Key Questions to Ask When Ordering High-Performance Alloy Tool Steel

03 Mar.,2025

 

FAQ of Alloy Steel & Tool Steel - Alloy Plate - 42CrMo4 Plate

Today one Europe customer asked one question: What is the Difference Between 20MnCr5 and 20MnCr5H ? Actually there are some other customers who have the similar questions, such as and H, 16MnCr5 and 16MnCr5H.

You can find more information on our web, so please take a look.

The answers are also similar. With suffix H, it means the hardenability is different. 

In the standard EN :,

5.2  f) requirement for restricted hardenability scatter bands for alloy steels (+HH, +HL-grades, see 7.1.2 and
Table 6);

7.1.2 Unless otherwise agreed for alloy steels the hardenability requirements given in Table 5 apply. If
agreed at the time of enquiry and order alloy steels with restricted hardenability scatter bands given in Table 6
shall be supplied.

There is suffix of H, even with double H suffix actually. So, 20MnCr5H mean the alloy steel hardenability is ok for the desired purpose.

You can check the Table 5 and Table 6. For more details, you please check the EN standard.

How Hard is Steel?

If you&#;ve ever found yourself thinking the question, &#;How hard is steel?&#;, you can find the answer here.

What is Steel?

What exactly is steel? AISI grade steel material, often referred to as chromoly steel, is a low alloy steel containing chromium and molybdenum as its primary alloying elements. These elements give it distinct characteristics that make it stand out in the vast world of metals.

The Hardness Factor

Now, onto the main question. The hardness of AISI steel can vary based on how it&#;s processed. But let&#;s break it down:

  • Annealed Condition: In its annealed state, grade material typically has a hardness of around 197 Brinell Hardness Number (BHN). This state is softer and more ductile, making it easier to work with.
  • Heat Treated: When material is done by heat treatment, its hardness can shoot up significantly. Depending on the specific treatment, it can reach hardness levels of up to 28-32 Rockwell C (HRC) for light sections like PH steel plate hardness and 22-27 HRC for heavier sections.
  • Quenched and Tempered: In its quenched and tempered state, SAE alloy steel can achieve a hardness of 54-59 HRC. This makes it incredibly strong and resistant to wear.

Why Does Hardness Matter?

You might be wondering, &#;Why all this fuss about hardness?&#; Well, the hardness of a steel determines its wear resistance and its ability to retain its shape under stress. Imagine using a soft steel for a high-stress component &#; it wouldn&#;t last long, would it? Steel that&#;s too hard can become brittle. So, for How Hard is Steel?, it&#;s more important to find the right balance.

Applications of AISI Material

Given its versatile hardness range, AISI finds its way into various applications:

  • Gears and Bolts: Thanks to its strength and toughness.
  • Machine Parts: Where wear resistance and durability are paramount.
  • Axles and Shafts: Benefiting from its strength-to-weight ratio.

In Conclusion

So, how hard is steel? The answer: it depends on its treatment. But one thing&#;s for sure, its versatility in hardness makes it a go-to choice for many industrial applications. If you have more questions or need further information about steel or any other steel types, don&#;t hesitate to drop me an at or reach out on at +. We at Otai Special Steel are always here to help!

What Does T Steel Plate Mean ? The &#;T&#; in T Steel Plate usually stands for &#;tempered&#;. It means that the steel has been done by heat treatment process called quenching and tempering (Q+T or prehard).

Here&#;s a brief explanation about this question:

AISI steel is an widely used alloy steel that contains chromium, molybdenum, and manganese etc. After the steel is initially rolled, we need to do quenching and termpering to achieve higher properties for different applications. This process is to heat the steel to a high temperature and then cooling it rapidly by sink steel plate or round bar in a liquid, often oil or water.

This rapid cooling process makes the steel material very hard, but it also makes it brittle. To release this brittleness, the steel is then tempered. Tempering process is to reheat the quenched AISI steel to a lower temperature to allow some of the hardness to be exchanged for increased toughness or durability.

So, when you see T Steel Plate, it means that you&#;re looking at a steel plate made of alloy steel that has been quenched and tempered to achieve a better balance of hardness and toughness. This kind of steel is often used in applications where strength and durability are paramount.

We Otai can supply you both plate T and plate A or as rolled. Please contact us for any further questions.

