Packaging Industry

BÖHLER K110 is a 12% ledeburitic chromium steel and corresponds to material number 1.2379 (X153CrMoV12, D2). This tool steel combines the advantages of conventional 12% ledeburitic chromium steels with those of advanced tool steels. In the group of 12% ledeburitic chromium steels, BÖHLER K110 offers the best combination of wear resistance, compressive strength and toughness, for which reason it is used in virtually all cold work applications. Its advantageous tempering behavior with a pronounced secondary hardness maximum also enables the use of advanced coatings. This also makes BÖHLER K110 suitable for complex tools requiring a high degree of dimensional stability and shape stability.

BÖHLER K294 MICROCLEAN is a cold work tool steel manufactured using powder metallurgy and belongs to the group of 10% vanadium steels. The high content of vanadium carbides makes this steel highly resistant to wear. The toughness is at the same level as conventional 12% chromium steels. BÖHLER K294 MICROCLEAN is used in situations where wear resistance is the decisive factor and toughness is of secondary importance.

BÖHLER K305 belongs to the group of 5% chromium steels and corresponds to the material 1.2363 (X100CrMoV5, A2). Compared to conventional tool steels with 1% carbon and low chromium content, BÖHLER K305 has significantly better through hardenability and wear resistance. This class of 5% chromium steels is used in situations where grades like 1.2842 are no longer sufficient in terms of wear resistance and through hardenability but materials like 1.2379 are not yet required. BÖHLER K305 is used for punching and cutting tools, die plates and inserts, thread cutting tools and machine knives in the wood, paper and recycling industries.

BÖHLER K340 ISODUR belongs to the group of 8% chromium steels. This tool steel is produced using the electro-slag remelting (ESR) process developed by BÖHLER. This re-melting technology ensures the lowest micro and macro segregation as well as excellent purity and uniformity of the material. Compared to conventional 12% chromium steels, BÖHLER K340 ISODUR offers significantly better toughness, hardening response and higher resistance to adhesive wear. This material is therefore used in virtually all cold work applications in situations where tool steels like 1.2379 are insufficient in terms of adhesive wear resistance and toughness. K340 ISODUR also features better machinability and reduces the risk of stress cracking during electrical discharge machining.

BÖHLER K353 belongs to the group of conventionally produced 8% chromium steels. It is used in situations where chipper steels like 1.2360 are insufficient in terms of wear resistance and tool steels like 1.2379 (D2) do not have sufficient toughness. BÖHLER K353 is especially suitable for industrial knives for the woodworking industry. It is also used for stamping and cutting tools.

BÖHLER K360 ISODUR belongs to the group of 8% chromium steels. This tool steel is produced using the electro-slag remelting (ESR) process developed by BÖHLER. This re-melting technology ensures the lowest micro and macro segregation as well as excellent purity and uniformity of the material. The alloy composition with higher molybdenum and vanadium content makes BÖHLER K360 ISODUR even more wear resistant than BÖHLER K340 ISODUR. Compared to tool steels like 1.2379 (D2), this combination of better toughness and wear resistance offers significant advantages for punching and cutting tools.

BÖHLER K390 MICROCLEAN is a high-alloyed, high-performance cold work tool steel manufactured using powder metallurgy. This material has the highest alloy content in the group of cold work tool steels with high vanadium content. The high alloy content gives this material outstanding wear resistance. At the same time, the powder metallurgical manufacturing process creates a uniform matrix with finely distributed primary carbides. Among other things, this leads to good material toughness. BÖHLER K390 MICROCLEAN is a problem solver for applications requiring extremely high wear resistance and compressive strength.

BÖHLER K460 corresponds to the material 1.2510 (100MnCrW4, O1) and has comparable properties to the popular tool steel 1.2842. Additional alloying with tungsten achieves higher resistance to abrasive wear compared to the tool steel 1.2842. BÖHLER K460 offers the advantage of simple heat treatment with low hardening temperatures and single tempering. However, this characteristic tempering behaviour limits the use of advanced coatings. The material has a good hardening response, but only moderate through hardenability. BÖHLER K460 is used for punching and cutting tools, plastic molds, thread cutting tools and machine knives in the wood, paper and recycling industries.

BÖHLER K490 MICROCLEAN is a high-performance cold work tool steel with a balanced property profile, manufactured using powder metallurgy. This powder metallurgical tool steel offers an outstanding combination of high wear resistance, compressive strength, toughness and very good machinability. Thanks to the resulting flexibility, BÖHLER K490 MICROCLEAN is used in virtually all cold work applications, and in many cases this material is the first choice for newly developed tools. The commonly used hardening temperatures of BÖHLER K490 MICROCLEAN also enable shared heat treatment with popular cold work tool steels (1.2379, D2), making it very economical in terms of heat treatment.

