POLISHING MOULD STEEL

SS-EN ISO 9001SS-EN ISO 14001

ContentsWhy strive for a high surface finish? ........ 3

Judging surface finish ............................... 3

Factors which affect polishability .............. 3

Grinding and stoning of moulds ............... 4

Polishing of moulds .................................. 5

Typical polishing sequences ...................... 6

Different surface conditions priorto polishing .............................................. 8

Surface roughness after differentheat treatment methods .......................... 8

Polishing problems can be solved ............ 8

This information is based on our present state of knowledge and is intended to provide generalnotes on our products and their uses. It should not therefore be construed as a warranty ofspecific properties of the products described or a warranty for fitness for a particular purpose.

Classified according to EU Directive 1999/45/ECFor further information see our “Material Safety Data Sheets”.

Edition 4, 12.2007The latest revised edition of this brochure is the English version,which is always published on our web site www.uddeholm.com

POLISHING MOULD STEEL

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Figure 1. A typical inclusion picture in con-ventional and ESR-material. (An “inclusionpicture” is made up from 70 superimposedphotographs at high magnification.)

Conventional

70 x

Why strive for ahigh surface finish?The increased use of plastic productshas created a higher demand for mirrorfinish of moulding tools. The highestdemands for surface finish are in theoptical lens mould where an extremerequirement on polishability is desired.

However, in general there are otheradvantages with high surface finish,including:• Easier ejection of the plastic

parts from the moulding tool(applies to most plastics)

• Reduced risk of local corrosion• Reduced risk of fracture or

cracking due to temporary overloading or pure fatigue.

This brochure reviews the factors thataffect the polishability of mould steelsand gives recommendations on how toeconomically obtain the required finishon the main steel grades used. Inmaking these recommendations, it isrecognized that the skill, experience andtechnique of the polisher plays anextremely important role in achievingthe desired surface finish.

Lens mould with extreme demand on polishability. The material choice was Uddeholm Stavax ESR.

Judgingsurface finishTwo things are important when judgingthe surface of the mould. The surfacemust first have a geometrically correctshape without any long macro waves.This macro shape is mostly an inherit-ance from earlier grinding and stoningsteps.

Secondly, the mirror finish of themould surface must be free fromscratches, pores, orange peel, pitting(pin-holes) etc. The surface finish isnormally judged by the naked eye. Thereare certain difficulties involved in such avisual evaluation. A “flat” surface canlook perfect despite the fact that it isnot geometrically completely flat. Thus,the eye can be “fooled”.

Factors whichaffect polishabilityThe surface smoothness which can beachieved by polishing steel depends onfactors such as:• Tool steel quality• Heat treatment• Polishing technique.

In general, it can be stated that polish-ing technique is the most importantfactor. If a suitable polishing tech-niqueis used it is almost always possible toachieve acceptable results, providing acorrectly heat treated, good quality toolsteel is used. If however, an unsuitabletechnique is used, even the best steelscan be ruined.

THE TOOL STEEL QUALITY

Particles or areas in the steel surfacewhich deviate from the matrix in termsof hardness and other properties cancause problems during polishing. Slaginclusions of various types and porosi-ties are examples of such undesirableconstituents. To improve the polishingproperties, Uddeholm uses vacuumdegassing, electro-slag refining (ESR)

and vacuum arc remelting (VAR) tech-niques in the production of its mouldsteel grades.

Vacuum degassing reduces the riskof large slag inclusions and hydrogenembrittlement and also produces amore homogeneous material.

ESR/VAR treatment greatly im-proves properties from the viewpoint ofpolishability, even better than thoseachieved by vacuum degassing. ESR/VAR treatment reduces the amount ofslag inclusions in the steel and ensuresthat the remaining slag inclusions whichcannot be avoided will be small andevenly distributed throughout the ma-trix, as shown in figure 1.

Uddeholm Stavax ESR, UddeholmMirrax ESR and Uddeholm Polmaxstainless mould steels, produced by theESR and/or the VAR technique, haveproved particularly suitable for mouldswith the highest surface finish require-ments, e.g. optical lenses.

ESR

In more sophisticated cases, the finishcan be judged by instrumentalmethods, such as optical interferencetechniques.

