A martempering bath is the safest in most
cases.
Surface
Air is used when dimensional stability is
MS
crucial.
Oil should be avoided and used only when it is
Martensite
necessary to achieve satisfactory hardness in
heavy sections.
Time
Martempering.

6
 Heat treatment

Temperature If maximum hardness is desired, temper at

Hardening temperature about 200C (390F), but never lower than 180C
(360F). High speed steel is normally tempered at
about 20C (36F) above the peak secondary
hardening temperature.
Oil Air If a lower hardness is desired, this means a
higher tempering temperature. Reduced hardness
Surface does not always mean increased toughness, as is
Salt bath
evident from the toughness values in our product
MS brochures. Avoid tempering within temperature
ranges that reduce toughness. If dimensional sta-
Core
bility is also an important consideration, the choice
Room temperature of tempering temperature must often be a compro-
mise. If possible, however, priority should be given
Time to toughness.
Cooling rates for various media.

Three well-known quenching methods have

been mentioned here. Some new concepts have
been introduced with modern types of furnaces,
and the technique of quenching at a controlled rate
in a protective gas atmosphere or in a vacuum fur-
nace with gas is becoming increasingly wide-
spread. The cooling rate is roughly the same as in
air for protective gas atmosphere, but the problem
of oxidized surfaces is eliminated. Modern vacuum Convection-type tempering furnace.
furnaces have the possibility to use overpressure
during quenching which increases the quenching How many tempers are required?
speed. The surfaces are completely clean after a Two tempers are recommended for tool steel and
vacuum hardening, three are considered necessary for high-speed
With these techniques, as with quenching in steel with a high carbon content, e.g. over 1%.
air, the risks of excessively slow cooling must be Two tempers are always recommended. If the
borne in mind, even for vacuum furnaces if no basic rule in quenching is followedto interrupt at
overpressure is used. The effect is that surface 5070C (120160F)then a certain amount of
hardness is normally lower than expected. Hard- austenite remains untransformed when the ma-
ness in the centre of heavy sections is even lower. terial is to be tempered. When the material cools
This effect can be critical with high-speed steel after tempering, most of the austenite is trans-
and hot work steel, where a centre section can be formed to martensite. It is untempered. A second
cooled so slowly that carbide precipitation takes tempering gives the material optimum toughness
place on the way down. Here, the matrix becomes at the hardness in question.
depleted of carbon and carbide-forming alloying The same line of reasoning can be applied with
elements. The result is reduced hardness and regard to retained austenite in high-speed steel. In
strength of the core. this case, however, the retained austenite is highly
alloyed and slow-transforming. During tempering,
Tempering some diffusion takes place in the austenite, sec-
ondary carbides are precipitated, the austenite be-
The material should be tempered immediately comes lower-alloyed and is more easily transformed
after quenching. Quenching should be stopped at a to martensite when it cools after tempering. Here,
temperature of 5070C (120160F) and temper- several temperings can be beneficial in driving the
ing should be done at once. If this is not possible, transformation of the retained austenite further to
the material must be kept warm, e.g. in a special martensite.
hot cabinet, awaiting tempering.
The choice of tempering temperature is often
determined by experience. However, certain Holding times in connection with tempering
guidelines can be drawn and the following factors Here also, one should avoid all complicated for-
can be taken into consideration: mulae and rules of thumb, and adopt the following
hardness recommendation:
toughness Hold the material for at least 2 hours at full
dimension change. temperature each time.

7
 Heat treatment

Dimensional and Thermal stresses

These stresses are created when a piece is heated.
shape stability They increase if heating takes place rapidly or
unevenly. The volume of the steel is increased by
DISTORTION DURING THE HARDENING heating. Uneven heating can result in local vari-
AND TEMPERING OF TOOL STEEL ations in volume growth, leading to stresses and
distortion.
When a piece of tool steel is hardened and tem-
As an alternative with large or complex parts,
pered, some warpage or distortion normally occurs.
heating can be done in preheating stages in order
This distortion is usually greater at high tempera-
to equalize the temperature in the component.
ture.
This is well known, and it is normal practice to
leave some machining allowance on the tool prior Linear expansion mm/100 mm
to hardening. This makes it possible to adjust the
tool to the correct dimensions after hardening and
tempering by grinding, for example. 0,8

HOW DOES DISTORTION TAKE PLACE? 0,6

The cause is stresses in the material. These
stresses can be divided into: 0,4
machining stresses
thermal stresses 0,2
transformation stresses.

