Chapter 11: Air-Hardening, Cold-Work Tool Steels Available to Purchase

The air-hardening cold-work tool steels, designated as group A steels in the AISI classification system, achieve their processing and performance characteristics with combinations of high carbon and moderately high alloy content. This chapter describes the microstructural features and hardenability of air-hardening cold-work tool steels and discusses the processes involved in the hardening and tempering of tool steels.