POLISHING MOULD STEEL

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HEAT TREATMENT

Heat treatment can affect polishabilityin many ways. A case-hardening steelwhich has been overcarburized is likelyto have an unsuitable structure forpolishing. This is caused by the creationof small oxide particles under the steelsurface, leading to polishing problems.Decarburization or recarburization ofthe surface during heat treatment canproduce variations in hardness, resultingin polishing difficulties.

POLISHING TECHNIQUE

Different steel grades effecton polishing techniques

Most Uddeholm mould steels, whenused at the same hardness levels, takesimilar polishing times when usingstandard polishing techniques. Excep-tions to this are Uddeholm Stavax ESR,Uddeholm Mirrax ESR and UddeholmPolmax stainless mould steels. Thesegrades are capable of producing thevery best surface quality, but manymouldmakers use a slightly differentpolishing technique to achieve it. Theimportant thing is to grind to as fine asurface finish as possible before startingthe polishing operation. Great import-ance is placed on stopping the polishingoperation immediately the last scratchfrom the former grain size has beenremoved.

Different hardnesses effecton polishing technique

Higher hardness levels make the mouldsteel more difficult to grind but givehigher surface smoothness after polish-ing. However, harder mould steelsrequire a slightly longer polishing timeto achieve higher surface finishes. Withhigher hardness levels, over-polishing isless likely to be a problem.

Grinding and ston-ing of mouldsPRACTICAL HINTS

Normally, a mould cavity is produced bymeans of milling, EDM’ing or hobbing.If a very smooth surface is desired,the following sequences should befollowed: After milling: rough grinding, finegrinding and polishing. After EDM’ing: fine grinding and pol-ishing.After hobbing: a single polishing opera-tion after heat treatment.

It should be emphasized that the grind-ing operation forms the basis for a rapidand successful polishing job. In grinding,the marks left by the rough-machiningoperation are removed and a metalli-cally pure and geometrically correctsurface is obtained. Certain rules shouldbe followed to facilitate the work andensure good results. This applies to bothmechanical grinding and manual ston-ing.

• The grinding operation must notgenerate so much heat and pressurethat the structure and hardness ofthe material are affected. Use plentyof coolant.

• Use only clean and free-cuttinggrinding tools with soft stones forhard surfaces.

• Between each change of grain size,the workpiece and hands should becleaned to prevent coarse abrasiveparticles and dust being carried overto the next stage with a finer grainsize.

• The finer the grain size used, themore important is the cleaningoperation between each change ofgrain size.

• When changing to next next-finergrain size, grind in a direction atabout 45° to the previous grindingdirection until the surface only showsscratches from the present grindingstep. After scratches from the previ-ous step have disappeared continuefor about 25% longer time beforechanging to the next grain size (ex-cept for Uddeholm Stavax ESR,Uddeholm Mirrax ESR and UddeholmPolmax). This is to remove the “de-formed” surface layer caused bymechanical stresses induced duringprevious grinding operations.

• Changing grinding direction is alsoimportant to avoid the formation ofirregularities and relief patterns.

• When grinding large, flat mouldsurfaces, avoid hand-operatedgrinding discs. The use of a stonereduces the risk of obtaining largeshape irregularities.

Soft annealed Hardened

Figure 2. The relationshipbetween increasing hardness levels,

grindability and polishability

Grindabilityand polishability

Polishability(surface smoothness)

Grindability

Increasing hardness

POLISHING MOULD STEEL

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Time-consuming and expensive polish-ing can be cut by observing certainrules.

Above all, cleanliness in everystep of the polishing operation isof such great importance that itcannot be overemphasized.

• Polishing should be carried out indust- and draughtfree places. Harddust particles can easily contaminatethe abrasive and ruin an almostfinished surface.

• Each polishing tool should be usedfor only one paste grade and kept in dust-proof containers.

• The polishing tools gradually become“impregnated” and improve withuse.

Polishing of mouldsPRACTICAL HINTS

Diamond paste is the most commonabrasive agent used in polishing.

Optimum performance is obtainedwith the right paste, on the right polish-ing tool. The most common polishingtools are sticks, pads and blocks formanual use and bobs, brushes and discsfor machines.