100 200 300 400 500 600 C

Machining stresses 210 390 570 750 930 1110 F
This type of stress is generated during machining Temperature
operations such as turning, milling and grinding.
(For example, such stresses are formed to a Effect of temperature on the linear expansion of
greater extent during cold forming operations ORVAR 2 Microdized, soft annealed.
such as blanking, bending and drawing.)
If stresses have built up in a part, they will be
released during heating. Heating reduces strength, An attempt should always be made to heat
releasing stresses through local distortion. This slowly enough so that the temperature remains
can lead to overall distortion. virtually equal throughout the piece.
In order to reduce distortion while heating What has been said regarding heating also
during the hardening process, a stress relieving applies to quenching. Very powerful stresses arise
operation can be carried out. It is recommended during quenching. As a general rule, the slower
that the material be stress-relieved after rough that quenching can be done, the less distortion will
machining. Any distortion can then be adjusted occur due to thermal stresses.
during final machining prior to quenching. It is important that the quenching medium is
applied as uniformly as possible. This is especially
N/mm2 Yield strength Rp0,2 valid when forced air or protective gas atmosphere
(as in vacuum furnaces) is used. Otherwise tem-
perature differences in the tool can lead to signifi-
400 cant distortion.

300
250
200

100

100 200 300 400 500 600 C

210 390 570 750 930 1110 F
Temperature
Effect of temperature on the yield strength of ORVAR 2
Microdized, soft annealed.

8
 Heat treatment

Transformation stresses HOW CAN DISTORTION BE REDUCED?

This type of stress arises when the microstructure
Distortion can be minimized by:
of the steel is transformed. This is because the
three microstructures in questionferrite, auste- keeping the design simple and symmetrical
nite and martensitehave different densities, i.e. eliminating machining stresses by stress reliev-
volumes. ing after rough machining
The greatest effect is caused by transformation heating slowly during hardening
from austenite to martensite. This causes a volume using a suitable grade of steel
increase. quenching the piece as slowly as possible, but
Excessively rapid and uneven quenching can quick enough to obtain a correct microstructure
also cause local martensite formation and thereby in the steel
volume increases locally in a piece and give rise to tempering at a suitable temperature.
stresses in this section. These stresses can lead to
distortion and, in some cases, quenching cracks. The following values for machining allowances
can be used as guidelines.

Machining allowance
Volume
Grade of steel on length and diameter
as % of dimension
ARNE 0,25 %
RIGOR 0,20 %
SVERKER 21 and SVERKER 3 0,20 %
CARMO 0,20 %
VANADIS 4 SuperClean 0,15 %
VANADIS 6 SuperClean 0,15 %
Transformation
VANADIS 10 SuperClean 0,15 %
to austenite
VANADIS 23 SuperClean 0,15 %
CALMAX 0,20 %
GRANE 0,15 %
Transformation
to martensite Ms AC1 AC3 STAVAX ESR 0,15 %
ELMAX SuperClean 0,15 %
Temperature
ORVAR 2 Microdized 0,20 %
Volume changes due to structural transformation. ORVAR SUPREME 0,20 %
VIDAR SUPREME 0,20 %
QRO 90 SUPREME 0,30 %
HOTVAR 0,40 %
DIEVAR 0,30 %

9
 Heat treatment

Surface treatment NITROCARBURIZING

A widely known method is nitriding in a salt bath.
NITRIDING The temperature is normally 570C (1060F).
The purpose of nitriding is to increase the surface Due to aeration the cyanate content of the bath can
hardness of the steel and improve its wearing prop- be better controlled and the nitriding effect is very
erties. This treatment takes place in a medium (gas good.
or salt) which gives off nitrogen. In nitriding, nitro- A nitrocarburizing effect can also be achieved
gen diffuses into the steel and forms hard, wear- in gas atmosphere at 570C (1060F). The results
resistant nitrides. This results in an intermetallic after these methods are comparable.
surface layer with good wearing and frictional The total nitriding time must be varied for
properties. different tool types and sizes. In the case of large
Nitriding is done in gas at about 510C sizes, the heating time to the specified nitriding
(950F) and in salt or gas at about 570C (1060F) temperature can be considerably longer than in
or as ionnitriding, normally at around 500C the case of small tools.
(930F). The process therefore requires steels that
are resistant to tempering in order that the core
ION NITRIDING
strength is not reduced.
This is a new nitriding technology. The method
can be summarized as follows:
The part to be nitrided is placed in a process
chamber filled with gas, mainly nitrogen. The part
forms the cathode and the shell of the chamber the
anode in an electric circuit. When the circuit is
made, the gas is ionized and the part is subjected
to ion bombardment. The gas serves as a heating
and nitriding medium.
The advantages of ion nitriding include a low
process temperature and a hard, tough surface
layer. The depth of diffusion is of the same order
as with gas nitriding.
Nitrided case shown at a magnification of 100 x.
ORVAR 2 M.

