UDDEHOLM

ELMAX® SUPERCLEAN
© UDDEHOLMS AB
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without permission of the copyright holder.

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.
Classified according to EU Directive 1999/45/EC
For further information see our “Material Safety Data Sheets”.

Edition 7, revised 02.2016, not printed

SS-EN ISO 9001
SS-EN ISO 14001
 UDDEHOLM ELMAX SUPERCLEAN

General Properties
Uddeholm Elmax SuperClean is a high chro- Physical data
mium-vanadium-molybdenum-alloyed steel
Hardened and tempered to 58 Rockwell C.
with the following characteristics:
• High wear resistance Temperature 20°C 200°C 400°C
(68°F) (392°F) (752°F)
• High compressive strength
Density
• Corrosion resistant kg/m3 7 600 7 560 7 500
• Very good dimensional stability lbs/in. 0,275 0,273 0,271

High wear resistance is normally connected to Modulus of elasticity

N/mm2 230 000 210 000 200 000
low corrosion resistance and vice versa. In psi 33,4 x 106 30,5 x 106 29,0 x 106
Uddeholm Elmax SuperClean it has however Coefficient of
been able to achieve this unique combination thermal expansion
per °C from 20°C – 10,6 x 10-6 11,4 x 10-6
of properties by a powder-metallurgy-based per °F from 68°F – 6,0 x 10-6 6,4 x 10-6
production. Thermal conductivity*
Uddeholm Elmax SuperClean offers a W/m °C – 15 21
Btu in/ft2 h °F – 104 146
possibility to make long-life, low maintenance
moulds for the best overall moulding economy. Specific heat
J/kg °C 460 – –
Btu/lb °F 0,110 – –
Typical C Si Mn Cr Mo V
analysis % 1,7 0,8 0,3 18,0 1,0 3,0 * Thermal conductivity is difficult to measure. The scatter may
be as high as ±15%
Delivery
condition Soft annealed approx. 280 Brinell
Colour code Blue/black
Compressive strength
The figures are to be considered approximate.
Applications Hardness 60 HRC 55 HRC 50 HRC
New types of engineering plastics, with high Compressive
filler contents, place greater demands on the strength Rm
N/mm2 3 000 2 700 2 300
tooling material, in terms of wear resistance tsi 195 175 150
and corrosion resistance. Uddeholm Elmax psi 435 000 390 000 335 000

SuperClean has been specially developed for Yield point

Rp0,2
high-tech applications. These include products N/mm2 2 300 2 150 1 800
within the electronic industry such as connec- tsi 150 140 120
psi 335 000 310 000 260 000
tors, plugs, switches, resistors, integrated
circuits, etc. Uddeholm Elmax SuperClean can
also be used in the food processing industry
and for industrial and custom knives, where a Corrosion resistance
combination of corrosion resistance and wear Moulds made from Uddeholm Elmax
resistance is required. SuperClean will have good resistance to
corrosion when moulding corrosive plastics
under normal production conditions.

Uddeholm Elmax SuperClean used

in Kershaw's knife Speedform,
awarded “Blade Magazine 2009
American-Made Knife Of The
Year®”.

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UDDEHOLM ELMAX SUPERCLEAN

Heat treatment Tempering

Choose the tempering temperature according
Soft annealing to the hardness required by reference to the
Protect the steel and heat through to 980°C tempering graph. Temper twice with inter-
(1800°F), holding time 2h. Then cool in furnace mediate cooling to room temperature, the
20°C (40°F)/h to 850°C (1560°F). Holding preferred tempering temperature is 250°C
time 10h. Cool slowly to 750°C (1380°F). (480°F) or higher. In exceptional cases, a
Then freely in air. minimum tempering temperature of 180°C
(350°F) can be used for small simple inserts
Stress-relieving and parts where toughness is of less impor-
After rough machining the tool should be tance. Holding time at tempering temperature
heated through to 650°C (1200°F), holding minimum 2 hours.
time 2 hours. Cool slowly to 500°C (930°F)
then freely in air. TEMPERING GRAPH
Hardness, HRC Retained austenite %
Hardening 66
62 1100°C (2010°F) Austenitizing temp.
Preheating temperature: 600–850°C (1110–1560°F).
Austenitizing temperature: 1050–1100°C (1920– 58
2010°F), normally 1080°C (1980°F). 54
1050°C
50
(1920°F)
Temperature Holding* Hardness 46 6
time before 42
°C °F minutes tempering 4
38
1050 1920 30 60 HRC Retained austenite 2
34 1050°C (1920°F)
1080 1980 30 61 HRC
30
* Holding time = time at austenitizing temperature after the 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800°C
210 390 570 750 930 1110 1290 1470°F
tool is fully heated through
Tempering temperature 2 x 2h
Protect the part against decarburization and
Above tempering curves are obtained after heat treatment of
oxidation during hardening. samples with a size of 15 x 15 x 40 mm, cooling in forced air.
Lower hardness can be expected after heat treatment of
tools and dies due to factors like actual tool size and heat
treatment parameters.

