Short-time hardening and tempering behaviour of low alloy tool steel 60 WCrV 7

The effect of short heat treatment cycles, typical for induction or laser hardening, with different variations in austenitising time and temperature as well as different tempering parameters on the low-alloy steel 60 WCrV 7 was simulated on a quench dilatometer. Investigations of the heat treated material were performed using optical and scanning electron microscopy, as well as micro-hardness testing, x-ray diffraction and micro-impact testing. The results reveal the effects of different heat treatment parameters on the hardness and toughness properties in addition to shedding some light on metallurgical reasons for this behaviour. Furthermore, the results provide conclusions for optimum short-time heat treatment conditions and reveal a significant potential for strongly reduced heat treatment cycles, which may also be applied in areas besides surface hardening.