According to the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI), Steel can be categorized into four basic groups based on the chemical compositions:
Carbon Steel | Alloy Steel | Stainless Steel | Tool Steel
Carbon Steel can be segregated into three main categories: Low carbon steel (sometimes known as mild steel); Medium carbon steel; and High carbon steel.
Low Carbon Steel (Mild Steel): Typically contain 0.04% to 0.30% carbon content. Drawing Quality (DQ) – The carbon level is kept low and Aluminum is added, and for Structural Steel the carbon level is higher and the manganese content is increased.
Medium Carbon Steel: Typically has a carbon range of 0.31% to 0.60%, and a manganese content ranging from .060% to 1.65%. This product is stronger than low carbon steel, and it is more difficult to form, weld and cut. Medium carbon steels are quite often hardened and tempered using heat treatment.
C45 [EN8 / 1045] – medium carbon steel
High Carbon Steel: Commonly known as “carbon tool steel” it typically has a carbon range between 0.61% and 1.50% and Manganese 0.3 – 0.9%. High carbon steel is very difficult to cut, bend and weld. Once heat treated it becomes extremely hard and brittle.
Tool steels and die steels are types of high-carbon steels, which contain additional alloying elements including chromium, vanadium, molybdenum and tungsten. The addition of these elements results in the very hard wear-resistant steel, which is a result of the formation of carbide compounds such as tungsten carbide (WC).
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