Polishing tools are available in mate-rials of different hardnesses from metalsthrough different types of fibre (e.g.wood, synthetic fibre) to soft felt. Thehardness of the polishing tool affectsthe exposure of the diamond grains andthe removal rate. The following figureillustrates this:

Soft Medium Hard

Felt Wood Steel

Hardened steel

• Hands and workpiece should becleaned carefully between eachchange of paste grade, the workpiecewith a grease solvent and the handswith soap.

• Paste should be applied to thepolishing tool in manual polishing,while in machine polishing, the pasteshould be applied to the workpiece.

• Polishing pressure should be adjust-ed to the hardness of the polishingtool and the grade of the paste. Forthe finest grain sizes, the pressureshould only be the weight of thepolishing tool.

• Heavy material removal requireshard polishing tools and coarsepaste.

• Finish polishing of plastic mouldsshould be carried out in the releasedirectional.

• Polishing should start in the corners,edges and fillets or other difficultparts of the mould.

• Be careful with sharp corners andedges, so they are not rounded off.Preferably use hard polishing tools.

Polishing a plastic mould.

POLISHING MOULD STEEL

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50

80

120

180

220

320

800

1200

45 µm

25

15

9631

ClothHardness Cloth material Abrasive Micron

Very hard SteelNylon reinforced Diamond 45, 15,

6, 3

Hard Coated nylon Diamond 9, 6, 3

Hard Silk Diamond 15, 6, 3, 1 Alumina

Hard Paper Diamond 15, 6, 3 Alumina

Soft Wool Diamond 6, 3, 1

Soft Dense nylonvelvet Diamond 3

Very soft Velvet Diamond 1 and smaller Alumina MgO OP-S

Typical polishingsequencesThe choice of grinding and polishingsequences is determined by the experi-ence of the operator and the equipmenthe has at his disposal. The propertiesof the material can also affect thesequence.

In polishing there are two methodsused. In the first method, a paste with acertain grain size is selected and a hardpolishing tool is used initially, afterwhich softer and softer polishing toolsare used. In the second method, amedium-hard polishing tool is selected

and coarse paste is used initially. Thenthe grain size of the paste is graduallyreduced towards finer and finer pastes.A combination of these two methodscan be recommended.Example of sequences:– Start with a hard polishing tool and a

coarse paste.– Then change to a softer polishing

tool with the same paste.– Then use a medium-hard polishing

tool and a medium-coarse paste.– Change to a soft polishing tool with

the same paste.– Finally, use a soft polishing tool and

a fine paste.

This diagram shows example of how thepolishing sequence can be selected.

Rough Grainnumber

Rough

Rough Micronsize

Grainnumber

FEPAD-series

Rough grinding

Fine grinding

MillingTurningEDM’ing

Fine Fine

FinePolishing withdiamond paste

Examples of how to combine polishingtool and grain size of the abrasive.

POLISHING MOULD STEEL

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Grain sizes Commercial FEPAµm grain number grain number

5100–4000 44000–3500 53500–2830 6

2830–2380 8 82380–2000 10 102000–1680 12 12

1680–1410 14 141410–1190 16 161190–1000 20 201000– 840 (22) 840– 710 24 24

710– 590 30 30 590– 500 36 36 500– 420 40 (40) 420– 350 46 46 350– 297 50 50 297– 250 60 60

250– 210 70 70 210– 177 80 80 177– 149 90 90 149– 125 100 100 125– 105 120 120

105– 88 150 150 88– 74 180 180 74– 62 200 F-series 200 D-series 62– 53 220 No. µm 220 No. µm

230 56,0 ±3

53– 45 240 240 49,3 ±2 240 240 58,5 ±2 45– 37 280 280 41,5 ±1,5 280 52,2 ±2

37– 31 320 320 34,4 ±1,5 320 46,2 ±1,5360 28,2 ±1,5 360 40,5 ±1,5

31– 27 400 400 23,0 ±1,0 400 35,0 ±1,5 27– 22 500 500 18,2 ±1,0 500 30,2 ±1,5 22– 18 600 600 14,3 ±1,0 600 25,75±1,0 18– 15 700 15– 11 800 800 10,6 ±1,0 800 21,8 ±1,0

