Economy Dies

Cr12MoV (D3 / SKD3) Equivalents: What It Is and When It Fails

Cr12MoV is the D3-type economy cold-work tool steel, and it is frequently cross-referenced to D3, SKD3 or even Cr12Mo1V1. Those substitutions are not equivalent, and the difference shows up as premature die failure. Here is what Cr12MoV actually is and where its limits sit.