SKH2 tool steel
SKH2 tool steel
SKH2 Tool Steel - Image 3
SKH2 Tool Steel - Image 4
Forging workshop
SKH2 Tool Steel - Image 6
Forging workshop
SKH2 Tool Steel - Image 8

SKH2 Tool Steel

SKH2 high speed tool steel is a high carbon, high tungsten alloyed high speed steel equivalent to the international standard ASTM T1 grade. As a leading tool steel manufacturer, FCS Factory’s SKH2 steel is designed to solve the problem of rapid tool wear during high-intensity cutting.
While conventional tool steels tend to soften and fail at high temperatures and pressures, resulting in frequent tool changes, increased downtime and reduced machining accuracy, FCS TOOL STEEL’s SKH2 steels are optimised for red hardness and wear resistance through the optimisation of the elemental ratios of carbon, tungsten, molybdenum, vanadium and chromium.
Customers applying FCS Factory’s SKH2 tool steel have experienced an average 40% increase in tool life, 25% improvement in machining accuracy, and significant improvements in productivity. This makes it an ideal material choice for high-precision cutting tools, stamping dies and precision measuring tools.

SKU: N/A Categories: , Tags: , ,
Get Factory Price

SKH2 Tool Steel Product Introduction

SKH2 Tool Steel

SKH2 tool steel is a tungsten high-speed tool steel that conforms to the Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS G4403) and belongs to the category of Rheinzite steels, which are also known as ‘white’ or ‘sharp’ steels due to their air-cooled hardening properties. Corresponding to the U.S. ASTM grade is T1, Germany DIN / W-Nr grade is S18-0-1/1.3355. Its chemical composition to high carbon and high tungsten as the core, supplemented by chromium, vanadium and other elements, strict control of phosphorus, sulfur impurities. It has excellent red hardness (HRC63 at 600℃) and excellent high temperature wear resistance (HRC66 at 540℃).

Through high-temperature quenching (1270-1285℃ oil cooling) and multiple tempering (550-570℃ tempering twice), SKH2 can be optimised to hardness ≥63 HRC, forming the organisation of tempered martensite + diffuse carbides, with tensile strength ≥930 MPa and elongation ≥20%. The nature of the design relies on tungsten carbides (e.g. WC) to strengthen the high temperature hardness, while chromium enhances the hardenability, vanadium refines the grain and enhances the wear resistance, which makes it suitable for high speed cutting conditions, but the limitation that its toughness decreases with increasing size should be noted.

SKH2 Tool Steel Types and Options

The table below shows the size range, surface condition and tolerance details for SKH2 Mould Steel:SKH2 Tool Steel Types and Options

SKH2 Tool Steel Customized Options

SKH2 Tool Steel Types and Options

  1. Customized chemical composition: GB, DIN, ASTM, JIS and other standard grades can be produced. Chemical composition can be customized individually.
  2. Customized specifications: round steel (diameter), plate (thickness, width) can be customized production.
  3. Specialized packaging for long term storage or extreme transportation conditions: includes spraying black paint all around, wrapping plastic film, spraying anti-rust oil, and shipping in wooden crates.
  4. Customized production based on samples or technical agreements.
  5. SKH2 Tool Steel Electroslag Remelting (ESR): premium option with higher purity and isotropic properties for critical applications.

SKH2 Tool Steel Chemical Composition

SKH2 Tool Steel Chemical Composition

SKH2 Tool Steel Heat Treatment Process

1.Annealing

Purpose: to eliminate internal stresses generated during forging or rolling, reduce hardness, improve cutting performance, and prepare for subsequent processing and heat treatment.
Process parameters:
Heating temperature: 800-850 ℃, holding time 2-4 hours, with the furnace cooling to below 500 ℃, and then air-cooled.

2.Quenching

Purpose: to make the tool steel to obtain martensitic organization, improve hardness and wear resistance.
Process parameters:
Heating temperature: 1000-1050 ℃ (commonly used 1020-1040 ℃), holding time according to the size of the workpiece to determine, generally 30-60 minutes.
Cooling: oil cooling or air cooling (for small size or simple shape of the workpiece), large workpieces can be graded quenching (in the 260-300 ℃ salt bath cooling for a period of time and then air-cooled), in order to reduce the quenching stress, to prevent deformation and cracking.

3.Tempering

Purpose: to eliminate quenching stress, adjust the hardness and toughness, stable organization and size.
Process parameters:
low-temperature tempering: 150-250 ℃, insulation 2-3 hours, air-cooled, tempered hardness of 58-62HRC, for molds requiring high hardness and wear resistance.
Medium temperature tempering: 300-500 ℃, insulation 2-3 hours, air-cooled, tempered hardness of 50-58HRC, can improve the toughness, suitable for molds subject to impact load.
High-temperature tempering: 500 ℃ or more, insulation 2-3 hours, air-cooled, tempered hardness 45-50HRC, mainly for the need for higher toughness of the occasion.

4.Precautions

Heating process should control the rate of heating to avoid too rapid a rise in temperature leading to workpiece surface oxidation and decarburization. Protective atmosphere heating can be used or placed in the furnace charcoal and other anti-decarburization agent.

When quenching and cooling, choose the appropriate cooling medium and cooling method according to the shape and size of the workpiece to ensure the quenching effect while reducing the risk of deformation and cracking.

