SAE-AISI M48 (T11348) Cobalt High-Speed Steel

SAE-AISI M48 steel is a tool steel. M48 is the designation in both the SAE and AISI systems for this material. T11348 is the UNS number.

The properties of SAE-AISI M48 steel include two common variations. This page shows summary ranges across both of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare SAE-AISI M48 steel 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.

Annealed M48 Tool Steel Hardened M48 Tool Steel

Mechanical Properties

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus

200 GPa 29 x 10⁶ psi

Poisson's Ratio

0.29

Shear Modulus

78 GPa 11 x 10⁶ psi

Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)

890 to 2390 MPa 130 to 350 x 10³ psi

Thermal Properties

Latent Heat of Fusion

260 J/g

Melting Completion (Liquidus)

1670 °C 3040 °F

Melting Onset (Solidus)

1620 °C 2950 °F

Specific Heat Capacity

420 J/kg-K 0.1 BTU/lb-°F

Thermal Expansion

12 µm/m-K

Otherwise Unclassified Properties

Base Metal Price

48 % relative

Density

8.7 g/cm³ 550 lb/ft³

Embodied Carbon

13 kg CO₂/kg material

Embodied Energy

190 MJ/kg 83 x 10³ BTU/lb

Embodied Water

160 L/kg 19 gal/lb

Common Calculations

PREN (Pitting Resistance)

Stiffness to Weight: Axial

13 points

Stiffness to Weight: Bending

22 points

Strength to Weight: Axial

28 to 76 points

Strength to Weight: Bending

23 to 45 points

Thermal Shock Resistance

26 to 71 points

Alloy Composition

Iron (Fe)Fe		63.8 to 69.8
Tungsten (W)W		9.5 to 10.5
Cobalt (Co)Co		8.0 to 10
Molybdenum (Mo)Mo		4.8 to 5.5
Chromium (Cr)Cr		3.5 to 4.0
Vanadium (V)V		2.8 to 3.3
Carbon (C)C		1.4 to 1.5
Manganese (Mn)Mn		0.15 to 0.4
Silicon (Si)Si		0.15 to 0.4
Nickel (Ni)Ni		0 to 0.3
Copper (Cu)Cu		0 to 0.25
Phosphorus (P)P		0 to 0.030
Sulfur (S)S		0 to 0.030