Examples of applications
Nitriding is used in some cases on prehardened
plastic moulds in order to prevent indentation
and defects on the parting faces. It should be
noted, however, that a nitrided surface cannot
be machined with cutting tools and can only be
ground with difficulty. A nitrided surface will
cause problems in weld repairing as well.
Nitriding can also have a stress-relieving effect.
Heavily machined parts may, therefore, undergo Ion nitriding plant.
some distortion during nitriding due to the re-
lease of residual stresses from machining and in
such a case, a stress relieving between rough CASE HARDENING
and finish machining is recommended.
In this method, the steel is heated in a medium
The life of forging dies can be increased by
that gives off carbon (gas, salt or dry carburizing
nitriding. It must be noted, though, that the
compound). The carbon diffuses into the surface of
treatment can give rise to higher susceptibility
the material and after hardening this gives a sur-
to cracking in sharp corners. Furthermore, the
face layer with enhanced hardness and wear resis-
edge of the flash land must be given a rounded
tance. This method is used for structural steel, but
profile.
is not generally recommended for alloy tool steels.
Extrusion dies of ORVAR 2 M can be nitrided to
advantageespecially in the case of aluminium
alloys. Exceptions can be profiles with sharp
corners and thin sections of the dies.

10
 Heat treatment

HARD CHROMIUM PLATING To be able to use these properties in an

optimal way one has to choose a tool steel of high
Hard chromium plating can improve the wear quality or an powder metallurgy manufactured
resistance and corrosion resistance of a tool. Hard steel as substrate. The two most common coating
chromium plating is done electrolytically. The methods are:
thickness of the plating is normally between 0,001 PVD coating: performed at 200500C (390
and 0,1 mm (0,000040,004 inch). It can be difficult 930F) (PVD = Physical Vapour Deposition).
to obtain a uniform surface layer, especially on CVD coating: performed at about 1000C
complex tools, since projecting corners and edges (1830F) (CVD = Chemical Vapour Deposition).
may receive a thicker deposit than large flat sur-
Certain demands are put on the tool steel de-
faces or the holes. If the chromium layer is dam-
pending on: coating method, the design of the tool
aged, the exposed steel may corrode rapidly.
and the tolerances needed. PVD coating is used for
Another advantage of the chromium layer is
the highest demands on tolerances. When using
that it greatly reduces the coefficient of friction on
this method a tool steel with high tempering resis-
the surface.
tance must be used and the surface coating has to
During the chromium plating process, hydro-
be performed as the last operation, after the heat
gen absorption can cause a brittle surface layer.
treatment. At CVD coating, hardening and tem-
This nuisance can be eliminated by tempering
pering are done after the coating. A steel with an
immediately after plating at 180C (360F) for
austenitizing temperature of about 1000C (1830F)
4 hours.
has to be used. When using the CVD method
there is a risk for dimensional changes. The
SURFACE COATING method is not recommended for tools with need
Surface coating of tool steel is becoming more for very narrow tolerances.
common. Not only for cold work applications, but The most suitable steel for the mentioned
also for plastic moulds and hot work dies. methods are VANADIS 4, VANADIS 10 and
The hard coating normally consists of titanium VANADIS 23. VANADIS 23 for PVD and VANA-
nitride and/or titanium carbide. The very high DIS 4 and VANADIS 10 for CVD.
hardness and low friction gives a very wear resis- Surface coating of tools and moulds should be
tant surface, minimizing the risk for adhesion and discussed from case to case considering the appli-
sticking. cation, coating method and need for tolerances.

Coated tools.

11
 Heat treatment

Vickers (HV)
Testing In Vickers hardness testing a pyramid-shaped

of mechanical diamond with a square base and a peak angle of

136 is pressed under a load F against the material

properties whose hardness is to be determined. After unload-

ing, the diagonals d1 and d2 of the impression are
When the steel is hardened and tempered, its measured and the hardness number (HV) is read
strength is affected, so let us take a closer look at off a table.
how these properties are measured. When the test results are reported, Vickers
hardness is indicated with the letters HV and a
HARDNESS TESTING suffix indicating the mass that exerted the load and
(when required) the loading period, as illustrated
Hardness testing is the most popular way to check by the following example:
the results of hardening. Hardness is usually the HV 30/20 = Vickers hardness determined with
property that is specified when a tool is hardened. a load of 30 kgf exerted for 20 seconds.
It is easy to test hardness. The material is not
destroyed and the apparatus is relatively inexpen- F
sive. The most common methods are Rockwell C
(HRC), Vickers (HV) and Brinell (HB).
We shouldnt entirely forget the old expression
136
file-hard. In order to check whether hardness is
satisfactory, for example above 60 HRC, a file of d1 d2
good quality can provide a good indication.