Q: How Thick Can Plate Be?

A: Plate can come in different thicknesses. It can be as thin as 1mm (about the thickness of a pencil) or as thick as 300mm (like a big book). We keep plate stock for most of those thickness with immediate shipment.

Q: Why Does the Thickness Matter?

A: The thickness of the Plate matters because different applications need different thicknesses. Some applications need a thicker plate to make things stronger, while other applications might need a thinner plate.

Q: Can I Get a Custom Thickness?

A: Yes, you can get Plate in the thickness that fits your needs. Just let us know what you need, and we can make the official offer for you.

Q: Is Thicker Always Better?

A: Not always. Thicker plates are often stronger but might be too heavy for some uses. It depends on what you need the plate for. The right thickness is the one that fits your project.

Q: How Can I Find Out the Right Thickness for My Project?

A: If you&#;re not sure what thickness you need, you can talk to us. We have lots of experience with Plate and can help you pick the right thickness for your project and deliver to you very soon.

What is Steel Plate?  

steel plate is a type of strong metal plate made with elements like chromium, molybdenum, and manganese. It&#;s famous for being very tough and able to handle a lot of wear and tear without breaking or twisting.

1. Understanding :

Grade is one kind of alloy steel in ASTM standard. Steel is a specific type of steel that contains elements like chromium and molybdenum. These elements give steel special properties that make it strong and versatile.

2. Different Conditions of Steel Plate:

plates can come in different &#;conditions.&#; There are three condition of plates available in Otai:

With competitive price and timely delivery, Youngson sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.

  • Hot Rolled: It&#;s the original condition after manufacturing as
  • Annealed: Annealed alloy steel plate is softened by heating and cooling. Imagine heating chocolate, then letting it cool slowly. This makes the steel easier to shape and work with.
  • Q&T (Quenched and Tempered): steel in QT condition has been hardened by heating and cooling quickly, followed by reheating. Think of it as making the steel extra tough, like turning soft clay into a hard, baked clay pot.

3. What Can You Do with Steel Plates?

You can do a lot with plate! It&#;s used to make tools, machinery, vehicle parts, and even some buildings. Because it&#;s strong and can be shaped in different ways, it&#;s like a handy helper for many projects.

4. Why Choose Steel Plate?

Steel plate is popular because it&#;s strong, flexible, and can be adapted to many needs. We also keep extensive plate stock and it delivers quickly.

What does Quenching mean?

Quenching is a stage of material processing through which a metal is quickly brought down to room temperature from a high temperature by rapid cooling. Quench hardening is a mechanical process in which steel and cast-iron alloys are strengthened and hardened. Quenching and tempering provides steel with high strength and ductility.

During quenching, the following media are used to rapidly cool material:

  • Air/argon/nitrogen
  • Liquid polymers
  • Oil
  • Water

The slower the quench rate, the longer thermodynamic forces have to alter the microstructure, which is in some cases desirable, hence the use of different media. Sometimes multiple media are used. For example, metal may be air cooled and then dipped in a water bath to complete the quenching process.
Quenching can lead to warping/cracking and other issues with the material, even when it is done properly. Using water as a quench media, for instance, can cause the material to warp as it cools. It is crucial to control the environment in which the quenching is done to minimize the risk of damage to the material. When done properly, the material is harder and more durable, making it suitable for a wide range of uses. Extremely rapid cooling can prevent the formation of a crystal structure, resulting in amorphous metal or &#;metallic glass.&#;

Four types of furnaces are commonly used in quench hardening:

  • Salt bath furnace
  • Continuous furnace
  • Box furnace
  • Vacuum furnace

The type of furnace used depends on what other processes or types of quench hardening are being done on the different materials.

The quenchant is determined by the steel

In tool steels we have a letter prefix .A-2 is an Air hardening steel, O-1 is an Oil hardening steel and W-1 is a Water hardening steel !! A quenchant for a steel should be fast enough to fully harden the steel but no faster. A faster quench will produce unnecessary stresses in the steel and may lead to things like quench cracks.You can edge quench in oil, this is common for knives.Or you can fully quench in oil. You can edge quench in water which is usually done with clay or you can fully quench in water. It all depends on the steel and what you want to achieve.

