Advanced low-friction tool steel for metal processing: properties and industrial experiences

摘要

Owing to an increased competitive situation in many metalworking segments, a more intense focus is directed on lead time reduction and general cost savings. An adequate tooling performance in relation to the production length is of vital importance here. Cold-work tool steels can be designed to resist various types of failure modes in metalworking applications. An advanced tool steel with low-friction properties designed to counteract galling has proven to be a complement or even an alternative to surface-coated tool steels. The properties are fundamentally different to tool steel grades used today owing to a specific hard phase introduced in the martensitic matrix. Application tests from various metalworking applications such as deep drawing, cutting, cold extrusion and powder pressing have shown significant performance increases for the new low-friction tool steel. This paper describes the new alloy and results from different application tests.