Abstract
Production-scale machining trials are too costly in material and time to be useful for quality control in manufacture or for a preliminary assessment of experimental properties. Unfortunately, the validity of rapid, small-scale tests is not widely accepted The purpose of this review is to establish which small-scale tests, based on turning or drilling, have been successfully employed in developing new materials, and to illustrate by typical results the use of such tests to detect variations in structure or composition. These results also serve to show that certain tests, properly interpreted, have given consistent trends with different investigators. It is not intended to describe testing procedures in detail, nor to consider tests specifically for cutting-tool materials. The mechanics of cutting is discussed only in so far as it explains the influence of variations in test conditions on machinability results. Finally, although the relationship between machinability and structure or composition is indicated by some of the data quoted, this is not the main object of the review-nor, indeed, has very much information been published on the subject from which useful conclusions could be drawn.
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