P20 Mold Steel
Pre-hardened low alloy tool steel that goes straight to machining without heat treatment
Specifications
Steel Grade Selection and Equivalent Grade Substitution
A purchasing engineer rarely gets a free choice of grade. The drawing names one designation, the material that is actually available carries another.
A purchasing engineer rarely gets a free choice of grade. The drawing names one designation, the material that is actually available carries another, and the two have to be proven comparable before anything is cut. Tianyu Metal holds carbon, alloy, wear resistant, bullet resistant and stainless material carrying ASTM EN GB JIS and DIN designations, so the cross reference is done at enquiry stage instead of at goods inward. Where no honest equivalent exists we say so and quote the grade named on the drawing rather than shipping the nearest thing in the yard.
The Problem
What This Removes From Your Procurement
Drawing Grade Not Available in the Required Thickness
A designation can be common in plate and scarce in the thickness or width you need. Rather than stall the enquiry we show which comparable grades exist at that thickness and what changes in strength hardness or corrosion behavior.
Overspecified Grade Paid for on Every Part
One grade specified for the whole assembly means the cheapest bracket carries the same alloy as the most loaded member. Splitting the material list lets the demanding zone keep the higher grade while the rest moves down.
Equivalence Assumed from a Conversion Chart
Charts line up designations, not heat treatment routes or deoxidation practice. We compare what the material is supplied as, for example annealed against quenched and tempered, so the workshop route stays valid.
Grade Named Only by Hardness or Protection Level
Requests arrive stating 500HB or NIJ III alone. We translate that into the grades that are actually sold at that level, such as NP550 PRO500 or Armox 500, and confirm thickness before anything is priced.
Certificate Arriving in a Different Name
A certificate issued under a foreign standard designation looks like a substitution to a goods inward clerk. We state both designations on the order so the paperwork and the drawing can be reconciled without a dispute.
Step By Step
How We Run It
Enquiry and Grade Check
Enquiries often carry a local designation, a trade name or a hardness figure alone. The supplier guesses which international grade was meant and prices material the workshop cannot use. Give the designation exactly as it appears on the drawing together with thickness, width and the part it becomes. We match it against the standards we buy to, including ASTM EN GB JIS and DIN, and confirm in writing which grade is being priced before any figure is quoted.
Cross Reference Against Named Equivalents
Conversion tables are treated as exact. Two grades that share a carbon range can still differ in alloy content, delivery condition and achievable hardness, and the difference only appears when the part is machined or heat treated. We work from the equivalence groups the material is actually sold under, such as P20 with 1.2311 3Cr2Mo 618 718 and 35CrMo7, D2 with SKD11 1.2379 and X153CrMoV12, M2 with 1.3343 SKH51 HS6-5-2 and S600, and 1045 with C45 S45C 1.1191 and CK45. The chemistry and the delivery condition are compared, not just the name.
Quotation with Substitution Options
A buyer told only that the specified grade is unavailable has to restart the search with no idea what the alternatives cost or how they behave in the same duty. Alternatives are quoted beside the specified grade with the difference stated in plain terms, for example stepping from AR400 to AR500 on a high wear zone, moving between S460 S550 and S690 on a structural member, or choosing 304 against 316 where chloride is present. You pick with the trade off visible.
Order Confirmation with the Grade Frozen
A grade agreed in an email thread gets quietly downgraded between the order and the rolling, and the change is discovered when the certificate arrives. The order confirmation states the grade, the standard, the delivery condition such as hot rolled normalized or quenched and tempered, the surface as natural or painted, and the dimensions. Nothing on that line changes without a written revision agreed with you.
Stock Pick or Mill Production
Material picked from a yard by size alone can end up as the right dimensions in the wrong grade, especially where several grades share one thickness. The pick is made against the confirmed grade line and the heat identity is kept with the material. Where the grade is not in stock it is placed into production to the same confirmed line rather than substituted at the last minute.
Inspection and Mill Test Certificate
Substitution is impossible to argue about later without documents. A quality department that receives plate with no chemical analysis cannot release it into a job. A mill test certificate is issued against the ordered grade with chemical composition and mechanical properties, so your own engineer can confirm the material sits inside the specification the drawing calls for. Pipe is certified to EN 10204 where that is the ordered format.
