ASTM

ASTM stands for American Society for Testing and Materials, now renamed ASTM International, and is one of the world’s leading international standards organisations, responsible for developing technical standards for industrial materials, products, and systems in a wide range of fields, including steel, chemicals, and construction. The ASTM International is one of the world’s leading international standard-setting organisations.
In the field of tool and mould steels, the ASTM standard specifies a uniform system of grades (e.g. “M” series for high-speed steels, “S” series for impact-resistant tool steels), which clearly identifies the type of material, its composition and its use by a combination of letters and numbers.
Examples of grades: “M35” for cobalt-containing high-speed steel (for cutting tools), “S7” for high-toughness, impact-resistant tool steel (for punches and cold-work moulds), the chemical composition and properties need to strictly comply with ASTM A600 and other standards;
Core role: to ensure that the key properties of steel, such as abrasion resistance, red-hardness and toughness to meet the needs of the mould manufacturing industry, and has become the key reference for the global tool steel industry.