Combination of laser quenching and tempering for hardening tool steels

A study was made of the influence of laser quenching and tempering on the structural phase composition and hardness of surface layers of KhVG and ÉP657 (R12M3F2K8) tool steels subjected to volume quenching and tempering. It was found to be advisable, in addition to performing laser quenching, to carry out laser tempering before and after in order to take into account the initial state of the material and to obtain stable results on improvements in the wear resistance of cutting and stamping tools.