The more complex the alloy the more care needs to be taken with the specific quenchant. Simple steels are more foregiveing and different quenchants can be used. A certain amount of expermentation may be required to attain the best mixture of hard, tough, edge retention etc IMHO. The 10XX series is about as simple as you can get and can be quenched in oil or water as needed for the specif blade configuration.

Generally speaking, steel is an alloy of iron that has enhanced chemical and physical properties. Steel has been used since ancient times but it was produced inefficiently and expensively until the mid of 19th Century, when the Bessemer process was invented. Since then, steel has been mass produced in many forms, including metal foil, steel plate and steel sheet.

Steel Sheet vs Steel Plate vs Steel Foil

  • Metal Foil

Metal foil is a very thin sheet of metal that has been hammered or rolled flat. Metal foils can be made from any type of metal, although the most commonly found foils are aluminum foil and gold foil. Aluminum foil typically has a thickness of .03mm, although any sheet of metal with a thickness of less than 0.2mm is considered a foil.

  • Steel Sheet

Steel Sheet is any metal that is thicker than a foil and thinner than 6mm, the thickness of a metal plate. Steel Sheet is often used for building structures that do not require durability. It is also often corrugated or diamonded for additional strength without increasing weight. Corrugation is the creasing of the metal at regular intervals to form ridges, and diamonding is the addition of diamond ridges that add structure to the metal.

  • Steel Plate

Once the steel is more than 6mm thick it is known as steel plate. Steel Plate is used in applications where durability is more important than saving weight. It is used in automobiles where durability is required to pass crash testing.

The Difference

The only difference between sheet and plate steel is the gauge (thickness) of the metal. They both have very different uses, depending on the varying durability and weight requirements for different projects.

Source: www.ehow.com

Case hardening steel or surface hardening steel is the steel process of hardening the surface of a metal object while allowing the metal deeper underneath to remain soft, thus forming a thin layer of harder metal (called the &#;case&#;) at the surface. For iron or steel with low carbon content, which has poor to no hardenability of its own, the steel case hardening process involves infusing additional carbon into the case. Steel Case-hardening is usually done after the part has been formed into its final shape, but can also be done to increase the hardening element content of bars to be used in a pattern welding or similar process. The term face hardening is also used to describe this technique, when discussing modern armour.

Case hardening steel is done through a simple method of hardening steel. It is less complex than hardening and tempering. This techniques is used for steels with a low carbon content. Carbon is added to the outer surface of the steel, to a depth of approximately 0.03mm. One advantage of this method of hardening steel is that the inner core is left untouched and so still processes properties such as flexibility and is still relatively soft.

STAGE ONE:
The case hardening steel is heated to red heat. It may only be necessary to harden one part of the steel and so heat can be concentrated in this area.

STAGE TWO:
The case harden steel material is removed from the brazing hearth with blacksmiths tongs and plunged into case hardening compound and allowed to cool a little. The case hardening compound is high in carbon.

STAGE THREE:
The case harden steel material is heated again to a red colour, removed from the brazing hearth and plunged into cold, clean water.

Because hardened metal is usually more brittle than softer metal, through-hardening (that is, hardening the metal uniformly throughout the piece) is not always a suitable choice for uses where the metal part is subject to certain kinds of stress. In such circumstances, case-hardening can provide a part that will not fracture (because of the soft core that can absorb stresses without cracking) but also provides adequate wear resistance on the surface.

Bright steel is usually a carbon steel alloy which has had the surface condition improved by drawing, peeling or grinding over the hot rolled finish supplied by the steel mill.

Bright steel is essentially black steel material that has had further processing. The bright steel is processed further in cold reduction mills, where the material is cooled (at room temperature) followed by annealing and/or tempers rolling. This process will make steel with closer dimensional tolerances and a wider range of surface finishes. The term bright drawn is mistakenly used on all products, when actually the product name refers to the rolling of flat rolled sheet and coil products.

When referring to bright steels bar products, the term used is &#;cold finishing&#;, which usually consists of cold drawing and/or turning, grinding and polishing. This process results in higher yield points and has four main advantages

  • Cold drawing increases the yield and tensile strengths, often eliminating further costly thermal treatments.
  • Turning gets rid of surface imperfections for bright steels material.
  • Grinding narrows the original size tolerance range.
  • Polishing improves surface finish.
  • All cold products provide a superior surface finish, and are superior in tolerance, concentricity, and straightness when compared to black steel.

