There is a noticeable trend towards the use of aluminium alloys for medium- to high- volume production in recently years.   The principal advantages of this material are: 1. It costs less than steel. 2. It has good machineabilty: it machines up to 5–10 times faster than steel. 3. Distortion from machining is minimal compared to...read more

Alloy steels are basically carbon steels with additional elements added to alter the characteris-tics and bring about a predictable change in the mechanical properties of the alloyed metal. Alloy steels are not normally used for most tools due to their increased cost, but some have been found favor for special applications. The alloying elements used most...read more

Carbon Steels are used extensively in tool construction. Carbon steels are those steels which only contain iron and carbon, and small amounts of other alloying elements. Carbon steels are the most common and least expensive type of steel used for tools. The three principal types of carbon steels used for tooling are low carbon, medium carbon, and high carbon...read more