Cold Forming / Coining

BÖHLER K100 is a 12% ledeburitic chromium steel and corresponds to material number 1.2080 (X210Cr12). This commonly used tool steel is highly resistant to abrasive wear. Compared to modern cold work tool steels, BÖHLER K100 has the advantage of simple heat treatment with lower hardening temperatures and single tempering. However, this characteristic tempering behaviour limits the use of advanced coatings.

BÖHLER K105 is a 12% ledeburitic chromium steel and corresponds to material number 1.2601 (X165CrMoV12). This commonly used tool steel is highly resistant to abrasive wear. Compared to modern cold work tool steels, BÖHLER K105 has the advantage of simple heat treatment with lower hardening temperatures and single tempering. The improved tempering resistance of BÖHLER K105 compared to the conventional tool steel 1.2080 also enables nitriding treatment of tools.

BÖHLER K107 is a 12% ledeburitic chromium steel and corresponds to material number 1.2436 (X210CrW12). Due to the higher tungsten content, BÖHLER K107 achieves a higher resistance to abrasive wear compared to the conventional tool steel 1.2080. Compared to modern cold work tool steels, BÖHLER K107 has the advantage of simple heat treatment with lower hardening temperatures and single tempering. However, this characteristic tempering behaviour limits the use of modern coatings..

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 K137 is a universally applicable, ledeburitic 12% chromium steel featuring excellent wear resistance and good toughness. The steel is suitable for air hardening and shows good dimensional stability..

BÖHLER K190 MICROCLEAN is a 12% ledeburitic chromium steel manufactured using powder metallurgy. This material has the highest alloy content of the group of 12% ledeburitic chromium steels. Due to its high vanadium content, BÖHLER K190 MICROCLEAN has a significantly better resistance to abrasive wear than the tool steels 1.2080, 1.2601, 1.2436 and 1.2379. At the same time, the powder metallurgical manufacturing process creates a uniform matrix with finely distributed primary carbides, which among other things contributes to the good toughness of the material. BÖHLER K190 MICROCLEAN is used in situations where tool steels like 1.2379 are insufficient in terms of wear resistance.

BÖHLER K245 corresponds to the material 1.2101 (62SiMnCr4). This cold work tool steel is essentially a spring steel optimized for cold work, with very good toughness and spring properties. BÖHLER K245 offers the advantage of simple heat treatment with very low hardening temperatures and single tempering. However, this characteristic tempering behaviour limits the use of advanced coatings. BÖHLER K245 is especially suitable for thin-walled tools such as screwdrivers, hole punches, center punches, ejector pins, punches and cutting tools.

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 K306 belongs to the group of 5% chromium steels and is approximately equivalent to the material 1.2345 (~X50CrMoV5 1). Its alloy composition, however, has a higher vanadium content, making BÖHLER K306 more wear resistant than the conventional hot work tool steel 1.2345. BÖHLER K306 is used in hot work applications and for stamping and cutting tools. With its high toughness and resulting high fracture safety, this material is also very suitable for machine knives in the wood, paper and recycling industries.

BÖHLER K313 is corresponds to the material 1.2362 (X63CrMoV5 1). BÖHLER K313 is used for intermediate rolls in multi-roll stands, deburring dies and punches, cutting plates and punches, hot shears, ejection pins, drop-forging dies and hole punches.

BÖHLER K320 corresponds to the material 1.2355 (50CrMoV13 -15, S7). According to the AISI classification system, this tool steel belongs to the group of impact-resistant tool steels (S types). This popular tool steel offers high toughness and good machinability with moderate wear resistance. BÖHLER K320 is used in cold and hot work applications as well as in plastic mold making. This tool steel is used for a wide range of tools where impact strength, good machinability and simple heat treatment are important.

BÖHLER K340 ECOSTAR belongs to the group of conventionally produced 8% chromium steels. Compared to conventional 12% chromium steels, this conventionally smelted tool steel has better toughness, hardening response and higher adhesive wear resistance. This combination of high adhesive wear resistance and toughness also offers advantages for industrial knives subject to high stress. This grade is also used for stamping and cutting tools.

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 K341 is a shock resisting steel with high toughness and good wear resistance. Universally usable. Hardened and tempered to 145,03 – 159,53 ksi (1000 – 1100 MPa). Normally no further heat treatment is required.