CCT-GRAPH
Austenitizing temperature 1050°C (1920°F). Holding time 30 minutes.
°F °C
2000 1100
Austenitizing temperature 1050°C
Holding time 30 min.
1800 1000 Ac1 = 960°C

900 A cs
1600 = 890°C
800
1400
Pearlite Cooling Hardness T
Curve 800–500
700 HV 10 (sec)
No.
1200
600 1 792 1
1000
500 2 782 28
800
400 3 690 140
Bainite
600 300 M s
4 665 630
400 200
5 542 1030
200 100
1 2 3 4 5 6 6 360 2095
Mf
1 10 100 1 000 10 000 100 000 Seconds

1 10 100 1 000 Minutes

1 10 100 Hours
Air cooling of
0.2 1.5 10 90 600 bars, Ø mm

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 UDDEHOLM ELMAX SUPERCLEAN

Quenching media 1–3 hours treatment results in an increased

• Forced air/gas hardness of about 1–3 HRC.
• Fluidized bed or salt bath 200–550°C Note: Avoid intricate shapes as there is a risk of
(390–1020°F), then cool in air cracking.
Note: In order to obtain optimum properties,
the cooling rate should be as fast as is con- Machining
comitant with acceptable distortion. Temper
immediately the tool reaches 50–70°C (120– recommendations
160°F). The machining recommendations below are to
be considered as guiding values which must be
Dimensional changes adapted to existing local conditions.
during heat treatment
Turning
ILLUSTRATION OF THE EFFECT FROM AUSTENI-
TIZING TEMPERATURE AND SUBZERO COOLING Turning with Turning with
carbide high speed
The test has been performed on sample size: Cutting data steel
40 x 40 x 40 mm (1,6 x 1,6 x 1,6 in.). parameters Rough turning Fine turning Fine turning
% Cutting
0,150 speed (vc)
m/min. 70–120 120–140 10–14
0,125 After
f.p.m. 230–395 395–460 33–46
hardening After hardening
0,100 and tempering
Feed (f)
0,075 mm/r 0,2–0,4 0,05–0,2 0,05–0,2
i.p.r. 0,008–0,016 0,002–0,008 0,002–0,008
0,050
Depth
0,025 of cut (ap)
mm 2–4 0,5–2 0,5–3
L W T L W T
inch 0,08–0,16 0,02–0,08 0,02–0,12
Austenitizing: 1050°C (1920°F) 1050°C (1920°F)
Carbide
30 min 30 min
designation
Quenching
ISO K20, P10–P20 K15, P10 –
medium: air air
US C2, C7–C6 C2, C7
Sub-zero Coated* Coated*
treatment: – -60°C (-75°F) carbide carbide
Tempering: 230°C (440°F) 2h + 2h 230°C (440°F) 2h + 2h
* Use a wear resistant Al2O3 coated carbide grade

Sub-zero treatment Drilling

Sub-zero treatment falls into the broad cate- HIGH SPEED STEEL TWIST DRILLS
gories of cold treatment and cryogenic treat- Drill diameter Cutting speed (vc) Feed (f)
ment. mm inch m/min. f.p.m. mm/r i.p.r.

