Choosing a tool steel and any hardening specifications to go with.

[BF311]

I have a handheld assembly fixture made from C1018 steel that has not been case hardened or anything. The steel is showing signs of wear from being used hundreds of times. I would like to use a tool steel in replacement, but not familiar which tool steel(s) to use or what spec would be called out on the drawing as far as any hardening to send to the machine shop. Any help on this would be great, Thanks

 

[TVP]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but you have barely described the problem/situation that needs some engineering intervention. We need details in order to provide you with some guidance on material selection, heat treatment, etc. How big is this thing? Does it need welding at some point, or is it just a monolithic chunk? Distortion and cracking can be significant issues when heat treating fixtures that must precisely locate other objects. How precise do the dimensions need to be? It would be very helpful if you could post a drawing/sketch/etc. together with the pertinent details.

 

[BF311]

It is 5" x 3.5" x 2.5", it is a handheld fixture. The only forces applied are by the person sliding a piece of flatbar steel across it as a plate clamp. the plate clamp is .75" x 1" x 3" long. There is no welding on the fixture or on the assembled part, the fixture is just used as a clamp to aid in assembly. The part has some reamed holes of .248/.249 for dowel pin press fit; the distance between the press fit holes is also important because the plate it mounts to has .251/.252 holes so if part shrinkage / expansion would happen I would be asking if a tool steel is still good to run with in the annealed state. Sorry for the lack of info and when I get to my desktop computer, I'll post a picture.