Cold Forming / Coining

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 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 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 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 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 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 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.

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 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 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 23 SuperClean is a high alloyed powder metallurgical high speed steel with a good abrasive wear resistance in combination with a high compressive strength. It is suitable for demanding cold work applications like blanking of harder materials such as carbon steel or cold rolled strip steel and for cutting tools. Benefits Uddeholm Vanadis 23 SuperClean is a powder metallurgical tool steel offering an excellent combination of wear resistance and toughness. The machinability and grindability are superior to conventional high speed steel and so is the dimensional stability after heat treatment. The superclean powder metallurgy process ensures that the cleanliness is on a high level with a low amount of non-metallic inclusions. In east/south east asian countries served by Assab, Uddeholm Vanadis 23 SuperClean is sold as Assab PM 23. Standard specification W.nr 1.3395 / AISI D2 / AFNOR Z130 WDCV 6.5.4.3

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

Our conventionally manufactured rolls for cold forming applications are produced from premium materials sourced by voestalpine. The finished rolls include voestalpine heat treatment for optiomal product performance. These customized and ready-to-use rolls are mainly used in High Strength Steel (HSS) plates and cold forming sheets. They offer outstanding wear resistance, high compressive strength, excellent ductility and high chipping resistance. By offering a significantly increased service life, decreased downtime, and less maintenance effort, these rolls for cold forming can increase your OEE, leading to a higher productivity.

A2 tool steel is a medium alloyed steel with good resistance to abrasive and adhesive wear and cracking. This combination makes A2 an all purpose tool steel for medium run cold work applications. Best Coatings Duplex-VARIANTIC® delivers superior wear resistance and toughness in cold forming and fine blanking — extending tool life and reducing downtime in medium-run applications. Find the perfect match to boost durability and performance in cold work! Check our coating guide to discover the best solution for your application.

D2 tool steel is a high carbon, high chromium air hardening steel known for its excellent wear resistance and edge retention. It’s commonly used in cutting tools, dies, and industrial applications requiring high durability and toughness. Best Coatings Duplex-VARIANTIC® delivers exceptional surface hardness and wear resistance through a combined nitriding and PVD coating process, extending tool life and improving performance in cold forming, stamping, and other cold work operations. Boost your cold work tools’ lifetime and efficiency. Explore our coating guide for the perfect fit.