11– 8 1000 1000 7,8 ±0,8 1000 18,3 ±1,01200 5,6 ±0,5 1200 15,2 ±1,0

8– 5 2000 2400 10 5– 0 3000 4000 5

Grain size 30 µm 7 µm 1 µmArithmetic Average micro inch 2,4 0,4 0,24

Grain size 90–75 µm 27–24 µm 16–14 µmArithmetic Average micro inch 8 2,8 1,2

Surface roughness after using diamond paste on nylon cloth. Magnification x 300

Surface roughness after grinding. Magnification x 300

Grain size conversion table

POLISHING MOULD STEEL

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IMPAX SUPREME300 HB

RIGOR60 HRC

Surface roughnessRa µm

0,06

0,05

0,04

0,03

0,02

0,01

“ORANGE PEEL”

The appearance of an irregular, roughsurface, which is normally referred to as“orange peel”, may depend on anumber of different causes. The mostcommon is overheating or overcarburi-zation from heat treatment in combina-tion with high pressure and prolongedpolishing. A harder material can betterwithstand a high polishing pressure,softer steels overpolish more easily.Studies have shown that the overpolish-ing effect occurs at different polishingtimes for different hardnesses.

Different surfaceconditions prior topolishingEDM’d surfaces are more difficult togrind than conventionally machined orheat treated surfaces. An EDM-opera-tion should be finished with a finesparking stage. If the fine sparkingstage is performed correctly, there willbe no problems. If not, a thin rehard-ened layer will remain on the surface.This layer is considerably harder thanthe matrix and must be removed.

A nitrided or case hardened surfaceis more difficult to grind than basematerial but takes a good surface finishafter polishing. However, small defectsproduced in the surface layer do notalways allow the extremely high surfacefinishes to be obtained.

A mould that has been flame-hardened or repair welded often showsa soft zone between the treated partand the base material. To avoid a ditchformation along the soft zone use abroad stone.

Polishing problemscan be solvedThe predominant problem in polishing isso-called “overpolishing”. Overpolish-ing is the term used when a polishedsurface gets worse the longer you polishit. There are basically two phenomenawhich appear when a surface is over-polished: “Orange peel” and “Pitting”(pin holes). It should be pointed out thatoverpolishing often occurs in connectionwith machine polishing.

Surface roughnessafter different heattreatment methodsMany toolmakers ask the question:“How far should I go in grinding stepsbefore heat treatment?”

It should be borne in mind thatduring heat treatment some dimen-sional changes are likely to take place,possibly requiring a final finishingoperation. Furthermore, the surfacefinish of the mould may be affected bythe heat treatment medium. There is nopoint, therefore, in polishing a mould toa very high finish before heat treatmentif size/shape changes and/or surfacedeterioration make further finishingoperations necessary.

The normal reaction of a person whosees that a surface has deteriorated isto increase the polishing pressure andcontinue polishing. Such a course ofaction will inevitably result in furthersurface deterioration.

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Polishing time, minutes

Either of the following alternatives canbe adopted to restore the surface.

Alt 1 Remove the defective surfacelayer by grinding the surfaceusing the next-to-last grindingstep prior to polishing. Startagain at the final grinding stage.Use a lower pressure duringpolishing than before.

Alt 2 Stress-relieve at a temperatureabout 25°C (45°F) below the lasttempering temperature. Regrindusing the final grinding stepprior to polishing until a satis-factory surface has been obtain-ed. Start polishing again, but at alower polishing pressure thanbefore.

If the result is still not good, the hard-ness must be raised. This can be donein a number of different ways:

• Increase the surface hardness of thesteel by means of nitriding or nitro-carburizing treatment.

• Heat treat the tool to a higherhardness.

POLISHING MOULD STEEL

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“PITTING”

The very small pits which can occur in apolished surface generally result fromslag (non-metallic) inclusions in theform of hard, brittle oxides which havebeen torn out from the surface by thepolishing process. The causal factorswhich are of im-portance in this connec-tion are:

• Polishing time and pressure.• Purity of the steel, especially with

regard to hard slag inclusions.• The polishing tool.• The abrasive.

One of the reasons why pitting canoccur is the difference in hardnessbetween the matrix and the slag inclu-sion. During polishing, the matrix will beremoved at a more rapid rate than thehard slag particles. Polishing will gradu-ally “undermine” the slag particle untilthe particle is torn out of the materialby further polishing. This leaves a pit.The problem is most often encounteredin the case of paste grain size less than10 µm and soft polishing tools (e.g.felt).

