Cold Work Die Steels

Cold work tool steel is a type of steel used in the manufacture of parts and dies, typically for dies that are used at lower temperatures. Cold work tool steel needs to have excellent toughness and wear resistance so that it will not deform or crack during use.
Cold work die steel usually needs to have high hardness, which can be increased by quenching and tempering. However, unlike hot work tool steels, the machining of cold work tool steels requires less heat treatment. They can be quenched at lower temperatures and do not require preheating. However, the machining process of cold work die steel requires more pressure and power.
The hardness of cold work die steel is usually as high as 60-64 HRC, which can be used to manufacture high precision molds and parts. Like hot work die steel, the chemical composition and heat treatment process of cold work die steel have an important influence on its properties.

Cold work die steel is a special steel that is widely used in the manufacture of metal cold work dies. It has excellent wear resistance, high hardness, good fatigue resistance and excellent corrosion resistance, and can withstand greater pressure and friction in cold working processes. Cold work die steel is one of the indispensable important materials in modern industrial production.

Characteristics of cold work die steel
High hardness and wear resistance: Cold work die steel has high hardness, which can withstand greater pressure and friction during cold work without being easily deformed or damaged. Its material and hardness determine its excellent wear resistance. It can be used for a long time without failure.
Excellent anti-fatigue performance: Cold-work die steel can withstand large stress during long-term cold-working process, and it is not easy to break or produce strong lines, and has good anti-fatigue performance. This makes cold work die steel very flexible for high-frequency cold work process and improves production efficiency.
Good corrosion resistance: cold work die steel is often exposed to various chemical substances and solutions during cold work, so it has good corrosion resistance. This feature ensures that the cold work die steel has a long service life and can still maintain stable performance in harsh working environments. Workability and machinability: Cold work die steel can change its hardness and strength through heat treatment to meet different process requirements. At the same time, cold work die steel can be used for cutting, iron cutting and processing, etc. Precision molds.

Application field of cold work die steel
Automobile industry: Cold work die steel is widely used in the automobile industry, such as cold stamping dies, cold drawing dies, cutting dies, etc. for auto parts. They play an important role in precise machining and forming in automobile manufacturing,
Electronic equipment industry: Cold work die steel is also widely used in the electronic equipment industry, such as molds for mobile phone cases, conductive molds, and the manufacture of microelectronic parts. The high hardness and wear resistance of cold work die steel ensure the fine processing quality of electronic equipment.
Medical device field: The application of cold work die steel in the medical device field is also very important. For example, stamping dies, forming dies, and precision machining dies for medical devices all need to use cold-work die steel to ensure product accuracy and quality

Selection method of cold work die steel
When selecting cold work die steel, it is necessary to consider the processing method, stress state, material properties of the forming object, production quantity, plate thickness, etc. In addition, the size and dimensional accuracy of the die are also factors that cannot be ignored.
Low-alloy tool steel (SKS) is used for small load or small batch production, cold work die steel (SKD) is used for heavy load or mass production, and high-speed tool steel and powder high-speed tool steel are used for larger load.
Suitable for wear-resistant occasions are cold work die steel, high-speed tool steel and high-alloy high-speed tool steel, suitable for impact-resistant occasions are 8Cr-2Mo series die steel and matrix high-speed tool steel.

Different countries may have different standards for cold-work die steel round bars. The following are the standard representatives of some common countries:

Chinese standard (GB):
GB/T 34564.1-2017 "Cold Work Die Steel Part 1: High Toughness and High Wear Resistance Steel" GB/T 34564.2-2017 "Cold Work Die Steel Part 2: Flame Hardened Steel"
This part specifies the order content, dimensions, shape, weight, technical requirements, test methods, inspection rules, packaging, marks and quality certificates of high toughness and high wear resistance cold work die steel.

British Standard (BS):
BS ISO 4957:2018 Tool steels

American Standard (ASTM):
ASTM A681 Standard Specification for Tool Steels Alloy

Japanese Standard (JIS):
JIS G4404 Alloy Tool Steels
These standards cover different types of cold work die steels, and their chemical composition, mechanical properties, heat treatment, etc. will have detailed regulations.