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Everything You Need To Know About H13 Tool Steel

H13 tool steel heat treatment

H13 Tool Steel is also known as DIN 1.2344 tool steel. This is a series of steels that starts from H1 and ends on H19. H13 Tool Steel is a well-known and widely used metal. There are many tools of Steel but this is one of the most demanded Tool Steel. Used in various applications. High-quality materials used in H13 Tool steel such as silicon, carbon, chromium, manganese, and many more.

In this article, we will tell you everything about H13 Tool Steel. To understand in brief we will discuss, what is H13 Tool Steel, the Advantages of H13 Tool Steel, Heat Treatment for H13 Tool Steels, Properties of H13 Tool Steel, and Chemical Composition. Kindly read this article carefully once, I hope this information will be useful for you.

What is H13 Tool Steel- An Overview

H13 Tool Steel is a kind of Hot-work Chromium Steel that is used in hot-work tooling and cold-work tooling applications. Widely used in die casting and plastic molds, hot shear blades, hot forging dies, and aluminum alloy die castings. It is a top option for thermoplastic dies because of its capacity to endure rapid cooling from elevated operating temperatures. It has an excellent combination of fatigue resistance, high temperatures, and excellent wear resistance,
AISI H13 Tool has a better hardening ability and ductility than common alloy steels. And This Steel In this metal molybdenum and vanadium act as strengthening agents. ElectroSlag Remelted (ESR) and Vacuum-Arc-Remelted (VAR) are the variants of this steel.

Advantages of H13 Tool Steel- Checklist

Now we will discuss the advantages of H13 Tool Steel. This steel is useful in various applications and it has many advantages including:

  • Adopt the smelting process such as power spraying, furnace refining, vacuum treatment, and vacuum smelting.
  • H13 Tool Steel reduces harmful elements such as hydrogen, oxygen, and inclusion in steel.
  • It has high toughness, high strength, good wear resistance to thermal softening, machinability, and excellent ductility.
  • Strong toughness to its color.
  • And excellent thermal-to-shock resistance.

Heat Treatment for H13 Tool Steels

  • Annealing

The tool is heated slowly at 15500° to 1650°F, after that it is held until the whole mass is heated, then it cools slowly in the furnace to about 1000°F, after which the cooling rate may increase. Need to take suitable precautions for preventing excessive decarburization and carburization.

  • Stress Relieving

Relieve the stress of machining, its heat slowly 1050°F to 1250°F, allowing for equality and then cooling in still air.

  • Preheat Before Hardening

Warm Slightly at 1400°F to 1500° F before charging into the preheated furnace.

  • Hardening

H13 Tool Steel has very high hardenability. Usage of a controlled atmosphere furnace or salt bath is desirable to reduce the decarburization, and if it’s not available. The temperature applied usually ranges from 1800°F to 1850° F, depending on size.

  • Quenching

Quench in dry air blast or still air. Quench removed from the bath and part in oil when it starts to lose its color. Finish cooling should be below 150°F to 125°F in air, and then temper it immediately.

  • Tempering

Tempering may vary with application and size, but it’s usually performed in the range of maximum hardness. Double tempering is also recommended for H13 Tool Steel. The result is H13 Tool Steel that was air quenched at 1800° and then tempered for four hours at several high temperatures. Parts of heavy sections may be various points lower in hardness.

Chemical Composition

Many Chemical Compositions used in H13 Tool Steel such as 4.75%-5.50% Chromium, 0.35%-0.42% Carbon, 1.10%-1.75% Molybdenum, 0.80%-1.20% Silicon, 0.30% Phosphorus, 0.30% sulfur and 0.20-0.50 manganese. These chemical compositions make this steel high qualitative steel with excellent corrosion resistance.

Properties of H13 Tool Steel

The properties of H13 Tool Steel prove that H13 Tool Steel has some unique qualities like strength, hardenability, etc. Three types of properties included:

  • Physical Properties

The tool comprises its melting point and density as 7.80 g/cm3 for 20°C and 1427C° respectively.

  • Mechanical Properties

The mechanical properties of the H13 Steel Tool show behavior that varies with high heat treatment. This steel records 505 reductions in area and 215 Gpa modulus of elasticity at 20°C. The Poisson value of H13 Tool Steel is 0.27-0.30. The range of tensile strength and yield strengths are 1000-1380 MPa and 1200-1590 MPa respectively.

  • Thermal Properties

H13 Tool Steel in terms of its thermal properties, 10.4 x 10.6°C expansion, and 20-100°C temperatures. It has a thermal conductivity of 215°C.

Conclusion

In Short, H13 Tool Steel is a type of steel. This tool Includes many rich materials, which makes this highly demanded steel and widely used metal. H13 Tool steel has incredible strength and good durability. Used in many applications because of its excellent wear resistance.