One way to minimise the risk ofpitting is to select high-purity mouldsteels that have been subjected tovacuum-degassing, electro-slag refining(ESR) or vacuum arc remelting (VAR)during manufacture.

If pitting still occurs the following meas-ures should be taken:

• Regrind the surface carefully usingthe next-to-last grinding step prior topolishing. Use a soft free-cuttingstone. Then start with the final grind-ing step and then polish.

• When using grain sizes 10 µm andsmaller, the softest polishing toolsshould be avoided.

• Polish for the shortest possible timeand under lowest possible pressure.

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EuropeAustriaRepresentative officeUDDEHOLMAlbstraße 10DE-73765 NeuhausenTelephone: +49 7158 9865-0www.uddeholm.de

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North ChinaHead officeASSAB Tooling (Beijing) Co LtdNo.10A Rong Jing Dong JieBeijing Economic Development AreaBeijing 100176, ChinaTelephone: +86 10 6786 5588www.assabsteels.com

Branch officesASSAB Tooling (Beijing) LtdDalian Branch8 Huanghai Street, Haerbin RoadEconomic & Technical Develop. DistrictDalian 116600, ChinaTelephone: +86 411 8761 8080

ASSAB Qingdao OfficeRoom 2521, Kexin MansionNo. 228 Liaoning Road, Shibei DistrictQingdao 266012, ChinaTelephone: +86 532 8382 0930

ASSAB Tianjin OfficeNo.12 Puwangli Wanda XinchengXinyibai Road, Beichen DistrictTianjin 300402, ChinaTelephone: +86 22 2672 0006

Central ChinaHead officeASSAB Tooling Technology(Shanghai) Co LtdNo. 4088 Humin RoadXinzhuang Industrial ZoneShanghai 201108, ChinaTelephone: +86 21 5442 2345www.assabsteels.com

Branch officesASSAB Tooling Technology(Ningbo) Co LtdNo. 218 Longjiaoshan RoadVehicle Part Industrial ParkNingbo Economic & Technical Dev.ZoneNingbo 315806, ChinaTelephone: +86 574 8680 7188

ASSAB Tooling Technology(Chongqing) Co LtdPlant C, Automotive Industrial lParkChongqing Economic & TechnologicalDevelopment ZoneChongqing 401120, ChinaTelephone: +86 23 6745 5698

South ChinaHead officeASSAB Steels (HK) LtdRoom 1701–1706Tower 2 Grand Central Plaza138 Shatin Rural Committee RoadShatin NT - Hong KongTelephone: +852 2487 1991www.assabsteels.com

Branch officesASSAB Tooling (Dongguan) Co LtdNorthern DistrictSong Shan Lake Science & TechnologyIndustrial ParkDongguan 523808, ChinaTelephone: +86 769 2289 7888www.assabsteels.com

ASSAB Tooling (Xiamen) Co LtdFirst Floor Universal WorkshopNo. 30 Huli ZoneXiamen 361006, ChinaTelephone: +86 592 562 4678

Hong KongASSAB Steels (HK) LtdRoom 1701-1706Grand Central Plaza, Tower 2138 Shatin Rural Committee RoadShatin NT, Hong KongTelephone: +852 2487 1991www.assabsteels.com

IndiaASSAB Sripad Steels LTDT 303 D.A.V. ComplexMayur Vihar Ph I ExtensionIN-Delhi-110 091Telephone: +91 11 2271 2736www.assabsripad.com

ASSAB Sripad Steels LTD709, Swastik ChambersSion-Trombay RoadChemburIN-Mumbai-400 071Telephone: +91 22 2522-7110, -8133www.assabsripad.com

ASSAB Sripad Steels LTDPadmalaya TowersJanaki AvenueM.R.C. NagarIN-Chennai-600 028Telephone: +91 44 2495 2371www.assabsripad.com

ASSAB Sripad Steels LTD19X, D. P. P. RoadNaktola Post OfficeIN-Kolkata-700 047Telephone: +91 (33) 400 1645www.assabsripad.com

ASSAB Sripad Steels LTDGround floor, Plot No 11-6-8Opp IDPL Factory Out GateBalanagarIN-Hyderabad-500 037Telephone: +91 (40) 2377 8148www.assabsripad.com

