Impact tool driver material

[jimmyburnworld]

I am designing a driver blade for a modified pneumatic staple tool. I have the size and shape worked out, I just need some guidance on what material to use.

I am a controls engineer, just brancing out into mechatronics, and so I have no materials experience or knowledge.

The previous blade was (badly) made from 'gauge plate', hardened at the tip where it strikes the staple. This fractured where the border between the hardened and non hardened material.

The staple being driven is 304 stainless.

 

[btrueblood]

Get yourself a copy of Machinery's Handbook, and peruse the section on steels, especially tool steels. You may want to start testing with a shock-resisting tool steel, S1 or similar, and back off in properties from there if testing proves it holds up. Do you have any idea what kind of steel was used in your prototype, and what hardness value it was finished at? Was there some reason not to fully harden the part vs. just the tip?

 

[unclesyd]

As posted above a shock resisting tool steel is a good choice for these parts. I've made a lot of replacement parts for impact tools from S7 tool steel. I would go with a fully hardened part if possible.

 

[TVP]

Like the others already mentioned, S-series tools steels like S1 or S7 are a good starting point. Use the following links for more information:

http://www.latrobesteel.com/technical_datasheets.cfm

Click on Cold Work Tool Steels tab, then LSS S1, LSS S7, etc.

http://www.crucibleservice.com/products/metalForming/index.cfm