General
ASSAB 88 is a chromium-molybdenum-vanadium alloyed tool steel which is characterised by:

• Good wear resistance

• Good chipping resistance

• High compressive strength

• High hardness (>60 HRC) after high temperature tempering

• Good through-hardening properties

• Good dimensional stability during hardening

• Good resistance to tempering back

• Good WEDM properties

• Good machinability and grindability

• Amenable to surface treatment

Applications
ASSAB 88 is a general purpose steel for cold work tooling. It has a mixed-abrasive wear profile and a good resistance to chipping. Furthermore a high hardness (>60 HRC) can be obtained after high temperature tempering. This means that surface treatments such as nitriding or PVD can be made on a high strength substrate. Also, it means that complicated shapes with hardness levels >60 HRC can be wire EDM'd from blocks with relatively thick cross-sections with a much reduced risk of cracking.

ASSAB 88 is recommended for medium run tooling applications where a resistance to mixed or abrasive wear and a good resistance to chipping are required.
Typical Applications

• Blanking and fine blanking

• Shearing

• Forming

• Coining

• Cold forging

• Cold extrusion

• Thread rolling

• Drawing and deep drawing

• Powder pressing