HIGH SPEED STEEL (HSS)

Our High Speed Steels are high-performance special steels combining high toughness and high hardness levels, thanks to susbstantial proportions of elements like tungsten, molybdenum, vanadium and chromium which are able to form carbides. To improve hot hardness, cobalt may also be added.

Here are a few advantanges of our High Speed Steels:

Excellent tenacity ensuring good resistance to impacts and vibrations: this is imperative for the manufacture of dependable cutting tools.

Great wear resistance thanks to a carefully chosen degree of hardness.

Cutting edges with ideal sharpness to guarantee the finest productivity.

OUR HIGH PERFORMANCE CARBIDES

We select a range of micro-grain carbide grades especially developed for cutting tools. Thanks to a high vanadium content, these cutters have a better wear resistance.

Here are some elements of comparison between High Speed Steels (HSS) and carbide cutters:

Carbide cutters are harder than HSS

Carbide cutters wear much less than HSS cutters if they are employed correctly

Carbide cutters are more brittle than HSS cutters, therefore break more easily

Carbide cutters should be used at higher speeds than HSS cutters

ASP

Thanks to the powder-metallurgy process, higher-quality products can be obtained, offering the following advantages:

A higher hardness, due to a higher content of carbide-forming elements

A higher toughness, because the material is free from carbide segregation. In addition, the ESH process removes about 90% of non-metallic inclusions, ensuring better reliability of powder-metallurgy HSS tools

Isotropic properties, because the material exposes a structure with an even distribution of carbide particles in the matrix phase, in contrast to ingot cast high speed steels where carbides tend to form lines during transformation

The fine uniform microstructure of ASP carbide ensures superior strength:

Conventionally produced HSS with a brittle carbide microstructure limits material strength: