CPM® 3V PM Knife Steel
Industries: Cutlery & Knives / Industrial
- CPM® alloys are powder metals that exhibit high toughness and heat resistance
- Cutlery, stamping & forming tools, dies, scrap choppers, fine blanking tools, and planer blades coining dies
- ASTM A681
- Manufactured in the USA
For a data sheet on CPM® 3V PM Knife Steel, please click here
Tolerance and Finish
Material is sandblasted to a gray matte finish.
The thickness and width are supplied oversize to finish at the requested dimension.
Cutting Methods
All orders will be sheared to size unless the width is too narrow.
$100 minimum per order please.
All dimensions are in inches.
The length can range from 35-1/2 to 38 inches.
The width for 24" sheets can range from 23 to 25 inches.
CPM® 3V PM knife steel delivers outstanding toughness and wear resistance, ideal for heavy-duty knife and tooling applications.
Hot rolled & processed by the employee owners of Niagara Specialty Metals in Akron NY
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- Learn more about our Specialty Metals for Cutlery and Knives. Click here to explore the full range of knife steels we supply.
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Cut Method by Thickness / Width
| Surface Finish | Descaled |
|---|---|
| Width | 1", 1.5", 2", 3", 6", 24" |
| Thickness: .103/.113 thick will finish at | .093" thick |
| Thickness: .140/.156 thick will finish at | .125” thick |
| Thickness: .172/.188 thick will finish at | .156” thick |
| Thickness: .207/.227 thick will finish at | .187” thick |
| Thickness: .275/.300 thick will finish at | .250” thick |
CPM® 3V PM Knife Steel Data Sheet
Typical Composition
| C | Mn | Si | Cr | Mo | V |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.80 | 0.30 | 1.00 | 7.50 | 1.30 | 2.75 |
CPM ®3V is designed to provide maximum resistance to breakage and chipping in a highly wear–resistant tool steel. CPM® 3V offers impact toughness greater than A–2, D–2, CRU–WEAR® or CPM® M4, approaching the levels of S–7 and other shock resistant grades, yet it provides excellent wear resistance, high hardness, and thermal stability for coatings. Intended to be used at HRC 58–60, CPM® 3V can replace high alloy tool steels in wear applications where chronic tool breakage and chipping problems are encountered.
The CPM® process produces very homogeneous, high–quality steel characterized by superior dimensional stability, grindability, and toughness compared to steels produced by conventional processes.
Typical Applications: Stamping or forming tools, punches and dies, powder compaction tooling, blanking dies, industrial knives and slitters, shear blades, fine blanking tools, scrap choppers, cold heading tooling, rolls, and plastic injection feeder screws and tips.
Mechanical Properties
Impact Toughness
The CPM® microstructure gives CPM® 3V its high impact toughness which approaches that of the shock resistant tool steels.
Wear Resistance
Due to the Vanadium carbides in its microstructure, CPM® 3V has excellent wear resistance, like D–2.
Relative Mechanical Properties
The combination of wear resistance and toughness of CPM® 3V makes it an excellent alternative to some other tool steel due to its high impact toughness and high range of wear resistance.
Thermal Treatments
Annealing: Heat to 1650°F (900°C), hold 2 hours, slow cool no faster than 25°F (15°C) per hour to 1100°F (595°C), then furnace cool or cool in still air to room temperature.
Annealed Hardness: About BHN 241
Stress Relieving
Annealed Parts: Heat to 1100–1300°F (595–705°C), hold 2 hours, then furnace cool or cool in still air.
Hardened Parts: Heat to 25–50°F (15–30°C) below original tempering temperature, hold 2 hours, then furnace cool or cool in still air.
Hardening
Preheat: Heat to 1500–1550°F (815–845°C), Equalize.
Austenitize: 1875–2050°F (1025–1120°C), hold time at temperature 20–45 minutes.
Quench: Air or positive pressure quench (2 bar minimum) to below 125°F (50°C), or salt bath or interrupted oil quench to about 1000°F (540°C), then air cool to below 125°F (50°C). Salt bath treatment, if practical, will ensure the maximum attainable toughness for a given hardening treatment.
Temper: Triple temper at 1000–1050°F (540–565°C). Hold for a minimum of 2 hours each temper.
Size Change: +0.03/0.05%
Recommended Heat Treatment: For the best combination of toughness and wear resistance, austenitize at 1950°F (1065°C), hold 30–45 minutes, and quench. Temper 3 times at 1000°F (540°C).
Aim Hardness: HRC 58–60. Higher austenitizing temperatures can be used to obtain higher hardness, at a slight decrease in impact resistance. The lower austenitizing temperatures provide the best impact toughness.
Machinability and Grindability
Machinability in the annealed condition is similar to D–2 and CRU–WEAR®, but grindability will be slightly better. Similar grinding equipment and practices are acceptable. “SG” type alumina wheels or CBN wheels have generally given the best performance with CPM® steels.
| Heat Treatment Austenitizing Temperature |
HRC | Impact Toughness Ft-lb |
(J) |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPM® 3V | 58 | 85 | (113) |
| CPM® 3V | 60 | 70 | (95) |
| CPM® 3V | 61 | 40 | (53) |
| S-7 | 57 | 125 | (165) |
| A-2 | 60 | 40 | (53) |
| D-2 | 60 | 21 | (28) |
| CRU-WEAR® | 62 | 30 | (40) |
| M-2 | 62 | 20 | (27) |
| CPM® M4 | 62 | 32 | (43) |
| Heat Treat Response (HRC Hardness) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Austenitizing Temperature | |||
| Tempering Temperature | 1875°F (1025°C) | 1950°F (1065°C) | 2050°F (1120°C) |
| Minimum Time | 45 Min | 30 Min | 20 Min |
| As Quenched | 58 | 62 | 63 |
| 1000°F (540°C) | 56 | 59 | 61 |
| 1025°F (555°C) | 54 | 57 | 60 |
| 1050°F (565°C) | 61 | 54 | 57 |
| Minimum Tempers | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Surface Treatments
Because of its high tempering temperatures (>1000°F) CPM® 3V is suitable for nitriding, PVD coating or similar surface treatments. CVD coating processes generally exceed the critical temperature and may result in non–predictable dimensional changes.
This data sheet is for informational purposes only. Alloy characteristics are subject to change due to chemical composition and/or processing. We do not certify the material’s suitability for specific applications.
