Material science is, of course, a very vast and laborious branch of science. To study it is quite difficult and, admittedly, quite tedious. Everything from the fact that you need to remember a large amount of information in which it is easy to get confused in view of its uniformity. However, knowing what specific characteristics this or that material possesses, we understand what to do with it and how to apply it in everyday life or in work. This article is just an excuse to illuminate for readers a relatively small part of the information on the characteristics of a very widespread alloy of the X12F1 brand, its application features, composition, analogs and several other aspects, which are described below.
Decoding of X12F1 steel
So, let's start with the simplest. Steel grade X12F1, in accordance with all current GOST standards, is designated as tool steel.
Having a general idea of the Russian steel naming system, given the information already available, we can safely draw several conclusions:
- Tool steel, which means it incorporates a certain set of alloying elements.
- The letter “X” at the beginning of the steel grade, as well as the number 12 after it, indicates a chromium content of 12%.
- The letter “F” corresponds to the alloying element vanadium, and the unit corresponds to a content in the region of 1%.
Application
Based on the designation, it is clear that steel is used for stamping, or rather, for their manufacture. Accordingly, it is mainly used for making dies for the press, rolling rollers, often with a complex texture, dies for cold pressing and a number of parts associated with metal processing by extrusion under high pressure.
Composition
One of the most important aspects of metallurgy is the alloy composition of the alloy. It is from the presence, absence and percentage of all chemical elements that steel acquires one or another of the properties required of it in the future duty.
For X12F1 steel, the following composition of alloying additives is provided, mentioned for convenience in average values:
- The first in line is carbon (1.35%) - the most important element that turns iron into steel, giving it rigidity and hardness.
- Then note chromium (11.75%) - this chemical element significantly increases the service life of the part, preventing it from oxidizing under the influence of the external environment, creating a protective film of oxides. However, in addition to this, at a high content it increases the strength of steel, its resistance to high temperature environments, and, accordingly, to unplanned tempering.
- Vanadium (0.8%) - favorably affects the structure of steel, increasing its strength characteristics.
- Silicon (0.25%) - as an alloying element, serves to increase the resistance of steel to a high-temperature medium without loss of strength.
- Copper (0.3%) is a very common impurity in metallurgy. It does not assign special negative effects to steel, but, on the contrary, slightly improves ductility.
- Manganese (0.27%) - even with a small content in the composition improves hardenability of steel.
- Nickel (0.35%) - increases the strength characteristics of steel, albeit slightly, but in connection with other components, its role becomes more significant.
- Sulfur and phosphorus (0.03% each) are harmful impurities that have an extremely negative effect on the quality of steel. However, their content is so small that they are usually not taken into account.
Characteristics of steel X12F1
Knowing the exact composition of the steel, it is possible with a certain degree of error to determine its general characteristics.
- The first thing I would like to note is high-carbon steel, which means it is extremely durable. This is not surprising, because its task is to bend, cut and crush metal.
- It is also chrome plated. This, firstly, protects the part from deformation during corrosion, and secondly, makes steel less sensitive to high temperatures.
- It has a very complex internal structure. When stamping parts, the stamp itself is under a lot of pressure, and any microcrack or any other defect can lead to very disastrous consequences.
- X12F1 steel feels quite comfortable in environments with elevated temperatures. This is facilitated by a whole bunch of ligature elements and their compounds.
Analogs
As you might guess, the production processes in almost any enterprise that produces the same products are approximately the same. And it does not depend on the geographical location of production facilities. Accordingly, for similar work, identical tools are used, made of similar or similar materials. Stamped steel X12F1 was no exception. In various countries, a steel grade with a similar composition is produced as successfully as in the post-Soviet space. Here are some common names:
- United States of America - D5;
- Japan - SKD11;
- England - BD2;
- Germany - X155CrVMo12-1.
Remembering these steel grades, even if you are far from your homeland, you can be sure that you can easily find for yourself a part from the material you need.
Second Life
As it turned out, very flattering reviews about X12F1 steel can be heard from the lips of various kinds of craftsmen making various household tools, whether it be chisels, knives, brackets and so on. The high carbon content in the composition allows to achieve high hardness of the blade and cutting edge, in particular, an abundant amount of chromium prevents the appearance of corrosion, and the presence of an additional ligature in the composition, which extremely well affects the overall structure of the material, makes knives made of X12F1 steel extremely reliable in operation, and therefore often simply irreplaceable.