O1 tool steel for sale

Aobo Steel is a professional supplier of O1 steel

Looking for a reliable O1 tool steel supplier? Aobo Steel provides high-quality O1 tool steel with excellent wear resistance and machinability, ensuring top application performance.

What is O1 tool steel? O1 tool steel is a low-alloy cold work die steel. This steel has a certain degree of hardenability and wear resistance, with minimal quenching deformation. The carbide distribution is uniform, and the particles are fine. Manufacturers typically use O1 tool steel for manufacturing cold punching dies with small cross-sections, complex shapes, and various gauges and measuring tools.

O1 tool steel Applications

Cutting Tools
Toolmakers widely use O1 for cutting tools such as chisels, drills, and knife blades because it not only retains a sharp edge but also offers excellent wear resistance.
Punches and Dies
O1’s toughness and wear resistance make it popular for punches and dies that endure repeated high-impact forces.
Knives and Blades
O1 is highly regarded in the knife-making industry for its ability to hold a sharp edge while offering good toughness. This makes it ideal for knives, axes, and other blades.
Shear Blades
Engineers often use O1 tool steel in shear blades since high hardness and edge retention are critical for effectively cutting through tough materials.

High Wear Resistance

O1 tool steel is made to withstand some pretty brutal conditions. Its endurance guarantees minimizing wear, even after long-term usage, extending the lifetime of tools and reducing maintenance costs.

Exceptional Toughness

Reliability is key. Under extreme pressure, O1 tool steel remains strong while other types develop cracks and fractures, making it suitable for high-stress applications.

Introduction to O1 tool steel

O1 steel has a relatively high manganese content, along with chromium and tungsten, which enhances its hardening ability, making intense water quenching unnecessary. Oil quenching can achieve a hardness of up to 62HRC. The steel also exhibits good machinability, wear resistance, stable heat treatment performance, and minimal dimensional deformation, but its toughness and corrosion resistance are relatively weak.

O1 steel composition

Element	Carbon (C)	Manganese (Mn)	Chromium (Cr)	Tungsten (W)	Vanadium (V)	Silicon (Si)	Phosphorus (P)	Sulfur (S)
Content (%)	0.85 – 1.00	1.00 – 1.40	0.40 – 0.60	0.40 – 0.60	0.30 max	0.10 – 0.40	0.030 max	0.030 max

O1 steel equivalent

Standard	Equivalent Grade
USA (AISI)	O1
Germany (DIN, Werkstoff)	1.2510 (X153CrMoV12)
Japan (JIS)	SKS3
China (GB/T)	9CrWMn

O1 steel properties

Property	Value	Condition
Density	7.81 g/cm³	Hardened to 62 HRC
Electrical Conductivity	7.4% IACS	–
Yield Tensile Strength	58 ksi	Annealed
Shear Modulus	11,200 ksi	–
Shear Strength	58 ksi	Annealed
Fatigue Strength	40 ksi	Annealed
Elongation at Break	20%	Annealed
Machinability	85-95% of a 1% carbon steel	–

Heat Treating O1 Tool Steel

This guide outlines the complete heat treat process for O1 tool steel, including annealing, hardening, quenching, and tempering.

Annealing: Heat to 780 °C (1440 °F) and hold for 2 hours, then cool to 670 °C (1275 °F) and hold for 6 hours, followed by air cooling. This produces a spheroidized carbide microstructure for better machinability. The annealed O1 steel hardness is typically below 207 HB.
Hardening (Austenitizing): Heat to a temperature in the range of 790 °C to 815 °C (1450 °F to 1500 °F). Higher temperatures increase the solution of carbides and hardenability. After being hardened, O1 steel can achieve a surface hardness in the range of Rockwell C65-67.
Quenching: Oil quenching is the normal method for hardening O1 steel. Quench until the temperature is below 65 °C (150 °F) or the part can be held in bare hands. For a minimum size change, remove from oil just under the flash point (about 205 °C/400 °F) and air cool.
Tempering Steel with Oil: After quenching, the steel is tempered by heating it to a temperature between 175 °C and 260 °C (350 °F to 500 °F) for a minimum of two hours. This step, which follows the oil quench, is crucial for achieving the desired hardness range of HRC 58-62. Sections over two inches thick should be tempered for a minimum of one hour per inch. Aim for a tempering temperature close to the tool’s maximum operating temperature.

Key points:

Preheating at 650 °C (1200 °F) is recommended for large or intricate sections before hardening.
Overheating during austenitizing (above Acm) should be avoided as it leads to grain coarsening and increased retained austenite.
Low-temperature tempering is used to maintain high hardness.

O1 vs A2 steel

O1 Tool Steel (Oil-Hardening)

Hardening: Hardens through oil quenching, which is effective for reasonable sizes.
Distortion: Hardening exhibits relatively low distortion.
Hardenability: Moderate, suitable for smaller tools up to approximately 50 mm (2 inches), but less hardenable than A2.
Wear Resistance: It has a lower wear resistance than A2 because it has fewer carbides.
Toughness: Offers good toughness, surpassing A2 at high hardness levels.
Cost: It is cheap due to its very low alloy content.
Machinability: Good.
Uses: It is excellent for small tools such as punches, taps, reamers, and dies that need little dimensional change.

