Composition & metallurgy

Carbon plus alloying elements such as chromium, molybdenum, tungsten, vanadium, cobalt and manganese. Composition is tailored to cold-work, hot-work, shock or mold service.

Common grades

AISI families include W water-hardening, O oil-hardening, A air-hardening, D high-carbon high-chromium, H hot-work, S shock-resisting, P mold steels and M/T high-speed families.

Applications

Dies, punches, molds, shear blades, extrusion tooling, forging dies, plastic molds, gauges and wear inserts.

Engineering characteristics

Heat treatment, carbide distribution, cleanliness and retained austenite control determine performance. Toughness-versus-wear balance is often more important than maximum hardness.

Known manufacturers

Austria/Germany — Böhler/voestalpine; Sweden — Uddeholm; Japan — Daido Steel, Proterial; France — Aubert & Duval; United States — Carpenter Technology and specialty tool-steel distributors/producers; China — multiple specialty tool-steel mills.

Specification checks

Confirm the current standard revision, exact product form, heat-treatment condition, mechanical properties, impact requirements where applicable, corrosion environment, welding procedure, dimensions, tolerances, NDT and mill test certification. Similar designations across standards are not automatically equivalent.

Element Folio engineering reference. Manufacturer examples are indicative and product availability changes by plant, region and year.