Choosing the Right Cutting Tool Material: When to Use High-Speed Tool Steel

 When it comes to machining, having the right cutting tool is crucial because efficiency and precision reign supreme. Steels, commonly known as high-speed tool steel or HSS, have long been the trusted material for a vast number of machinists because of their affordability and versatility. That being said, there is the question of whether using high-speed tool steel is ideal for the specific project you have in mind.

What About High-Speed Tool Steel?

HSS, also known as high speed tool steel, is a category or a family of alloy steels which have been formulated for use as cutting tools. They can maintain their level of hardness as well as their cutting performance even at high temperatures that are generated during the process of machining.

Typically, the HSS available at a high speed steel supplier is composed of iron as the base metal with the inclusion of carbon for wear resistance and hardness, tungsten for increased hot hardness that allows the cutting tool to maintain their edge at high temperatures, chromium for enhanced wear and corrosion resistance, vanadium for improved toughness, and molybdenum for enhanced hot hardness as well as hardenability.

The particular proportions of these components, as well as other alloying elements in some variations, affect the final qualities of the HSS grade.  For example, Molybdenum-based HSS gives good overall performance, whereas some special cobalt-bearing HSS has even better hot hardness for more demanding applications.

Reasons For Using High-Speed Tool Steel

There are several benefits to using HSS which make it the material of choice for a wide variety of cutting applications:

High-speed tool steel is cost-effective. Should you ask a high speed steel supplier, they will say that, when compared with other cutting tool materials, HSS comes out as the more economical or affordable choice.

HSS offers good machinability. This means that the material can be easily formed or shaped even into intricate designs allowing for creating specialized cutting tools.

HSS is tough. High speed tool steel possesses a nice balance between toughness and hardness and can withstand moderate amounts of shock loads usually encountered in machining operations.

High speed steel is versatile. These steels find supplication in a wide variety of cutting tools, including milling cutters, drills, end mills, taps, and many others.

When to Use High-Speed Tool Steel

Whether the HSS from the local high speed steel supplier is suitable for a specific application can depend on a variety of factors:

Machining Operations -- High-speed tool steel does very well at machining various materials like plastics, low-carbon steels, aluminum, and a number of grades of stainless steel. It is typically suited for general-purpose machining applications as it does very well at moderate depths of cut and cutting speeds.

Intermittent vs Continuous Cutting – HSS is ideal for continuous cutting processes where the tool is continually in contact with the material; nevertheless, for interrupted cuts with large shock loads, utilizing HSS may make it necessary for adjusting cutting settings or evaluating alternative tool materials.

Complexity of Tool Shape -- Because of its high machinability, HSS from the high speed steel supplier is an excellent choice for making cutting tools with complicated designs. This enables the development of specialized tools to meet specific machining requirements.

All in all, high-speed tool steel or HSS is a very popular and versatile material for use in various cutting tool applications. Because of its good machinability, cost-effectiveness, and its balanced properties, it is best suited for general purpose machining.