The steel in a stamped part is the workpiece; the steel in a punch or die is the tool. Harder or thicker sheet can change the demands on that tool, but it does not automatically make the hardest available die material the best choice. Blanking, bending and drawing impose different contact and failure conditions. [1][3]

A comparison image may place Cr12, Cr12MoV, SKD11, DC53, high-speed steels and YG15 in one star-rating table. That is a starting list of names, not a purchasing specification: some are standard designations, some are producer grades, and YG15 is described as cemented carbide rather than steel. HRA and HRC are also different Rockwell scales. The image's stars and shared hardness ranges are not used as evidence here. [1][7]

What do the common grade names actually tell you?

A name can identify a material family or a supplier product, but it does not define the delivered composition, microstructure or finished tool condition by itself. Confirm the applicable standard, certificate, delivery state and heat-treatment route before treating two grades as substitutes. [1][2][3]

The table separates verifiable categories from claims that still require a supplier specification. It is not a cross-reference allowing one material to be swapped directly for another.

Material names in the comparison image: useful classification, not a grade ranking
Name in the imageWhat the cited material supportsConfirm before buying
Cr12, Cr12MoVThe image lists these as cold-work die steels; no direct interchangeability with SKD11 or D2 is established here.Applicable standard, chemistry, delivery condition and certificate
SKD11, D2Daido lists its DC11 as SKD11 and calls D2 an equivalent; Uddeholm specifies AISI D2 for Sverker 21 and discusses abrasive-wear applications with relatively low chipping risk. [1][3]Actual supplier grade, production route, heat treatment and edge loading
DC53Daido describes its own 8Cr–2Mo cold-work grade as a hardness-and-toughness option; this does not prove longer life in every die. [1][2]Original product data, heat-treatment schedule, size change and matched die trial
SKH-51, ASP-23 and other high-speed steelsPowder high-speed steel is another route for demanding cold blanking. Uddeholm documents Vanadis 23 in such applications; that brochure does not certify ASP-23 or another named grade. [4]Producer, exact grade, powder process, target hardness and edge toughness
YG15The image calls YG15 cemented carbide. Cemented carbide is a different material class, commonly made from tungsten-carbide particles in a metallic binder. [7]Supplier-specific YG15 composition and hardness scale, support and fracture risk

The image also names SKH-9, M9 and 8566 without enough source, processing or heat-treatment detail to rank them. Do not combine its HRA and HRC figures into one hardness scale.

Match the material decision to the failure mode

If an edge rounds gradually and burrs increase, check whether abrasive wear is the main cause. Review the sheet, clearance, edge condition and lubrication. D2/SKD11-family steels can enter a wear-focused shortlist, but carbide size and distribution still matter. In Ozaki's low-cycle fatigue tests on specified 8Cr and SKD11 specimens, greater primary-carbide area fraction correlated with lower fatigue strength and cracks initiated at primary carbides. That laboratory result is a reason to look beyond HRC, not a prediction of production strokes for a named grade. [3][5]

If a punch corner chips or a die cracks, first inspect local stress, edge radius, transitions, support, alignment and heat treatment. A higher finished hardness alone does not establish lower chipping risk. Daido presents DC53 among grades balancing hardness and toughness, but the choice still needs the actual edge geometry and trial outcome. [1][2]

If sheet metal galls or marks against the tool, assess friction, surface condition, lubrication, clearance and coating along with the tool steel. In a published punching study, Higuchi and colleagues used 1.6 mm high-strength sheet and a 62 HRC DC53 punch under specified unlubricated, tilted-sheet and surface-treatment conditions. Clearance and treatment changed the observed tool life. The result supports testing the whole tool setup; its life ratios cannot be transferred to a different drawing. [6]

Why are hardness and heat treatment only part of the specification?

Hardness is useful only with its scale, test location, heat-treatment condition and acceptance range. HRA and HRC are different Rockwell scales; a number without a scale cannot be used to compare carbide and steel. Carbides, microstructure, residual stress and tool geometry can change wear and fracture behavior even when the reported HRC matches. [2][5][7]

Ask for the quench and temper schedule, subsequent coating steps and a dimensional recheck where fit matters. Daido's physical-property sheet lists representative DC53 hardness values of 60, 61 and 62 HRC under different stated tempering conditions. Those are conditioned product data, not a universal fixed hardness for DC53. [2]

Use one comparable sequence to choose a tool material

Keep the workpiece, drawing and acceptance basis fixed while comparing tool proposals:

  1. Describe the job: sheet grade and condition, thickness, strength or hardness if known, blanking, bending or drawing operation, edge shape, smallest radii and expected quantity.
  2. Record the current failure: photos of the edge and part, the location of burrs, galling or chips, and when the problem appears. Avoid the vague description “the die does not last.”
  3. Make proposals comparable: identify the specific grade and supplier, target hardness after heat treatment with scale and test location, coating, clearance, lubrication and planned maintenance.
  4. Run a representative trial: record accepted parts, burr or cut-edge condition, tool wear and maintenance events. Compare tooling cost per accepted part rather than only the price of a steel block. [1][3][6]

A buyer can send the supplier this brief: “Workpiece [grade and condition], thickness [value], operation [piercing, blanking or forming]. The existing punch shows [wear, chipping or galling] at [location]; photos and known run history are attached. Please propose two purchasable punch grades with heat treatment, coating and edge design, and state material certificates, final hardness measurement location, trial checks and maintenance conditions.” Mark unknown strength or volume as “to confirm.”

What should you send before asking for a new grade?

Start with a drawing, sketch or damaged-tool photo. Mark the failure location and share the sheet grade, thickness, operation and expected quantity if known. The tooling engineer can then decide whether a conventional cold-work steel, a tougher grade, powder high-speed steel or a supported carbide design merits a matched trial.

The aim is to connect failure cause, tool material, heat treatment and die structure. A ten-grade ranking cannot replace that comparison. For the separate question of which metal to use in the stamped part itself, use the stamped-part material guide.