HVG steel: composition, application and characteristics

Studying metallurgy and all its subtleties, you involuntarily begin to experience an irresistible desire to get as much useful information as possible and spend as little time and effort as possible. For such a case, this article exists. It contains all the most important information concerning HVG steel: decoding of the marking, study of the composition, use of this alloy, as well as a brief tour of substitute steels and foreign analogues. All the most important in one place for the sake of universal convenience.

Decoding of HVG steel

In the case of metallurgy, the value of the nomenclature is extremely difficult to overestimate, because not only its distinctive designation is hidden behind the steel marking, but also, if it can be correctly interpreted, the steel grade can tell a lot about the properties of the material. On the example of HVG steel, this will be more than obvious:

1. The letter “X” has long been accepted to denote such an alloying element as chromium - a very common, but no less significant additive.
2. The letter “B” indicates the content of tungsten in the alloy.
3. “G” is an abbreviation for the chemical element of manganese.
4. And also, that there are no numbers before or after the letters, it means that the content of each of the above elements in the composition is not more than 1%.

In addition to steel grades, alloys are further subdivided into classes that divide them by application. HVG steel belongs to the class of tool steels, or more precisely, tool alloy steels. This means that this alloy has sufficient characteristics for the manufacture of various tools from it.

Application

Tools made of HVG steel are rather rarely marked, but it is known for certain that tools are most often made from this alloy, the purpose of which is to cut metal: taps for internal threads, reamers, and even drills. In addition, CVG is used for the manufacture of dies, dies, punches and other tools for processing metals by high pressure.

Steel composition

If steel is used for the manufacture of such durable tools, then, therefore, it itself has, if not outstanding, then very indicative characteristics. CVG steel has obtained similar properties due to its rich composition, in which each individual element gives the alloy certain properties. Here is a complete list of these very alloying elements and their percentage:

1. Iron - about 94%. The element, which is the bulk of the steel alloy, as well as a bonding element for all other alloying additives.
2. Carbon - 1.25%. The most important additive, since it is carbon that gives strength and hardness to a soft iron. Its content in the composition is more than 1%, which automatically classifies steel as high-carbon.
3. Manganese - 0.95%. Increases wear resistance of the alloy, resistance to loads, strength, hardenability and reduces the risk of deformation during hardening.
4. Chrome - 1.5%. Oddly enough, this alloying element is designed to improve the strength characteristics of CVG steel, as well as its hardenability and reduce the growth of carbide grains after heat treatment.
5. Tungsten - 1.4%. Increases the strength characteristics of the metal, significantly increases the heat resistance.
6. Silicon - 0.25%. It adds plasticity to the finished product, however, it slightly levels hardness.
7. Copper, nickel, molybdenum, sulfur and phosphorus are in the region of 0.3% of the total mass of the alloy. With such a small content of pronounced positive or negative properties, the alloy is not added.

Steel substitutes

Such a developed and comprehensive industry as metallurgy simply cannot afford to produce one specific steel grade as universal, so over time more and more alloys appeared, the differences between which were not so significant. In everyday life, such steels are boldly called substitutes. And for steel HVG in domestic open spaces there are such substitute brands:

• 9XC;
• 9HVG;
• HVSG;
• SHH15SG.

This list contains alloys, which in their basis are very similar, however, they differ either in the percentage of impurities or in their set, which generally slightly distinguishes steels from each other.

Foreign analogues

Metallurgical plants smelted steel not only in the CIS countries, but also far abroad, and it so happens that the same steel, or its closely related “relatives”, are found in some of the distant countries. This is no longer rare, and, for example, those who are forced to work with some foreign suppliers are forced to know what material they are actually dealing with. Well, for people less burdened, you can use the following list of foreign analogues of HVG steel:

• USA - 01 or T31507;
• Europe - 107WCr5;
• China - CrWMn;
• Japan - SKS2 or SKS3.

With this short list at hand, anyone can determine what steel a tool made abroad is made of.