ISO 683-2:2012 specifies the technical delivery requirements for semi-finished products, hot formed (e.g. blooms, billets, slabs), bars, wire rod, finished flat products and hammer or drop forgings manufactured from the direct-hardening alloy steels and the alloy flame and induction hardening steels listed (in Table 3) and supplied in one of the heat-treatment conditions given for the different types of products (in Table 1) and in one of the surface conditions given (in Table 2).

The steels are, in general, intended for the manufacture of quenched and tempered or austempered and flame- or induction-hardened machine parts.

The requirements for mechanical properties given in ISO 683-2:2012 are restricted to the sizes given (in Table 8).

In addition to ISO 683-2:2012, the general technical delivery requirements of ISO 404 are applicable.