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CNC Machining:What is Tool Steel?

65 | Published by VMT at Sep 27 2021

Regarding the material of CNC machining tool steel, they are steel used for CNC machining manufacturing of cutting tools, measuring tools, molds and wear-resistant tools. Which one would you choose for different CNC machining tool steels? This article will describe the relevant knowledge of CNC machining tool steel.

What is CNC machining tool steel?

CNC machining tool steel is widely used for cutting, pressing, extruding and stamping metals and other materials. Generally have the characteristics of hardness, wear resistance and deformation resistance. They are composed of special carbon steel and alloy steel to strain cutting work under high temperature conditions.

CNC Machining Tool Steel

Classification of CNC machining tool steel

There are six main types of working steel: seismic, high speed, water hardening, cold work, hot work and special purpose. The specific CNC machining tool steel codes can be viewed in the CNC machining tool steel list below.

Letter	Type	Subcategory
A	Cold work CNC machining tool steel	Air hardening
D	Cold work CNC machining tool steel	HCHC
F	Special purpose	Carbon/Tungsten based
L	Special purpose	Low alloy
M	High speed	Molybdenum based
O	Cold work CNC machining tool steel	Oil hardening
S	Shock-resistant
T	High speed	Tungsten based
V	Cold work CNC machining tool steel	water hardening
H1-H19	Hot work	Chromium based
H20-H39	Hot work	Tungsten based
H40-H59	Hot work	Molybdenum based

Due to the wide variety of types, we use the following four categories to describe CNC machining tool steel

High-speed CNC machining tool steel: It is used in the working environment with the highest temperature of 550℃. It has a certain degree of hardness and is widely used in high-speed cutting of metals. They can be divided into two major element categories: tungsten high-speed steel (such as T1) and molybdenum high-speed steel (such as M2).

Cold work CNC machining tool steel: Cold work CNC machining tool steel is used to cold work metals below the recrystallization temperature and has good hardness and wear resistance.

Hot work CNC machining tool steel: Hot work CNC machining tool steel is mainly used for hot processing, such as drawing, forming, extrusion, etc. They have good strength, toughness, hardness and wear resistance in high temperature environments.

Special-purpose steel: This type of CNC machining tool steel is used for special purposes such as high-quality surface finish.
For example: L type (low alloy type) and F type (carbon tungsten type)

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