After Shipment Documents and Record
Six months later nobody can remember why an alternative grade was accepted, and the traceability file for the project has a gap in it. The confirmed grade, the equivalence that was agreed and the mill test certificate travel with the shipment and are kept on file here as well, so a repeat order can be released to exactly the same material.
Deliverables
What You Receive
- A written grade line stating the specified designation, the grade supplied and the standard both sit under
- Substitution options quoted beside the specified grade with the practical difference explained
- Mill test certificate with chemical composition and mechanical properties against the ordered grade
- Material marked so the grade can be identified at goods inward without opening the file
- Packing list showing grade and dimensions bundle by bundle
- Sample material where it is available for evaluation before a production order
Who It Is For
Buyers Who Ask For This
- Fabrication buyers matching a client drawing grade to what can actually be bought this month
- Mold and tool rooms cross referencing P20 D2 and M2 against their European and Japanese designations
- Machine builders standardizing a material list across several plate and tube grades
- Distributors quoting against an end user specification written to a different national standard
- Project procurement teams needing the equivalence documented for the traceability file
- Workshops moving from an overspecified single grade to a zoned material list
Applies To
Products Handled This Way
D2/SKD11 Mold Steel
Vacuum degassed cold work die steel with strong hardenability and stable size
Specifications
M2 high speed steel
Universal tungsten molybdenum tool steel for cutting tools and cold work tooling
Specifications
1045 C45 S45C 1.1191 CK45 Steel Plate
Medium carbon engineering plate that machines soft and hardens on the working face
SpecificationsRelated
Ranges and Sectors This Applies To
Alloy Steel Sheet
Alloy plate grades for weathering structures high yield fabrication and tooling where plain carbon plate runs out of per
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Steel Sheet
The flat plate program spanning mild structural plate through to armor wear and shipbuilding grades
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Wear Resistant Steel Plate
The abrasion resistant branch of the steel plate range for chutes liners buckets and crusher wear parts
Read moreTooling and Mould Making
A tool room loses more time waiting for a block than cutting one. Tianyu Metal stocks the four families a die shop actua
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Construction Machinery and Agriculture
One loader or one tractor needs four different steels and most fabrication shops buy them from four different suppliers.
Read more
Construction and Infrastructure
Construction and infrastructure buyers order steel by the part it becomes: mild steel plate for base plates gussets and
Read moreQuestions Buyers Ask
Grade Selection and Substitution FAQ
How do you confirm two grades are equivalent rather than just similar?
We compare the chemical composition and the delivery condition, not only the designation. Mold steel sold as P20 also carries 1.2311 3Cr2Mo 618 718 and 35CrMo7, and D2 carries SKD11 1.2379 X153CrMoV12 and X12M. Where the match is partial we tell you which property differs so your engineer decides.
What happens if the grade on our drawing cannot be supplied at all?
You get told that at enquiry stage rather than after the order. We then quote the closest grades we can actually deliver in your thickness and width, with the difference in strength hardness or corrosion resistance stated so the substitution is your decision.
Can you supply more than one grade on the same order?
Yes. A zoned material list is normal, for example AR600 on the wear face with AR400 behind it, or S690 on a loaded member with a mild steel plate elsewhere. Each grade carries its own certificate and its own marking.
Which stainless grades do you cross reference?
Sheet is supplied in 201 304 310 316 430 409 and 410, and pipe in 201 202 301 304 304L 309S 310S 316 316Ti 316L 410 430 2205 and 904L to ASTM A312 EN10216 and JIS G3463. State the medium and temperature and we will confirm which of those is normally used for the duty.
We only know the hardness we need. Can you still quote?
Yes. Wear plate is sold as AR400 AR500 and AR600, and bullet resistant plate at 500-600HB under names such as NP550 PRO500 and Armox 500. Give the hardness or the protection level with the thickness and the part, and we will name the grades that reach it.
Does the mill test certificate show the equivalent grade or the one we ordered?
The certificate is issued against the grade the material was produced to. We state both designations on the order confirmation so the certificate and your drawing can be reconciled at goods inward. Ask for the mill test certificate at order stage so the format is agreed in advance.
Need Grade Selection and Substitution
Tell us what the order looks like and we will confirm how we would run it.