The selection of tool materials has a great impact on tool life, processing efficiency, processing quality and processing cost. When cutting, the tool must withstand high pressure, high temperature, friction, impact and vibration. Therefore, the tool material should have the following basic properties:

1. High hardness and high wear resistance:

The hardness of the tool material must be higher than the hardness of the material being processed in order to cut the metal. This is a basic requirement for tool materials. The hardness of existing tool materials is above 60HRC. The harder the tool material, the better its wear resistance. However, due to the complex cutting conditions, the wear resistance of the material is also determined by its chemical composition and the stability of the metallographic structure.

2. Sufficient strength and impact toughness

Strength refers to the performance that should be possessed to resist the action of cutting force without causing the blade to break and the tool bar to break. It is generally expressed in bending strength. Impact toughness refers to the ability of the tool material to ensure that the blade does not break under intermittent cutting or impact working conditions. Generally, the higher the hardness, the lower the impact toughness, and the more brittle the material. Hardness and toughness are a pair of contradictions, and are also a key that tool materials should overcome.

3. High heat resistance

Heat resistance, also known as red hardness, is the main indicator for measuring the performance of tool materials. It comprehensively reflects the ability of tool materials to maintain hardness, wear resistance, strength, oxidation resistance, adhesion resistance and diffusion resistance at high temperatures.

4. Process performance and economy

Tool materials should have good forging performance, heat treatment performance, welding performance, grinding performance, etc., and should pursue high performance-price ratio.