Plastic Mould steels are mainly subjected to high pressure,wear,corrosion and elevated temperatures during operations. The main properties in these steels are: (a)Easy machinability, (b)Polishability, (c)High compressive strength, (d)Dimentional stability, (e)Corrosion resistance.

The amount of abrasives added to the plastics(to improve the properties like hardness etc on the component) increases the wear on the mould steel.In such cases higher pressure is needed to mould these components,as such great care must be taken in choosing the right kind of steel.For lower abrasive plastics,DIN 1,2738 and DIN 1,2311 are good.While for Medium abrasive level DIN 1,2344 is good.For higher abrasive plastics steels like DIN 1,2083,HPM38,DIN1,2316,HPM77, DIN 1,2379,D2,SLD etc are recommended.