Tempering must be sufficient to ensure the elimination of internal stresses to avoid mold failure due to stress release during use. For large molds or workpieces with complex shapes, multiple tempering can be used.

SKH2 Tool Steel Quality Inspection

1.Surface Condition Inspection

FCS factory has a very strict quality inspection team, we will carefully check the surface condition of each piece of tool steel to ensure that the steel surface is free from cracks, folds, knots, oxidized skin, pitting, scratches and other defects.

2.Chemical Composition Testing

To verify whether the content of alloying elements meets the standard requirements and to safeguard the basis of the mechanical properties of the material. We will let the staff use full-spectrum direct reading spectrometer to analyze multiple elements at the same time. Sampling needs to remove the surface oxidation layer, using a block specimen to stimulate the test.

3.Dimension and Tolerance Inspection

FCS factory will use professional measuring tools to inspect the dimensions and tolerances of the steel to ensure compliance with the customer's contract requirements. Corresponding gauges will be selected according to the dimensional accuracy requirements, including tape measure, high-precision vernier calipers (0.02mm), micrometers (0.001mm), and special inspection gauges. Inspection items cover: diameter, thickness, width, length, hole diameter, chamfering dimensions, etc., to ensure that the tolerances and dimensions meet the contract requirements.

4.Hardness test

Our FCS factory will use professional hardness tester to test the hardness of steel to ensure that it meets the customer's contract requirements.

5.Ultrasonic Testing

Ultrasonic Testing Standard (UT Test Standard) is: Sep 1921-84 Class3 D/d,E/e.
FCS factory uses ultrasonic testing equipment to detect macro defects inside the material (such as cracks, shrinkage holes, inclusions, white spots, etc.), and every piece of round steel and plate will be examined by a second flaw detection test before shipment to ensure that the quality is qualified before shipment.

6.Microstructure Inspection

(1) Metallographic Analysis

FCS factory will use metallographic analysis instrument to detect the microstructure state after heat treatment, including carbide distribution, martensite morphology, residual austenite content, etc.

 (2) Grain size rating

FCS factory will use the comparative method to determine the austenite grain size by comparing the microstructure of the specimen with the standard rating chart, to ensure that it meets the customer's requirements.

SKH2 Tool Steel Technical Specifications

SKH2 Tool Steel Product Applications

Main application scenarios

High Speed Cutting Tool Applications

SKH2 high speed steel is ideal for manufacturing drills, milling cutters, turning tools, taps and reamers. An aerospace component manufacturer used milling cutters made from our SKH2 steel to machine titanium components, achieving a 20 per cent increase in cutting speed while increasing tool life by 45 per cent. Thanks to SKH2's excellent hardness and heat resistance, the tool remains sharp even at 500°C, the temperature generated by high-speed cutting, reducing downtime for frequent tool changes.

Precision mould applications

As a specialist mould steel supplier, our SKH2 steels excel in stamping, drawing and cold forging dies. A precision blanking die made from SKH2 steel by an automotive parts manufacturer has achieved more than one million stampings per die on a high-speed stamping line without resharpening, far exceeding the service life of ordinary die steels.The excellent balance of wear resistance and toughness of SKH2 steel allows the die to maintain accuracy even under high loads.

Measuring Tool Applications

SKH2 tool steel is critical for precision gauges such as gages, calibration blocks and inspection fixtures. A precision instrument manufacturer uses our SKH2 steel to produce high-precision measuring tools that take advantage of its excellent dimensional stability and wear resistance to maintain ±0.002mm accuracy even after long periods of use. For such applications, we offer special heat treatment processes to minimise internal stresses and distortion.

Industry-specific applications

  1. Aerospace: High-performance cutting tools for titanium and high-temperature alloys
  2. Automotive: Stamping dies and precision component machining for high-strength steel plates
  3. Electronics: Precision stamping of electronic connectors and fine assemblies
  4. Medical Devices: Precision machining tools for surgical instruments and implants
  5. Mould Manufacturing: Long-life, high-precision core components for injection and stamping tools

SKH2 Tool Steel Competitive Advantage Comparison

SKH2 Tool Steel Competitive Advantage Comparison

SKH2 Tool Steel Customer Success Stories

Skip the middleman link, source factory purchasing, reduce purchasing cost and improve market competitiveness.

SKH2 Tool Steel Pricing Structure Information

Serving the world, whole cabinet sales, factory wholesale price.

SKH2 Tool Steel Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the difference between SKH2 and M2 tool steel?
A. SKH2 is a Chinese standard grade that corresponds to the international standard M2 grade. The two steels have essentially the same chemical composition and properties and are medium alloyed high speed steels used primarily for cutting tools and wear resistant applications.
Q: What materials is SKH2 suitable for?
A. SKH2 is particularly suitable for machining materials with a hardness of 30-55 HRC, including carbon steels, alloy steels, stainless steels, grey cast irons and non-ferrous metals. For higher hardness materials, we recommend considering SKH9 or powdered HSS.
Q: How can I extend the life of my SKH2 tools?
A: The key is to use the correct cutting parameters, proper coolant, avoid overheating, and use hard coatings such as TiN or TiAlN. We offer comprehensive usage guidelines to maximise tool life.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “SKH2 Tool Steel”

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related products