BÖHLER K888 MATRIX – This MATRIX steel offers an excellent combination of high toughness and high compressive strength. MATRIX materials have high toughness, which is a critical factor in many applications. However, the hardness achievable with commonly used MATRIX steels often limits the potential applications. BÖHLER K888 MATRIX breaks through this barrier and offers the best of both worlds of matrix steels and high alloy tool steels. BÖHLER K888 MATRIX is a unique problem solver in situations where high compressive strength and toughness are required. Its advantageous tempering behavior with a pronounced secondary hardness maximum also enables the use of advanced coatings.

BÖHLER K890 MICROCLEAN is a high-performance cold work tool steel manufactured using powder metallurgy. It features good toughness, very high compressive strength and excellent fatigue strength. This favorable combination of properties can avoid chipping damages to tools. BÖHLER K890 MICROCLEAN is not only used in cold work applications, but also in mold making.

BÖHLER M390 MICROCLEAN is a corrosion-resistant, martensitic chromium steel produced by powder metallurgy. Due to its alloy design, this steel has very high wear resistance and good corrosion resistance. In addition, BÖHLER M390 MICROCLEAN is approved for food and beverage contact.

BÖHLER N685 is a corrosion-resistant, martensitic chromium steel with a high carbon content and molybdenum and vanadium additives.

BÖHLER S390 MICROCLEAN – “The decathlete” This grade is our PM steel with many positive usage properties. For twist drills, taps, mills, broaches, or cold-work applications, BÖHLER S390 MICROCLEAN is always a high performer.

BÖHLER S600 – “The high-speed steel” Ideal for mills, twist drills, and taps, broaches, cold-work tools. BÖHLER S600 is the most commonly used high-speed steel and is the starting material for our customers who deal with high-speed steel.

BÖHLER W360 ISOBLOC is a material produced by the electroslag remelting process (ESR), which has been specially adapted for use at high tool hardnesses in the range of 51-57 HRC. Although the steel can be classified as a 5% chromium steel, the increased carbon and molybdenum content coupled with state-of-the-art manufacturing technology ensures that BÖHLER W360 ISOBLOC still shows a very good toughness and an exceptionally good thermal resistance, even at high hardness levels. These properties make the steel the perfect choice for smaller components in the die casting sector (e.g., mold inserts, cores, core pins, ejector pins, etc.). The material also is frequently the preferred choice for closed-die and open-die forging tools due to its high wear resistance. Because of this excellent wear resistance and the high toughness, BÖHLER W360 ISOBLOC is also frequently used for cold work applications and as a molding material for plastic injection molds. The Steel also is available as powder material for metal-3D-printing under the brand name BÖHLER W360 AMPO.

Uddeholm Caldie is a medium alloyed tool steel suitable for short and medium run tooling in applications where a combination of very high chipping resistance and compressive strength is required. The property profile makes Uddeholm Caldie a robust cold work tool steel for heavy duty blanking and forming of AHSS (Advanced high strength steel). Benefits Uddeholm Caldie is very useful for severe cold work applications where there are high demands on both chipping resistance and compressive strength Uddeholm Caldie can easily be surface treated for improved wear resistance Very good dimensional stability Reduced maintenance and downtime costs combined with increased productivity due to the reduced likelihood of premature failures Reduced maintenance and downtime costs combined with increased productivity due to simplified maintenance procedures Good weldability and the availability of welding electrodes with the same chemical composition as Uddeholm Caldie Good flame-, induction- and laser hardenability

Uddeholm Mirrax 40 is a prehardened remelted stainless tool steel, supplied at 40 HRC. Uddeholm Mirrax 40 is produced using the electroslag remelting (ESR) process – an additional step in the steelmaking process that ensures very clean steel. Consequently, Uddeholm Mirrax 40 is capable of being polished to a very high surface finish. In addition, the combination of high hardness with high toughness results in a mould with good resistance to indentations and minimize the risk of unexpected failures, leading to a safer mould and a prolonged tool life. Benefits Lower production costs Fast tool making Excellent surface finish possible Less maintenance work Safe production

Uddeholm Mirrax ESR is a through hardening corrosion resistant steel with very good polishability. Mainly intended for medium to large cross sections. It has a unique combination of toughness, corrosion resistance and through-hardening properties. Benefits Low mould maintenance costs: The surface of cavity impressions retain their original finish over extended running periods Moulds stored or operated in humid conditions require less protection Low production costs: Water cooling channels are less affected by corrosion Heat transfer characteristics, and therefore cooling efficiency, are constant throughout the mould life, ensuring consistent cycle times Safe mould use because of good toughness also in big dimensions