IndonesiaHead officePT ASSAB Steels IndonesiaJl. Rawagelam III No. 5Kawasan Industri PulogadungJakarta 13930, IndonesiaTelephone: +62 21 461 1314www.assabsteels.com

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Branch officesSURABAYA BRANCHJl. Berbek Industri 1/23Surabaya Industrial Estate, RungkutSurabaya 60293, East Java, IndonesiaTelephone: +62 31 843 2277

MEDAN BRANCHKomplek Griya Riatur IndahBlok A No.138Jl. T. Amir HamzahHalvetia Timur, Medan 20124Telephone: +62 61 847 7935/6

BANDUNG BRANCHKomp. Ruko Bumi KencanaJl. Titian Kencana Blok ENo.5 Bandung 40233Telephone: +62 22 604 1364

TANGERANG BRANCHPusat Niaga CibodasBlok C No. 7 TangerangTelephone: +62 21 921 9596, 551 2732

SEMARANG BRANCHJl. Imam Bonjol No.155R.208 Semarang 50124Telephone: +62 358 8167

IranASSAB INTERNATIONAL ABP.O. Box 19395IR-1517 TEHRANTelephone: +98 21 888 35392www.assabiran.com

IsraelPACKER YADPAZ QUALITYSTEELS LtdP.O. Box 686Ha-Yarkon St. 7, Industrial ZoneIL-81106 YAVNETelephone: +972 8 932 8182www.packer.co.il

JapanUDDEHOLM KKAtago East Building3-16-11 Nishi ShinbashiMinato-ku, Tokyo 105-0003, JapanTelephone: + 81 3 5473 4641www.assabsteels.com

JordanENGINEERING WAY Est.P.O. Box 874Abu AlandaJO-AMMAN 11592Telephone: +962 6 4161962engineeringway@assab.com

MalaysiaHead officeASSAB Steels (Malaysia) Sdn BhdLot 19, Jalan Perusahaan 2Batu Caves Industrial Estate68100 Batu CavesSelangor MalaysiaTelephone: +60 3 6189 0022www.assabsteels.com

Branch officesBUTTERWORTH BRANCHPlot 146aJalan Perindustrial Bukit Minyak 7Kawasan Perindustrial Bukit Minyak14000 Bukit Mertajam, SPT PenangTelephone: +60 4 507 2020

JOHOR BRANCHNo. 8, Jalan Persiaran TeknologiTaman Teknologi81400 SenaiJohor DT, MalaysiaTelephone: +60 7 598 0011

New ZealandVIKING STEELS25 Beach Road, OtahuhuP.O. Box 13-359, OnehungaNZ-AucklandTelephone: +64 9 270 1199www.ssm.co.nz

PakistanASSAB International ABP.O. Box 17595Jebel AliAE-DubaiTelephone: +971 488 12165www.assab.se

PhilippinesASSOCIATED SWEDISH STEELSPHILS Inc.No. 3 E. Rodriguez Jr., AvenueBagong Ilog, Pasig CityPhilippinesTelephone: +632 671 1953/2048www.assabsteels.com

Republic of KoreaHead officeASSAB Steels (Korea) Co Ltd116B-8L, 687-8, Kojan-dongNamdong-kuIncheon 405-310, KoreaTelephone: +82 32 821 4300www.assabsteels.com

Branch officesBUSAN BRANCH14B-5L, 1483-9, Songjeong-dongKangseo-ku, Busan 618-270, KoreaTelephone: +82 51 831 3315

DAEGU BRANCHRoom 27, 7-Dong2 FIndustry Materials Bldg.1629Sangyeog-Dong, Buk-KuKorea-Daegu 702-710Telephone: +82 53 604 5133

LebanonWARDE STEEL & METALS SARL METCharles Helou Av, Warde BldgP.O. Box 165886LB-BeirutTelephone: +961 1 447228lebanon@assab.com

Saudi ArabiaASSAB INTERNATIONAL ABP.O. Box 255092SA-Riyadh 11353Telephone: +966 1 4466542assab@emirates.net.ae

SingaporeHead office PacificASSAB Pacific Pte Ltd171, Chin Swee RoadNo. 07-02, SAN CentreSG-Singapore 169877Telephone: +65 6534 5600www.assabsteels.com

JurongASSAB Steels Singapore (Pte) Ltd18, Penjuru CloseSG-608616 SingaporeTelephone: +65 6862 2200

