Cutting tool material, advantages and recommendations for best use.

Cutting tool materials have different combinations of hardness, toughness and wear resistance, and are divided into numerous grades with specific properties. Generally, a cutting tool material that is successful in its application should be:

• • Hard, to resist flank wear and deformation
  • Tough, to resist bulk breakage
  • Non-reactive with the workpiece material
  • Chemically stable, to resist oxidation and diffusion
  • Resistant to sudden thermal changes