A2 Tool Steel Properties A2 Material Heat Treat, Hardness, Tensile Yield Strength
A2 Steel – Tool, Die and Blade Steel
A2 steel is one of the most readily available and widely used tool steel grades. It has deep hardening, low distortion and high heat treatment safety, high resistance to high temperature softening and medium resistance to decarburization. It has a tendency to retain austenite. During tempering and double tempering, austenite is usually eliminated or reduced to a insignificant amount.
AISI Type A2 Tool Steel Properties
AISI type A2 tool steel properties are given in the tables below including chemical composition, physical and hardness, etc.
Chemical Composition
The following table list A2 steel chemical composition.
| A2 Steel Composition, % | |||||||||
| Standard | AISI | C | Si | Mn | P, ≤ | S, ≤ | Cr | Mo | V |
| ASTM A681 | A2 | 0.95-1.05 | 0.10-0.50 | 0.40-1.00 | 0.030 | 0.030 | 4.75-5.50 | 0.90-1.40 | 0.15-0.50 |
A2 Material Physical Properties
The following tables show AISI A2 material physical properties including density, melting point, specific heat, elastic modulus (modulus of elasticity), thermal conductivity, and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), etc.
Notes:
- 10-6·K-1 = 10-6/K
- 1 Ω·mm²/m = 1 μΩ·m
- 1 g/cm3 = 1 kg/dm3 = 1000 kg/m3
- 1 GPa = 1 kN/mm2
- 1 MPa = 1 N/mm2
| A2 Seel Physical Properties | Metric/SI | Imperial |
| Density | 7.86 g/cm3 | 0.284 lb/in3 |
| Melting point | 1425 °C | 2600 °F |
| Specific heat capacity | 460 J/kg·K at 20 °C | 0.11 Btu/lb·°F at 68 °F |
| Elastic modulus (Modulus of Elasticity) | 190 Gpa at 20 °C | 27.5 x 103 ksi at 68 °F |
| 185 GPa at 190 °C | 26.9 x 103 ksi at 375 °F | |
| 180 GPa at 400 °C | 24.6 x 103 ksi at 750 °F | |
| Thermal conductivity | 26.0 W/m·K at 20 °C | 15.03 Btu/ft·h·°F at 68 °F |
| 27.0 W/m·K at 190 °C | 15.61 Btu/ft·h·°F at 375 °F | |
| 28.5 W/m·K at 400 °C | 16.5 Btu/ft·h·°F at 750 °F | |
| Coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) | 10.7 μm/m at 20-100 °C | 5.96 μin./in.·°F at 70-200 °F |
| 10.6 μm/m at 20-260 °C | 5.9 μin./in.·°F at 70-500 °F | |
| 12.9 μm/m at 20-425 °C | 7.2 μin./in.·°F at 70-800 °F | |
| 14.0 μm/m at 20-540 °C | 7.8 μin./in.·°F at 70-1000 °F | |
| 14.2 μm/m at 20-650 °C | 7.9 μin./in.·°F at 70-1200 °F |
Mechanical Properties
The table below list mechanical properties of A2 tool steel including tensile strength, yield strength, elongation, reduction of area, etc.
| Tempering temperature, °C (°F), Hardened from 945 °C (1730 °F) |
Hardness, HRC | Ultimate tensile strength, MPa (ksi) | Yield strength, MPa (ksi) | Elongation in 50 mm, (2 in.), % | Reduction of area, % |
| 540 (1000) | 54.1 | 1858.2 (269.5) | – | – | – |
| 595 (1100) | 46.7 | 1603.8 (232.6) | 1269 (184) | 5.0 | 13.9 |
Heat Treating A2 Tool Steel
The following heat treating of A2 tool steel including normalizing and annealing, hardening and tempering, etc.
Annealing Heat Treat
A2 steel annealing heat treat temperature: 845-870 °C (1550-1600 °F), rate of cooling: ≤22 °C/h (40 °F/h) to 705 °C (1300 °F), Brinell hardness is 201-229 HB. (Note: The upper limit of the range should be applied to the large section, while the lower limit for the smaller section. The time to maintain the temperature ranges from 1 hour for light steel to 4 hours for heavy steel and high-alloy steel large furnace charges.)
A2 Tool Steel Hardening and Tempering
Preheat temperature: 788 °C (1450 °F), Austenitizing temperature: 925-980 °C (1700-1800°F), minimum austenitizing holding time: 20-45 minutes (for furnace heat treatment. For pack hardening, hold for 30 min/in of pack cross-section); Quench medium: Air or nitrogenous gas; Quenched hardness: 62-65 HRC (varies with austenitizing temperature);
Tempering temperature: 175-540 °C (350-1000 °F).
Stress Relieving
Recommended temperature for stress relieving: 650-675 °C (1200-1250 °F)
Applications
- Precision stamping dies,
- Blanking die,
- Die for cold forging, deep drawing and thread rolling,
- High-speed blanking punch,
- Stainless steel plate punch,
- Drawing die,
- Crimping die,
- Embossing die,
- Abrasive plastic molding die,
- Thread rolling dies,
- Trimming tools,
- Gages,
- Blades and knifes,
- Punching and cutting tools for medium thickness material and sockets etc.
AISI A2 Steel Equivalent Material
AISI A2 steel equivalent materials are listed in the following table, including European EN (Germany DIN, British BSI, French NF…), ISO, Japanese JIS and Chinese GB standard (For reference).
| A2 Steel Equivalent Material | |||||||||||||||||
| US | ISO | European Union | Japan | China | Australia | India | Rusia | Korea | |||||||||
| Standard | AISI (UNS) | Standard | Steel Number (Designation) | Standard | Steel Number (Designation) | Standard | Steel | Standard | Name | Standard | Grade | Standard | Grade | Standard | Grade | Standard | Grade |
| AISI, ASTM A681 |
A2 (T30102) | ISO 4957 | 1.2363 (X100CrMoV5) | EN ISO 4957 | 1.2363 (X100CrMoV5) | JIS G4404 | SKD12 | GB/T 1299 | Cr15Mo1V | ||||||||
Related Material: D2 Steel, SKD11 Steel, 1.2343 (X37CrMoV5-1)