A2 Tool Steel (Air-Hardening)

Hardening: Air-hardening with low distortion and good crack safety margin
Distortion: Has the lowest distortion when compared to all other hardening methods.
Hardenability: High, making it suitable for larger tools where O1’s hardenability falls short.
Wear Resistance: Higher than O1 due to more chromium carbides.
Toughness: Good, but generally lower than O1 at the same hardness.
Cost: Higher due to greater alloy content.
Machinability: Generally good.
Applications: It is suitable for larger or more complex tools such as blanking dies, forming dies, and thread-rolling dies, where control over distortion and wear resistance are paramount.

Key Comparison

O1 is less expensive, best for smaller implements that need to withstand a beating, and can be oil-quenched.

Despite the higher cost, choose A2 for larger or precision tools that need minimal distortion, higher wear resistance, and greater hardenability.

To summarize, O1 is an affordable alternative for hard use on small, tight jobs; A2 shines in larger tools that require wear resistance and dimensional stability.

O1 vs O2 steel

Let’s compare O1 and O2 steel in terms of alloying, hardenability, distortion, and wear resistance.

Alloying: O1 contains Chromium, Tungsten, and Vanadium in addition to Manganese, offering potentially better wear resistance than O2, which mainly relies on Manganese and a small amount of Molybdenum.
Hardenability: O1 has deeper hardenability, making it suitable for larger sections compared to O2.
Distortion: O2 exhibits the least distortion upon heat treatment among oil-hardening steels.
Wear Resistance: O1 likely has better wear resistance due to more carbide-forming elements.

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O1 Steel Equivalents: DIN 1.2510 and JIS SKS3

O1 steel, equivalent to DIN 1.2510 in German and JIS SKS3 in Japanese. They are all low-alloy cold work tool steel and can be interchanged with these grades. They exhibit good plasticity, toughness, wear resistance, hardenability, and edge retention, with minor quenching distortion and a uniform, fine carbide distribution.

Introduction to DIN 1.2510 steel

1.2510 Chemical Composition

Carbon (C)	Chromium (Cr)	Molybdenum (Mo)	Vanadium (V)	Manganese (Mn)	Phosphorus (P)	Sulfur (S)
1.40 – 1.60	4.00 – 5.00	1.00 – 2.00	0.50 – 1.00	0.20 – 0.60	≤ 0.030	≤ 0.030

1.2510 steel Heat treatment

Process	Temperature Range	Purpose	Cooling Method
Annealing	800°C – 850°C (1472°F – 1562°F)	Softens the steel for improved machinability	Slow cooling in furnace
Hardening	1000°C – 1100°C (1832°F – 2012°F)	Increases hardness and wear resistance	Oil or air quenching
Tempering	500°C – 600°C (932°F – 1112°F)	Reduces brittleness and improves toughness	Air cooling

Introduction to JIS SKS3 steel

SKS3 Chemical Composition

Carbon (C)	Silicon (Si)	Manganese (Mn)	Phosphorus (P)	Sulfur (S)	Chromium (Cr)	Tungsten (W)
0.90–1.00	≤0.35	0.90–1.20	≤0.030	≤0.030	0.50–1.00	0.50–1.00

SKS3 steel Propertites

Property	Value
Density	7.85 g/cm³
Hardness (Annealed)	217 HB
Hardness (Quenched and Tempered)	55-64 HRC
Ultimate Tensile Strength	1690-2000 MPa
Yield Strength	1500-2200 MPa
Elastic Modulus	172-193 GPa

FAQs

What is O1 steel good for?
O1 steel is excellent for precision tools and small cold work molds that require good edge retention, low heat treat distortion, and oil hardening.O1 steel is particularly suitable for the following applications:
Precision gauges such as plug gauges, ring gauges, etc.
Cold work dies, especially those requiring good edge retention:
Punches
Trimming dies
Cold heading and spinning dies
Rock drills and scissors
Woodworking tools
Drills and broaches
Powder compacting dies
What is O1 steel equivalent to?
German DIN grade: 1.2510
Japan JIS standard grade: SKS3 or SKS31
China GB standard grade: 9CrWMn
British BS standard grade: BO1
France NF standard grade: 90MnWCrV5
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard grade: 95MnWCr1
Sweden SS standard grade: 2140
Japan Daido (DAIDO) standard grade GOA
Korea KS standard grade STS3
Russian ГОСТ standard: 9ХВГ
What is the difference between 01 and A2 steel?
O1 steel is an oil-hardened tool steel with low heat treatment distortion and is suitable for precision tools; A2 steel is an air-cooled tool steel with higher wear resistance and good toughness.
Is O1 better than 1095?
If you are looking for the ultimate in hardness and wear resistance and can accept the risk of distortion, choose 1095 steel; if the balance of hardness and toughness is more important and the risk of distortion is lower, O1 steel is usually a better choice.
How to quench O1 steel?
O1 steel is quenched by quenching in oil.
Is O1 steel easy to machine?
O1 steel is easy to machine in the annealed condition.