Technical Production dataInformation 35. Materials used for Cutting Tools ■Materials We have been seeking the best materials used for cutting tools since the company establishment because the performance of tools are depending on the selection of materials used. Major materials used in our company are listed below. (1) Taps HSS : Equivalent to SKH58, SKH51, SKH56 Powder HSS (SKH10, High Vanadium High cobalt material) Carbide : Cemented Carbide Materials of ultra micro grain (2) Dies HSS : SKH51, SKH56 Alloy Tool Steel : SKS2, SKS21, SKS3, SKS31 (3) Center Drills and Centering Tools HSS : SKH51, SKH56 Powder HSS (SKH10, High Vanadium High cobalt material) Carbide : Cemented Carbide Materials of ultra micro grain ※For product's improvement, material may be changed without notice. ■Circumstance of tools' materials Tensile strength, heat resistance, corrosion resistance and accuracy are the important features required of tool’ s materials. These requirements have been changing due to miniaturization and lightening of parts. And manufacturing methods, as well, have been changing because of necessity of economical e ciency such as saving process/cycle time while parts become hard-to-machine type and their hardness increases. As a result, the demand of industrial tools by users has become very tough. For example, higher wear resistance and chipping resistance are required in the area of hardness, and heavy cutting process or high-speed cutting are required in the area of cycle time. Moreover, product accuracy with its rigidity, laborsaving brought by uniformity, and systematic reliability are highly required. Therefore, technological improvement of tool steels never stops developing so that they satisfy users needs. ○The major materials used for taps are already listed in the chart, but those materials are ready to develop from conventional alloy tool steels and current high speed steel into next generation materials such as cemented carbide and cermet materials. New materials are developed even in high-speed tool steel area, such as SKH51 and SKH58 from SKH2, and they are moving into high performance materials, such as high vanadium, cobalt, and powder HSS made of high vanadium and high cobalt contents. ○For materials of round dies, instead of conventional alloy tool steel, high-speed tool steel is increasingly used to meet the need for high-precision processing and hard-to-machine material processing. ○For materials of center drills and centering tools, SKH51, a type of high-speed tool steel, is normally used. For applications requiring even higher speed, higher accuracy, and longer life, HSS-Co and cemented carbide are used. We keep on seeking to develop our technology to meet user's needs and are trying to nd the best materials in collaboration with steel manufacturers. Technical-111