A Business Case for Precision Ground Flat Tool Steel

We all know the old saying, ‘time is money,’ but nobody knows it better than a production job shop or OEM manufacturer.  It’s all about time – cycle time, down time, turn-around time, just-in-time and the list goes on.  Time is not only an economic driver for all shops, it is also a major factor […]

By |August 10th, 2017|Company Profile, Tool Steel|Comments Off on A Business Case for Precision Ground Flat Tool Steel

Stamping and Forming Applications

Are you getting the most out of your punches and dies, or just carrying on?

Complacency is one of the biggest contributors to low productivity on the shop floor. Every time a machine is taken offline for a punch or die change due to wear or breakage, production comes to a grinding halt. Too often shops […]

By |July 10th, 2017|heat treating, Tool Steel|Comments Off on Stamping and Forming Applications

We Distribute Tool Steel from New Hampshire, North Carolina and California

Here’s a closer look at Hudson Tool Steel, California

I wanted to give you a chance to take a look at our California staff. Our office in California has been in place since 2002, now in our fifth facility. A little over a year ago we moved from our Orange, CA location to our current location […]

By |May 13th, 2017|Company Profile, Tool Steel|Comments Off on We Distribute Tool Steel from New Hampshire, North Carolina and California

Planning on Attending Eastec?

Join us at the Hudson Tool Steel booth, #5862, Tuesday, May 16th through Thursday, May 18th.

Our booth will be staffed with many years of tool steel expertise and we will be highlighting our online store and special discounts. Come by and see how easy it is to place orders using our Website. We’ll load […]

By |May 13th, 2017|Company Profile, Tool Steel|Comments Off on Planning on Attending Eastec?

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. […]

By |November 1st, 2016|Tool Steel|Comments Off on Elements in Tool Steel

EDM or Electrical Discharge Machining

EDM or Electrical Discharge Machining is the burning/melting of the steel to form a tool or part. Proper heat treat of the steel is an ABSOLUTE MUST in preparing for the EDM process; 3 tempers minimum is required. When sinker EDM was introduced, the part/tool was made 1st and then heat treated after the EDM […]

By |October 4th, 2016|Tool Steel|Comments Off on EDM or Electrical Discharge Machining

What grade of steel do I need to use?

A customer is building a tool/part and wants to know what grade of steel do I need to use? Here are some good starting questions to ask. This list doesn’t cover everything, but it will help to get the conversation started and help narrow down your options more quickly:

What performance do I want […]

By |September 16th, 2016|Tool Steel|Comments Off on What grade of steel do I need to use?

Heat Treating of Tool Steels – Hardness

Tools Steels – Hardness
The next topic to discuss is rockwell hardness. Hardness is the resistance of metal to plastic deformation usually by indentation. Indentation is usually measured by various hardness tests, such as brinell, rockwell, knoop and vickers. The most common tests are brinell & rockwell scales.

The term hardness may also refer to resistance to […]

By |March 17th, 2016|heat treating, Tool Steel|Comments Off on Heat Treating of Tool Steels – Hardness

Heat Treating of Tool Steels – Tempering

Tempering Tool Steel
The 7th process to discuss is tempering.  Tempering is key in developing the final properties of the steel and, in the sequence of the heat treat cycle, is extremely important to perform immediately after quenching.

Tempering is reheating hardened steel to convert untempered martensite produced by the proper quenching cycle, to tempered martensite & […]

By |March 10th, 2016|heat treating, Tool Steel|Comments Off on Heat Treating of Tool Steels – Tempering

Heat Treating of Tool Steels – Quenching

Quenching
The 3rd term to be discussed is quenching and the desired outcome from this process.

The quenching operation is extremely important in setting up the proper microstructure of the steel.  There are many mediums that can be used to quench steel such as oil, air, salt and steam to name a few.

The purpose of quenching is […]

By |December 23rd, 2015|heat treating|Comments Off on Heat Treating of Tool Steels – Quenching