Mechanism of Annealing Softening of Rolled or Forged Tool Steel

In order to reduce hardness of rolled or forged steels after annealing and improve processability, the diameter and dispersity of carbides were measured by SEM and quantitative metallography. The microstructure of annealed steel was analyzed by TEM. The effects of the factors such as solute atoms, carbides, grain boundary and interphase boundary were studied. The mechanism of annealing softening of steels was analyzed on the examples of steels H13, S5, S7, X45CrNiMo4, which are treated with new technology. The results showed that the softening of H13, S7, S5 is easier obtained by isothermal or slow cooling annealing from slightly below A1, but hardness of X45CrNiMo4 after annealing is reduced effectively by obtaining coarse lamellar pearlite. Economic results can be obtained from good processability.