California: 800-996-0411 New Hampshire: 866-557-2874 North Carolina: 800-991-0306 Tennessee: 888-848-0037 South Carolina: 833-235-1679 Michigan: 833-235-1678 Tool Steel & High Speed Steel For Manufacturers Home About Us Products Order Online Technical Data Contact Previous Next Elements in Tool Steel In this post, we would like to discuss the elements that make up tool & high speed steels. What do these elements do to provide the mechanical and physical properties we need for our applications? The most common elements are the following: CARBON (C): this is the most basic alloying element which enables steel to harden. Carbon combines with the other elements to form hard, wear-resistant carbides. MANGANESE (Mn): controls hardenability in alloy cold work steels. SILICON (Si): improves toughness in the shock resisting steels group. Added to hot work steels to raise critical points and reduce scaling tendencies. Added to O-6 & A-10 to form graphite. CHROMIUM (Cr): controls hardenability and is added for abrasion resistance and hot hardness. TUNGSTEN (W): provides red hardness and hard wear resistant carbides that are harder than chrome and iron carbides. Also used to improve hardenability in tool & high speed steels. Combines very well with molybdenum and vanadium. MOLYBDENUM (Mo): molybdenum has double the potency of tungsten to provide red hardness resistance. Added to steels to improve hardenability. VANADIUM (V): provides red hardness resistance. Vanadium carbides are harder than and more abrasion resistant than other carbides. Contributes to grain refinement when added in small quantities. Combines very well with other carbides. COBALT (Co): greatly improves red hardness. Cobalt does not combine with other carbides as it does not form carbides and remains in solid solution. At Hudson, our goal is to “Make Tool Steel Easy”. We hope the discussion in future posts will help you gain a better understanding of materials and processing through asking the right questions. Have a question for us? Call us at 800-996-0411 or send an inquiry through our “Have a Question?” form. We look forward to helping you with any of your tool steel questions. By Paul|November 1st, 2016|Tool Steel|Comments Off on Elements in Tool Steel Share This Story, Choose Your Platform! About the Author: Paul Have A Question? Name First Last Company Name Email* Phone Ask Us a Question* Recent Posts A Business Case for Precision Ground Flat Tool Steel Stamping and Forming Applications We Distribute Tool Steel from New Hampshire, North Carolina and California Planning on Attending Eastec? Elements in Tool Steel Archives August 2017 July 2017 May 2017 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 March 2016 December 2015 November 2015 July 2015 February 2015 Categories Company Profile heat treating Tool Steel © 2018 Hudson Tool Steel Home Order Online Technical Data About Us Products Contact Stay Connected SUBSCRIBE California 800-996-0411 1967 North Main St Orange, CA 92865 New Hampshire 866-557-2874 14 Industrial Park Dr Dover, NH 03820 North Carolina 800-991-0306 330 E Hebron Street, Unit K Charlotte, NC 28273 Tennessee 888-848-0037 Sale Office