Parts requiring high dimensional stability –5 –3/16 10–12* 33–39* 0,05–0,15 0,002–0,006
5–10 3/16–3/8 10–12* 33–39* 0,15–0,20 0,006–0,008
should be sub-zero treated, otherwise volume 10–15 3/8–5/8 10–12* 33–39* 0,20–0,25 0,008–0,010
changes may arise. 15–20 5/8–3/4 10–12* 33–39* 0,25–0,35 0,010–0,014
Uddeholm Elmax SuperClean is commonly * For coated HSS drills vC = 18–20 m/min. (60–65 f.p.m.)
sub-zero treated between -150°C (-240°F) and
-196°C (320°F) (cryo treatment), although CARBIDE DRILLS
occasionally -40°C (-40°F) to -80°C (-112°F) Type of drill
(cold treatment) are used due to constraints of
Cutting data Indexable Solid Carbide
the sub-zero medium and equipment available. parameters insert carbide tip1)
The first sub-zero treatment should be Cutting
carried out directly after hardening and before speed (vC)
m/min. 90–120 60–80 30–35
any tempering without delay. When maximum f.p.m. 295–395 195–265 98–115
dimensional stability is required further sub- Feed (f)
zero treatments may be necessary between mm/r 0,05–0,252) 0,10–0,253) 0,15–0,254)
i.p.r. 0,002–0,012) 0,004–0,013) 0,006–0,014)
the tempering operations. In this case it is
important to always end with a tempering, as 1)
2)
Drill with replaceable or brazed carbide tip
Feed rate for drill diameter 20–40 mm (0.8”–1.6”)
the last operation. 3)
Feed rate for drill diameter 5–20 mm (0.2”–0.8”)
4)
Feed rate for drill diameter 10–20 mm (0.4”–0.8”)
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UDDEHOLM ELMAX SUPERCLEAN

Milling Grinding
FACE AND SQUARE SHOULDER MILLING A general grinding wheel recommendation is
Milling with carbide given below. More information can be found in
Cutting data parameters Rough milling Fine milling the Uddeholm brochure “Grinding of Tool
Cutting speed (vC) Steel”.
m/min. 80–110 110–140
f.p.m. 265–360 360–460 Soft annealed Hardened
Type of grinding condition condition
Feed (fZ)
mm/tooth 0,2–0,4 0,1–0,2 Face grinding
in/tooth 0,008–0,016 0,004–0,008 straight wheel A 46 HV B 151 R50 B31)
A 46 GV
Depth of cut (ap) Face grinding
mm 2–4 –2 segments A36 GV A 46 GV
in 0,08–0,16 0,08
Cylindrical grinding A 60 KV B 151 R50 B31)
Carbide designation A 60 JV
ISO K20, P20 K15, P10 Internal grinding A 60 JV B 151 R75 B31)
US C2, C6 C2, C7 A 60 IV
Coated* Coated*
carbide carbide Profile grinding A 100 IV B 126 R100 B61)
A 100 JV
* Use a wear resistant Al2O3 coated carbide grade
1)
If possible use CBN wheels for this application

END MILLING
Type of end mill
Carbide
Electrical-discharge
Cutting data
parameters
Solid
carbide
indexable
insert
High speed
steel
machining
Cutting If EDM’ing (“spark-erosion”) is performed in
speed (vC) the hardened and tempered condition, the tool
m/min. 50–60 80–110 5–81)
f.p.m. 165–195 265–360 16–261) should then be given an additional temper at
Feed (fZ) about 20°C (50°F) below the previous temper-
mm/tooth 0,01–0,22)0 0,06–0,22)0 0,01–0,32)0 ing temperature.
in/tooth 0,0003–0,0082) 0,002–0,0082) 0,0003–0,0122)
Carbide
designation
ISO – K15, P10–P20 –
US C2, C7–C6
Coated3)
Property
carbide comparison chart
1)
For coated HSS end mill vc = 14–16 m/min. (46–52 f.p.m.)
2)
Depending on radial depth of cut and cutter diameter
3) Uddeholm Wear Corrosion Dimensional
Use a wear resistant Al2O3 coated carbide grade
steel grade resistance resistance stability

ELMAX
SUPERCLEAN
RIGOR
STAVAX ESR

Further information
Please contact your local Uddeholm office
for further information on the selection, heat
treatment, application and availability of
Uddeholm tool steel.

Different parts produced in tools made from

Uddeholm Elmax SuperClean.

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Network of excellence
Uddeholm is present on every continent. This ensures you
high-quality Swedish tool steel and local support wherever you
are. We secure our position as the world’s leading supplier of
tooling materials.

www.uddeholm.com
 UDDEHOLM 1507 / R1601
Uddeholmis the world’s leading supplier of tooling materials. This
is a position we have reached by improving our customers’ everyday
business. Long tradition combined with research and product develop-
ment equips Uddeholm to solve any tooling problem that may arise.
It is a challenging process, but the goal is clear – to be your number one
partner and tool steel provider.

Our presence on every continent guarantees you the same high quality
wherever you are. We secure our position as the world’s leading
supplier of tooling materials. We act worldwide. For us it is all a matter
of trust – in long-term partnerships as well as in developing new prod-
ucts.

For more information, please visit www.uddeholm.com