HISTORY OF TOOL STEEL
TOOL STEEL HISTORY DATES BACK MORE THAN 1,000 YEARS, BEGINNING IN CHINA, DAMASCUS, AND JAPAN WITH THE FORGING OF SWORDS UTILIZING LAYERS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF STEELS, COMMONLY KNOWN TODAY AS “DAMASCUS”. MODERN TOOL STEEL DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTION WAS AN OUTCROPPING OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY, PRINCIPALLY IN WESTERN EUROPE AND AMERICA.
DEFINITION OF TOOL STEEL
TOOL STEELS ARE IRON BASED MATERIALS TO WHICH VARIOUS ALLOYING ELEMENTS (CARBON, SILICON, CHROME, VANADIUM, ETC.) HAVE BEEN ADDED TO PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING PROPERTIES:
- WEAR RESISTANCE
- COMPRESSION STRENGTH-(HARDNESS + HARDENABILITY)
- TOUGHNESS-(SHOCK RESISTANCE)
- MACHINABILITY
- GRINDABILITY
- STABILITY
THE ABOVE SIX POINTS SHOULD ALWAYS BE CONSIDERED BEFORE SELECTING A PARTICULAR TOOL STEEL GRADE.
TOOL STEEL APPLICATIONS
TOOL STEELS ARE USED IN TENS OF THOUSANDS (PROBABLY MORE) OF APPLICATIONS, PRIMARILY IN THE FORMING & MACHINING OF OTHER MATERIALS. THESE MATERIALS INCLUDE STEEL, ALUMINUM, HIGH TEMPERATURE METALS, PLASTICS, GLASS, RUBBER, WOOD, STONE, AND JUST ABOUT ANY OTHER TYPE OF MATERIAL YOU CAN THINK OF.
CONCLUSION
KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER/BLOG DISCUSSING SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF TOOL STEELS. THESE WILL INCLUDE: TYPES OF TOOL STEELS; HEAT TREATMENT; EDM PROCESSING; HOT WORK, COLD WORK, HIGH SPEED, AND MOLD STEELS; CRYOGENICS; TEMPERING, AND MANY MORE. IN THE MEANTIME, CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW AND ASK US QUESTIONS. OUR METALLURGIST, CARTER SHEALY, WILL BE GLAD TO WORK WITH YOU ON ANY APPLICATION QUESTION YOU HAVE. OUR HEAT TREAT SPECIALIST, JON DEAN, WILL WALK YOU THROUGH DIFFERENT HEAT TREAT POSSIBILITIES.
