Study of the properties and structure of selected tool steels for cold work depending on the parameters of heat treatment

Tool steels produced with powder metallurgy (P/M) are perspective materials, although they are more expensive in comparison with tool steels produced with the conventional method.The work focuses on the study of mechanical properties and structure depending on the heat-treatment conditions for the two tool steels.These are the 1.2379 steel for cold work produced with classical metallurgy and high-speed P/M steel Vanadis 23.Both materials were heat treated in the conventional manner to achieve a hardness of 61 HRC.They were also exposed to a cryogenic treatment at temperatures of -90 °C and -196 °C for 4 h between the hardening and the tempering.We evaluated the hardness and strength using the three-point-bending test and the wear resistance using the pin-on-disk method.Keywords: powder