If you currently use: S7 O1 A2 D2 M2 and you want a little better WEAR CPM 1V A2 Cru-Wear CPM 3V Cru-Wear M2 CPM M4 TOUGHNESS S7XL L6 A2 CPM 3V Cru-Wear CPM M4 CPM M4 HARDNESS A9 Cru-Wear Cru-Wear Cru-Wear M2 CPM T15 CPM Rex 45 COATABILITY A9 A9 Cru-Wear CPM 1V CPM 1V Cru-Wear* Cru-Wear CPM 3V CPM M4 and you want a lot better WEAR CPM 3V* Cru-Wear CPM 3V D2* CPM 3V CPM M4* CPM M4 CPM 10V CPM 10V CPM T15 TOUGHNESS --- S7 CPM 1V CPM 1V CPM 3V CPM 3V CPM 3V HARDNESS CPM 1V CPM 3V* M2* CPM M4* CPM M4* CPM M4 CPM T15* CPM Rex 76 CPM Rex 121* COATABILITY A9 CPM 1V CPM 1V CPM 3V CPM M4* CPM 1V CPM 3V CPM 3V CPM M4 CPM M4 CPM Rex 45 CPM Rex 54 *Indicates a minor decrease in toughness. Contact the Crucible Tech Desk for more info.

Upgrading for Better Tool Performance or Problem Solving S7, O1, A2, D2, and M2 are very well known in the tooling industry. Many customers choose them simply because they are recognized commodities. However, other steels might offer better performance in certain applications. If the commodity grades are not meeting a customer's expectations Crucible can offer a number of upgrades which will provide better tool performance. This chart can be used to recommend alternative tool steels which offer better tool performance or which address tool failure problems. The suggested upgrades generally offer improvements in specific properties, without a significant sacrifice in any other properties. In nearly all cases, any increased cost of the upgrade steel will be more than offset by the resulting performance enhancement, such as: longer tool life, less breakage, higher productivity, greater reliability, etc. The only caution to the recommendations is that in those few cases marked with an asterisk, we have included some grades with slightly lower toughness then the commodity steel. Our technical experience suggests that, as long as the commodity steel currently used does not exhibit chipping, breakage, or other toughness-related problems, it is probably safe to consider the recommended upgrade. It is our opinion that the slight reduction in toughness is not enough to cause concern, however, we do suggest alerting the customer to the compromise. Use these recommendations as a technical guide to help customers pick the best steel for their tools, based on tool performance and steel properties. Feel free to read verbatim from the chart. Suggest upgrades to customers who buy any commodity cold work tools steels. It's like having your own metallurgist on you desk! These grades cover most applications. For a complete list of tool steels check out Tool and Die Steels for Metalforming If you are interested in a more thorough discussion of the selection of tool steels check our technical article, Selection of Tool and Die Steels