Uddeholm Sleipner is a general purpose steel for cold work tooling. It has a mixed-abrasive wear profile and a good resistance to chipping. Furthermore a high hardness (>60 HRC) can be obtained after high temperature tempering. This means that surface treatments such as nitriding or PVD can be made on a high strength substrate. Also, it means that complicated shapes with hardness levels >60 HRC can be wire EDM’d from blocks with relatively thick cross-sections with a much reduced risk of cracking. Uddeholm Sleipner is recommended for medium run tooling applications where a resistance to mixed or abrasive wear and a good resistance to chipping are required. Benefits Very broad property profile Very good steel for all types of surface treatments Extremely versatile conventional tool steel for medium run cold work tooling Suitable upgrade where added chipping or wear resistance is needed over traditional AISI A2 or AISI D2 In East/South East Asian countries served by ASSAB, Uddeholm Sleipner is sold as ASSAB 88.

Uddeholm Stavax ESR is a premium stainless mould steel for small and medium inserts and cores. Uddeholm Stavax ESR combines corrosion and wear resistance with excellent polishability, good machinability and stability in hardening. Mould maintenance requirement is reduced by assuring that core and cavity surfaces retain their original finish over extended operating periods. When compared with non stainless mould steel, Uddeholm Stavax ESR offers lower production costs by maintaining rust free cooling channels, assuring consistent cooling and cycle time. This classic stainless tool steel is the right choice when rust in production is unacceptable and where requirements for good hygiene are high, as within the medical industry, optical industry and for other high quality transparent parts. Uddeholm Stavax ESR is a part of the Uddeholm Stainless Concept. Benefits Low mould maintenance because of corrosion resistance: Surfaces retain their original finish Less production during storing and operation in humid condition Lower production costs: Since water-cooling channels are unaffected by corrosion Heat transfer characteristics, therefore cooling efficiency is constant throughout the mould life, ensuring consistent cycle times Long life mould Standard specification W.nr 1.2083 / AISI 420 / AFNOR Z40 CV 14 (RSL)

Uddeholm Tyrax ESR combines best in class toughness, corrosion and wear resistance. This grade was developed for molding of high performance plastics often filled with glass fiber reinforcements and additives like flame retardants. This matrix- based microstructure is designed to achieve a high-gloss surface by only a few polishing steps, dramatically reducing the tool lead time and enabling production of top quality plastic parts. Uddeholm Tyrax ESR can achieve a high hardness (up to 58 HRC) and is a suitable upgrade from AISI 420 ESR, AISI S7 and AISI 440C. Benefits good dimensional stability at heat treatment and in service even microstructure and small grain size good hardenability Uddeholm Tyrax is also available for Additive Manufacturing, powder for processing Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) and Laser Metal Deposition (LMD).

Uddeholm Unimax is a high hardness hot work tool steel which provides great wear resistance even over extended time at elevated temperatures. It performs very well in precision forging and hot stamping. Benefits Improved durability and wear resistance in moulding processes that wear hard on the mould like long run production, moulding of reinforced plastics and compression moulding Longer tool life and a smoother production run with fewer disturbances for maintenance due to the high ductility Problem solver in severe cold work applications where high chipping resistance is required The high hardness and toughness together with the good dimension stability makes Unimax suitable as a substrate steel for surface coating when needed The very good hardenability and the unique properties profile of Unimax make it especially suitable for larger moulds. Unimax is therefore supplied in larger dimensions

Uddeholm Vanadis 4 Extra SuperClean is the most versatile PM tool steel on the market today, combining high wear resistance with very good ductility and resistance to chipping of edges. Excellent machinability in both soft and hard condition ensures advantages in both tool making and tool maintenance. Uddeholm Vanadis 4 Extra SuperClean is also available as powder for processing by Electron Beam Melting (EBM) technology. This powder has the same chemical composition as the PM material. Benefits Reliable production with low risk of edge chipping Best combination of high hardness, wear resistance and chipping resistance High compressive strength Best stock standard program of all PM grades Standard specification AISI D2 / AFNOR de type Z136 CDV 5.4

Uddeholm Vanadis 8 SuperClean sets a new standard for Powder Metallurgical Tool Steel. The technological advancements makes this cold work tool steel superior to its predecessors. The unprecedented combination of extremely high wear and chipping resistance paired with improved machining properties raises production rates and reduces costs. Benefits Lower price per produced part Longer tool life Predictable Production Standard specification AISI D2 / AFNOR de type Z230VCD8.5.4