Hardened T6 Tool Steel
Hardened SAE-AISI T6 is SAE-AISI T6 steel in the hardened (H) condition. The graph bars on the material properties cards below compare hardened SAE-AISI T6 to: tool steels (top), all iron alloys (middle), and the entire database (bottom). A full bar means this is the highest value in the relevant set. A half-full bar means it's 50% of the highest, and so on.
Mechanical Properties
Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus
210 GPa 30 x 106 psi
Poisson's Ratio
0.29
Rockwell C Hardness
67
Shear Modulus
81 GPa 12 x 106 psi
Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)
2150 MPa 310 x 103 psi
Thermal Properties
Latent Heat of Fusion
250 J/g
Melting Completion (Liquidus)
1830 °C 3320 °F
Melting Onset (Solidus)
1770 °C 3210 °F
Specific Heat Capacity
400 J/kg-K 0.1 BTU/lb-°F
Thermal Conductivity
18 W/m-K 10 BTU/h-ft-°F
Thermal Expansion
12 µm/m-K
Otherwise Unclassified Properties
Base Metal Price
70 % relative
Density
9.5 g/cm3 600 lb/ft3
Embodied Carbon
11 kg CO2/kg material
Embodied Energy
170 MJ/kg 73 x 103 BTU/lb
Embodied Water
160 L/kg 20 gal/lb
Common Calculations
PREN (Pitting Resistance)
39
Stiffness to Weight: Axial
12 points
Stiffness to Weight: Bending
21 points
Strength to Weight: Axial
63 points
Strength to Weight: Bending
39 points
Thermal Diffusivity
4.7 mm2/s
Thermal Shock Resistance
64 points
Alloy Composition
| Fe | 55.9 to 63.5 | |
| W | 18.5 to 21 | |
| Co | 11 to 13 | |
| Cr | 4.0 to 4.8 | |
| V | 1.5 to 2.1 | |
| C | 0.75 to 0.85 | |
| Mo | 0.4 to 1.0 | |
| Mn | 0.2 to 0.4 | |
| Si | 0.2 to 0.4 | |
| Ni | 0 to 0.3 | |
| Cu | 0 to 0.25 | |
| P | 0 to 0.030 | |
| S | 0 to 0.030 |
All values are % weight. Ranges represent what is permitted under applicable standards.
Followup Questions
Further Reading
ASTM A600: Standard Specification for Tool Steel High Speed
Tool Steels, 5th ed., George Roberts et al., 1998
Tool Steels: Properties and Performance, Rafael A. Mesquita (editor), 2016
ASM Specialty Handbook: Carbon and Alloy Steels, J. R. Davis (editor), 1996