Abstract
The structure and microhardness of high-speed steels P6M5, P9 and P18 after electron-beam processing were investigated in the work. Electron-beam processing was carried out on the industrial accelerator ELV-4. It was established that electron-beam processing allows to obtain a modified layer on the surface of fast-cutting steels with thickness of 20 μm with high hardness, consisting of fragmented martensite with fine carbide particles. It was determined that after electron beam processing the microhardness of high-speed steels increased to 9.5 GPa. It has been experimentally established that the growth of hardness and wear resistance of high-speed steels after electron-beam processing is the result of the formation of more fragmented martensite and a decrease in the size of carbide particles.