Rockwell (HRC)
In Rockwell hardness testing, a conical diamond is Principle of Vickers hardness testing.
first pressed with a force F0, and then with a force
F0+F1 against a specimen of the material whose
hardness is to be determined. After unloading to Brinell (HB)
F0, the increase (e) of the depth of the impression In Brinell hardness testing, a ball is pressed
caused by F1 is determined. The depth of penetra- against the material whose hardness is to be deter-
tion (e) is converted into a hardness number mined. After unloading, two measurements of the
(HRC) which is read directly from a scale on the diameter of the impression are taken at 90 to each
tester dial or read-out. other (d1 and d2) and the HB value is read off a
F0 F0+F1=F F0 table, from the average of d1 and d2.

h0 h e HRC D

F
Surface of specimen
100 h0
Hardness scale

e d

0,2 mm h
h
HRC
0

Principle of Rockwell hardness testing. Principle of Brinell hardness testing.

When the test results are reported, Brinell

hardness is indicated with the letters HB and a
suffix indicating ball diameter, the mass with
which the load was exerted and (when required)
the loading period, as illustrated by the following
example:
HB 5/750/15 = Brinell hardness determined
with 5 mm ball and under load of 750 kgf exerted
for 15 seconds.

12
 Heat treatment

TENSILE STRENGTH
Tensile strength is determined on a test piece
Some words
which is gripped in a tensile testing machine and of advice to
subjected to a successively increasing tensile load
until fracture occurs. The properties that are nor- tool designers
mally recorded are yield strength Rp0,2 and ulti-
CHOICE OF STEEL
mate tensile strength Rm, while elongation A5 and
reduction of area Z are measured on the test piece. Choose air-hardening steels for complex tools.
In general, it can be said that hardness is depend-
ent upon yield strength and ultimate tensile DESIGN
strength, while elongation and reduction of area Avoid:
are an indication of toughness. High values for
sharp corners
yield and ultimate tensile strength generally mean
low values for elongation and reduction of area. notch effects
Tensile tests are used mostly on structural large differences in section thicknesses.
steels, seldom on tool steels. It is difficult to per-
form tensile tests at hardnesses above 55 HRC. These are often causes of quench cracks,
Tensile tests may be of interest for tougher types especially if the material is cooled down too far or
of tool steel, especially when they are used as high- allowed to stand untempered.
strength structural materials. These include e.g.
IMPAX SUPREME and ORVAR 2 M.
Unsuitable Preferred alterna-
design tive
IMPACT TESTING
A certain quantity of energy is required to produce
a fracture in a material. This quantity of energy can
be used as a measure of the toughness of the ma-
terial, a higher absorption of energy indicating
Fillet
better toughness. The commonest and simplest
method of determining toughness is impact test-
ing. A rigid pendulum is allowed to fall from a
known height and to strike a test specimen at the
lowest point of its swing. The angle through which
the pendulum travels after breaking the specimen
is measured, and the amount of energy that was
absorbed in breaking the specimen can be calcu-
lated.
Several variants of impact testing are in use.
The various methods differ in the shape of the
specimens. These are usually provided with a V- or
U-shaped notch, the test methods being then
known as Charpy V and Charpy U respectively.
For the most part, tool steel has a rather low
toughness by reason of its high strength. Materials
of low toughness are notch-sensitive, for which HEAT TREATMENT
reason smooth, unnotched specimens are often
used in the impact testing of tool steels. The re- Choose suitable hardnesses for the application
sults of the test are commonly stated in joules, or concerned. Be particularly careful to avoid tem-
alternatively in kgm (strictly speaking kgfm), perature ranges that can reduce toughness after
although J/cm2 or kgm/cm2 is sometimes used tempering.
instead, specially in Charpy U testing. Keep the risk of distortion in mind and follow
There are several other variants of impact recommendations concerning machining allowan-
testing which are used outside Sweden, e.g. DVM, ces.
Mesanger andespecially in English-speaking It is good idea to specify stress relieving on the
countriesIzod. drawings.

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