Convert Rockwell C hardness into approximate Brinell, Vickers, tensile strength, and superficial Rockwell values. Use it when comparing material specs, heat treat data, and machining charts.
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Request a Proposal →Conversion values are best for quick engineering reference. Do not use them as a replacement for a controlled hardness test.
No. HRC, HB, and HV are measured differently, so conversions are approximate and vary by material family and heat treatment.
Yes. Harder materials generally need lower cutting speeds, more rigid setups, and more conservative chip loads.
HRC is common for hardened steels, HB for softer steels and cast irons, and HV for thin coatings or microhardness checks.
Use this converter when a drawing, heat treat certificate, or cutting chart uses a different hardness scale than your shop reference.
Continue with closely related tools from the machining calculator library.
Use the calculator freely. If the result points to a tooling or process problem, we can source the exact carbide tooling you need from vetted factories in China. Compare factory-direct pricing.
Before you commit to a spec, it helps to know what the market pays for it. These are real, publicly listed factory prices — not a quotation, and not a guess.
We source the tool families below direct from vetted Chinese factories, matched to the material and tolerance you just worked out. Every batch ships with its material certificate and dimensional record.
Kennametal grades — KC / KCU / K / KCP series, ANSI C-class mapping, uncoated K313 & K68
Sandvik Coromant grades — GC series, the 43-family hardness ladder, Inveio CVD alumina
Iscar grades — IC prefix, IC9xxx PVD vs IC8xxx CVD, SUMO TEC
Mitsubishi grades — MC / VP / UE / US prefixes and the NX cermet series
Tungaloy grades — T9200 series with published substrate hardness and strength
Seco grades — TP / CP / TS prefixes, Duratomic alumina technology
Walter grades — WPP series, Tiger·tec Gold vs Silver, AlCrN layers
CNMG inserts — Full code decode, real factory price ranges, cutting speeds
Turning insert shapes — WNMG, TNMG, DNMG, SNMG, VNMG, CCMT decoded and compared
Milling inserts — APMT1604, APKT, SEKT decoded; the clearance trap
CONVERTING A HARDNESS CLAIM? Hardness is the easiest specification to fake on paper and the easiest to verify in a lab. Our method is the seven checks we run on a factory before ordering.
We source carbide cutting tools from China for job shops. We do not own a factory, which is why we can quote your drawing against two or three plants that actually run your material.
Cutting formulas with the units worked through · Speed and feed starting points for all six ISO material groups · How to read a carbide grade past its ISO code. 12 pages.
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