Cold finished bright steel bars are typically harder to work with than black steel due to the increased carbon content. However, this cannot be said about bright drawn sheet and black steel sheet. With these two products, the bright drawn product has low carbon content and it is typically annealed, making it softer than black steel sheet.

Uses: Any project where tolerances, surface condition, concentricity, and straightness are the major factors.

1. High Speed Steel (HSS or HS) is a subset of tool steels, commonly used in tool bits and cutting tools.

HSS steel is often used in power-saw blades and drill bits. It is superior to the older high-carbon steel tools used extensively through the s in that it can withstand higher temperatures without losing its temper (hardness). This property allows High Speed Steel to cut faster than high carbon steel, hence the name high-speed steel. At room temperature, in their generally recommended heat treatment, High speed steel grades generally display high hardness (above HRC60) and abrasion resistance (generally linked to tungsten and vanadium content often used in HSS) compared with common carbon and tool steels.

A sample of alloying compositions of common high speed steel

Grade C Cr Mo W V Co Mn Si T1 0.65&#;0.80 4 &#; 18 1 &#; 0.1&#;0.4 0.2&#;0.4 M2 0.95 4 5 6 2 &#; &#; &#; M7 1 4 8.75 1.75 2 &#; &#; &#; M36 0.94 4 5 6 2 8 &#; &#; M42 1.1 3.75 9.5 1.5 1.15 8 &#; &#;

2. The second meaning is HSS-hollow structural section, which is a type of metal profile with a hollow tubular cross section. The term is used predominantly in USA, or other countries which follow US construction or engineering terminology.

HSS members can be circular, square, or rectangular sections, although other shapes are available, such as elliptical. Hollow structural section is only composed of structural steel per code.

HSS is sometimes mistakenly referenced as hollow structural steel. Rectangular and square HSS are also commonly called tube steel or structural tubing. Circular hollow structural section are sometimes mistakenly called steel pipe though true steel pipe is actually dimensioned and classed differently from HSS. (hollow section dimensions are based on exterior dimensions of the profile, while pipes are essentially dimensioned based on interior diameters, as needed to calculate areas for flow of liquids.) The corners of HSS are heavily rounded, having a radius which is approximately twice the wall thickness. The wall thickness is uniform around the section.

What To Consider When Choosing A Steel Alloy

From kitchen appliances to oil refineries, alloyed steels have a wide variety of applications in modern society. Metals like HY 80 and HY 100 are useful in many different industries, but they are not all created equal. Before you choose a steel material for your specific need, consider what qualities you are looking for. The following are just some of the possible characteristics that you should keep in mind.

  • Corrosion Resistance: For marine equipment or any other tools that come in contact with water, corrosion resistance is key. If you are selecting steel for this purpose, make sure it is fabricated separately from more corrosion-prone materials. Stainless steel 304, for example, is the most common grade of stainless steel and could be compromised if mixed with other metals.
  • Heat And Pressure Resistance: This quality is especially important for those in the energy industry. Consider the high temperatures that metal will need to withstand while processing oil and gas. For industries like this, it&#;s best to find a highly heat resistant steel composition.
  • Weldability: Depending on the other elements combined with the steel alloy, certain materials will weld better than others. Be wary of alloys containing carbon, for example, as these are more prone to cracking during the welding process. Welding the HY steels, such as HY 80, is one of the best options to use in welding processes.
  • Impact Resistance: If you are selecting materials for any military, marine, and transportation industry applications, then it is especially important to prioritize impact resistance in your search for the perfect steel alloy. You will want to find a steel alloy that will not dent easily during a collision. Strength properties may vary in different temperatures, so be sure to cross-check temperature and impact resistance specifications.

When selecting a steel alloy, cross-referencing your priorities is key. Will weldability be compromised in colder temperatures? Are certain elements more prone to cracking when placed under pressure? If you have any questions like this, be sure to ask a metal alloy manufacturer before making a purchase, and consider how a custom alloy could serve you better.

Wieland Diversified is an industry leader in stock and custom alloys. Contact us today to learn about how we can help you create your alloyed and stainless steel products.

For more High-Performance Alloy Tool Steelinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.