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 K455 corresponds approximately to the material 1.2550 (~60WCrV7, ~S1) in terms of the alloy concept. This classic matrix steel is characterized by high toughness, good machinability and polishability. BÖHLER K455 offers the advantage of simple heat treatment with low hardening temperatures and single tempering. BÖHLER K455 is widely used in the field of punching and cutting tools as well as in the field of embossing tools.

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 K497 MICROCLEAN is a cold work tool steel manufactured using powder metallurgy and belongs to the group of 9% vanadium steels. The high carbide content makes this steel highly resistant to wear. It has lower hardness and wear resistance than K294 MICROCLEAN (10% vanadium steel). Nevertheless, this material has better toughness. BÖHLER K497 MICROCLEAN is used in situations where wear resistance is the decisive factor and compressive strength is of secondary importance. This material is not only used in cold work applications, but is also popular at lower hardness levels as a wear resistant alternative in mold making.

BÖHLER K600 corresponds to the material 1.2767 (45NiCrMo16). With its high nickel content, this material offers a very good combination of through hardenability and toughness. This results in a high resistance to impact and shock loads. BÖHLER K600 is used for a wide range of tools where high toughness is required. The material is used for forming and bending tools, cold shear blades for thick materials and for reinforcement rings. Due to its good polishability, BÖHLER K600 is also used for embossing tools, plastic molds and mold inserts for injection molding.

BÖHLER K601 corresponds to the material 1.2746 (45NiCrMoV16 6). The alloy concept of this tool steel is similar to 1.2767. With its high nickel content, this material offers a very good combination of through hardenability and toughness. Additional alloying with vanadium and molybdenum achieves higher resistance to abrasive wear. This material is used where high resistance to impact and shock loads is required and the wear resistance of a 1.2767 material is insufficient. The material is used in applications such as highly stressed industrial knives in the recycling industry.

BÖHLER K605 is approximately equivalent to the material 1.2721 (~50NiCr13). The alloy concept of this tool steel is similar to the one of 1.2767. With its high nickel content, this material offers a very good combination of through hardenability and toughness. The higher carbon content compared to material 1.2721 results in a better hardening response and consequently higher compressive strength. The material is used in applications such as forming, bending and embossing tools.

BÖHLER K720 is corresponds to the material 1.2842 (90MNCRV8, ~O2). This material is suitable for 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 K720 is used for punching and cutting tools, plastic molds, thread cutting tools and machine knives in the wood, paper and recycling industries.

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 M261 is a precipitation-hardenable steel for plastic molds that exhibits very good machinability in the as-delivered condition – solution-annealed and aged. Compared to 1.2312, BÖHLER M261 has a higher resistance to pressure and wear. By eliminating the need for additional heat treatment, the throughput time can also be significantly reduced.

BÖHLER S290 MICROCLEAN – “The hard stuff” The unusual alloy point of this bridge material between carbide and high-speed steel gives it a hardness of up to 70 HRC. In addition to its hot hardness and good wear resistance, its compressive strength is one of the most important properties of this powder-metallurgical high-speed steel class.

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 S393 MICROCLEAN – “Standardized” This grade complies with the ASTM A600 AISI T15 material standard with higher carbon content. With MICROCLEAN technology, this material shows excellent reliability in many cutting and cold-work applications.

BÖHLER S500 – “The fireproof one” In the family of conventional high-speed steels, this alloy combines excellent cutting properties with very high hot hardness.

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 S630 – “The economical one” Tungsten-molybdenum high-speed steel with aluminum alloy for great toughness and good machinability. Universally usable for taps and twist drills, reamers, metal saws, mills of all types, and woodworking tools.

BÖHLER S690 MICROCLEAN – “The simple one” The tough high-speed steel for challenging machining and cold forming.

BÖHLER S790 MICROCLEAN – “The 1st MICROCLEAN” High-speed steel manufactured in a powder metallurgy process, with good hot hardness, compressive strength, and wear resistance. PM technology gives it good toughness and excellent workability, including the best machinability.

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.

BÖHLER W460 VMR is a double vacuum arc remelted (VAR) material that has been specially adapted for use in the motorsport sector. The steel purity achieved by this special manufacturing technology, combined with the high strength, ensures that a very high fatigue strength can be guaranteed. The high purity also results in very good polishability, which makes the steel a good choice as a tool material for minting coins.