AISI D3

AISI D3 is a high-carbon, high-chromium cold work tool steel known for its excellent combination of wear resistance, hardenability, and dimensional stability. Here's a description of AISI D3:

• Composition: AISI D3 typically contains approximately 2.00% carbon, 12.00% chromium, 0.40% manganese, 0.40% silicon, and small amounts of vanadium and molybdenum. This composition gives D3 its high hardness, wear resistance, and dimensional stability.
• Hardness: D3 can achieve high levels of hardness, typically ranging from 58 to 64 HRC (Rockwell hardness scale) after heat treatment. This high hardness provides excellent wear resistance, making it suitable for applications where tools are subjected to abrasive wear.
• Wear Resistance: AISI D3 offers outstanding wear resistance, particularly in applications involving cutting, shearing, and forming of abrasive materials such as wood, plastics, and non-ferrous metals. It retains its cutting edge well, prolonging tool life in demanding cold work environments.

• Toughness: While D3 possesses good toughness, it may not be as high as some other tool steels. However, it still offers sufficient toughness to resist chipping and fracturing during use, especially when properly heat treated.
• Cold Work Applications: AISI D3 is widely used in cold work applications such as blanking dies, forming dies, punches, knives, and cutting tools. Its combination of hardness and wear resistance makes it suitable for a wide range of tooling requirements.
• Heat Treatment: D3 is typically hardened through quenching and tempering processes. The steel is heated to austenitizing temperatures (around 980-1010°C or 1800-1850°F), followed by quenching in oil or air to achieve full hardness. Subsequent tempering is then carried out to improve toughness and reduce internal stresses.
• Machinability: AISI D3 exhibits fair machinability in the annealed condition. However, its high hardness after heat treatment can make machining challenging. Pre-hardened or tempered D3 may be easier to machine for certain applications.
• Dimensional Stability: D3 demonstrates good dimensional stability during heat treatment, minimizing distortion and warping. This property is beneficial for producing precision components with tight tolerances.

In summary, AISI D3 is valued for its excellent wear resistance, hardness, and dimensional stability, making it a popular choice for a wide range of cold work tooling applications, especially in industries such as metal stamping, die cutting, and precision machining.