Sri LankaGERMANIA COLOMBO PRIVATE Ltd.451/A Kandy RoadLK-KelaniyaTelephone: +94 11 2913556www.iwsholdings.com

SyriaWARDE STEEL & METALS SARL METCharles Helou Av, Warde BldgP.O. Box 165886LB-BeirutTelephone: +961 1 447228lebanon@assab.com

TaiwanHead officeASSAB Steels (Taiwan) Co LtdNo. 112 Wu Kung 1st Rd.Wu Ku Industry ZoneTW-Taipei 248-87, Taiwan (R.O.C.)Telephone: +886 2 2299 2849www.assabsteels.com

Branch officesNANTOU BRANCHNo. 10, Industry South 5th RoadNan Kang Industry ZoneNantou 540-66, Taiwan (R.O.C.)Telephone: +886 49 225 1702TAINAN BRANCHNo. 180, Yen He Street,Yong Kang CityTainan 710-82, Taiwan (R.O.C.)Telephone: +886 6 242 6838

ThailandASSAB Steels (Thailand) Ltd9/8 Soi Theedinthai,Taeparak Road, Bangplee,Samutprakarn 10540, ThailandTelephone: +66 2 385 5937,+66 2 757 5017www.assabsteels.com

United Arab EmiratesASSAB INTERNATIONAL ABP.O. Box 17595Jebel AliAE-DubaiTelephone: +971 488 12165www.assab.se

VietnamCAM Trading Steel Co Ltd90/8 Block 5, Tan Thoi Nhat WardDistrict 12, Ho Chi Minh CityVietnamTelephone: +84 8 5920 920www.assabsteels.com

Other AsiaASSAB INTERNATIONAL ABBox 42E-171 11 Solna, SwedenTelephone: +46 8 564 616 70www.assab.se

AfricaEgyptMISR SWEDEN FORENGINEERING IND.Montaser Project No 20Flat No 14Al Ahram Street-El TabiaEG-Giza CairoTelephone: +20 2 7797751www.assab.se

KenyaSANDVIK Kenya LtdP.O. Box 18264Post code 00500KE-NairobiTelephone: +254 20 532 866info@sandvik.co.ke

MoroccoMCM Distribution4 Bis, Rue 8610 - Z.I.2035 Charguia 1TN-TunisTelephone: + 216 71 802 479

South AfricaUDDEHOLM Africa (Pty.) Ltd.P.O. Box 539ZA-1600 Isando/JohannesburgTelephone: +27 11 974 2791www.bohler-uddeholm.co.za

TunisiaMCM Distribution4 Bis, Rue 8610 - Z.I.2035 Charguia 1TN-TunisTelephone: + 216 71 802 479www.mcm.com.tn

ZimbabweRepresentative office:UDDEHOLM Africa (Pty.) Ltd.P.O. Box 539ZA-1600 Isando/JohannesburgTelephone: +27 11 974 2781www.bohler-uddeholm.co.za

Other African CountriesASSAB INTERNATIONAL ABBox 42SE-171 11 Solna, SwedenTelephone: +46 8 564 616 70www.assab.se

www.assab.com www.uddeholm.com www.uddeholm.com

Network of excellenceUddeholm is present on every continent. This ensures you

high-quality Swedish tool steel and local support wherever you

are. Assab is our wholly-owned subsidiary and exclusive sales

channel, representing Uddeholm in various parts of the world.

Together we secure our position as the world’s leading supplier

of tooling materials.

HA

GFO

RS KLARTEX

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Uddeholm is the world’s leading supplier of tooling materials. This

is a position we have reached by improving our customers’ everyday

business. Long tradition combined with research and product develop-

ment equips Uddeholm to solve any tooling problem that may arise.

It is a challenging process, but the goal is clear – to be your number one

partner and tool steel provider.

Our presence on every continent guarantees you the same high quality

wherever you are. Assab is our wholly-owned subsidiary and exclusive

sales channel, representing Uddeholm in various parts of the world.

Together we secure our position as the world’s leading supplier of

tooling materials. We act worldwide, so there is always an Uddeholm

or Assab representative close at hand to give local advice and support.

For us it is all a matter of trust – in long-term partnerships as well as in

developing new products. Trust is something you earn, every day.

For more information, please visit www.uddeholm.com or www.assab.com