Heat-treatment and properties of high-speed steel cutting tools

Abstract

The high speed steels (HSS) have been widely adopted as the most basic material for cutting tools in mechanical processing since it was born. At present, HSS cutting tools still occupy the dominant position of the tool market. Although the development of tipped carbide cutting tools and grinding of cemented carbide cutting tools is very rapid, other varieties of the cutting tools still mainly adopt HSS material. In spite of the differences in the smelting mode of the HSS, the durability of tools is more directly with the chemical composition and reasonable heat processing. Therefore, the choice of the HSS cutting tool material and heat treatment process are very important to ensure the performance of HSS cutting tool.