Steel is by far the most popular material in machine shops. Machinability of Steel ranges from free-cutting materials like 12L14, with a machinability of 170%, and up to challenging tool steels[3] such as D3 or O1 with Machinability of 30-40%. We will break down this big family of materials into sub-groups and discuss the machinability of each one.

Machinability of Steel vs other materials 1
Machinability of Steel bar chart 1

What is steel?

Steel is Iron (Fe)[11], with the addition of 0.1 – 2.5 wt. % of Carbon (c). Besides carbon, steel may also contain many other alloying elements[1] up to a total content of around 20%. Pure Iron[11] is very ductile[12]. By “playing” with the mix and amount of the different alloying elements[1], Iron[11] gains a range of unique mechanical properties. However, some of these additives also harm the machinability rating.

Carbon Steel

(SAE 10xx Series)

Carbon steel is the most simple and cheapest form of steel. It is usually defined as steel made of Iron (Fe)[11] with small Carbon (C)[13] addition but without any other alloying elements[1]. This statement is not accurate since most Carbon Steels also contain small amounts of Manganese (Mn)[4], Phosphorus (P), and Sulfur (S). The SAE designation of Carbon steel is in the format of 10xx, where xx indicates the amount of carbon. For example; 1020 contains 0.2% of carbon and 1045 contains 0.45% of carbon.

Carbon (C)[13] is the primary alloying element[1] in steel. It increases hardness[14] and tensile strength, as well as responds to heat treatment (hardenability). Carbon steels usually have up to 1% carbon content. The machinability is very sensitive to the amount of carbon since carbon directly influences the hardness[14] of steel. The “Sweet Spot” that yields the highest machinability rating is around 0.2%. Steel with less than 0.15% Carbon is very soft[12]; thus, it is almost impossible to break the chips, and BUE[16] is easily formed on the cutting edge[8]. Above 0.3%, the material becomes gradually harder, and therefore wear is formed faster on the cutting edge[8]. You can learn more about Carbon Steel here.

Graph for machiability of steel vs carbon content
Machiability and Strength of steel vs carbon content

Summary – Machinability Rate 40-80%

In carbon steel, the carbon content is King. The carbon content of 0.2-0.3% brings the best machinability rate. 0.15% and below creates ductile[12] steel with unbreakable chips. As the carbon content grows between 0.4-1%, the machinability rate gradually decreases.



Carbon Steel – Machinability Chart

Free-Cutting Steels

(SAE 11xx, 12xx, 12Lxx)

Free-Cutting (Free-Machining[2]) Steel is a nickname for carbon steel with an increased amount of alloying elements[1] for the sole purpose of improving its machinability.

11xx series: the amount of Sulfur (S) is increased from 0.05% in plain carbon steels to 0.1%. It adds about 20% to the machinability when compared with the equivalent materials in the 10xx series. On the other hand, the tensile strength decreases by about 10%, and the material is more brittle.

12xx series: Sulfur (S) content is further increased to 0.25%, and Phosphorus (P) content is increased from 0.04% in the 10xx series to 0.5%. As a result, the machinability increases by another 40% at the price of further decline in mechanical properties.

SAE 12L14 is a free-cutting steel where the Phosphorus is replaced by 0.25% of Lead[17] (Pb), which boosts the machinability by another 35%. This improvement happens because the Lead[17] melts locally at the point of cut, thus reducing friction and providing natural lubrication. However, many material manufacturers and machine shops try to avoid lead[17] supplements due to environmental damage and health risks. You can learn more about Free-Machining Steel here.

Machinability rate comparison between plain carbon steel and freecut steels with the same carbon content

Material Machinability (%)[5] P (%) S (%) Pb (%)
1015 72% 0.04 0.05 -
1117 91% 0.03 0.1 -
1215 136% 0.06 0.3 -
12L14 170% - 0.3 0.25

In the above table, you can see the net effect of the freecut[2] additives on machinability.

Summery – Machinability Rate 70-170%

From the machinist’s perspective, free-machining steels[2] are the best. However, design engineers try to avoid them due to their inferior mechanical properties.

Low Alloy Steels

(SAE 4xxx, 5xxx, …. 9xxx)

There is no scientific definition, but in practice, low allow steels are carbon steels with additional alloying elements[1] (on top of the carbon and Manganese[4]) of up to 5%. These elements are added to improve the strength, toughness[15], corrosion resistance, wear resistance, hardenability, and the steel’s hot hardness[14]. The list of alloying elements[1] is long, but for our discussion, it is enough to focus on the three main ones:

Molybdenum (Mo[6]) is Present in all the low alloy steels (except the 5xxx and 9xxx series), in weight content of 0.15-0.35%. It Increases the toughness[15] and has no adverse effect on machinability.

Chromium (Cr)[9] is Present in most low alloy steels with a weight content of 0. 5-1.5%. Chromium[9] is mostly known to improve corrosion resistance and therefore is a significant element in stainless steel[7]. However, this is achieved only at higher amounts, above 5%. Most stainless steels[7] have 12-20% Chromium[9] content, and at these levels, it also decreases machinability. However, at lower content, as in low alloy steels, it improves hardenability without a negative effect on machinability. You can learn more about Alloy Steel here.

Nickel (Ni)[10] is added to 43xx, 48xx, 8xxx series at amounts of 0.5-3.5%. Nickel[10] improves the toughness[15] of the steel, but at the expense of decreasing the machinability.

Summary – Machinability Rate 40-75%

Low alloy steels have nearly the same machinability rating as carbon steels with equivalent carbon content, except for materials containing additional nickel[10] content. (The most common example is the widely used SAE 4340 DIN 35CrNiMo6). However, carbon content is still the dominant factor influencing machinability. Materials like SAE 52100 DIN 100Cr6 that have 1% carbon content, show the lowest machinability rating in this group, although they don’t contain any Nickel[10].

Low Alloy Steel – Machinability Chart



Tool Steels

High alloy Steels (Ax, Ox, Hx, Dx, Mx, etc.)

High alloy steels[3] can contain 5-20% content of alloying elements[1]. They are called tool steels[3] since they are mostly used to manufacture tools for cutting, pressing, extruding, and coining metals and other materials. You can learn more about Tool Steel here.

Tool Steels Classification (Main Groups)

SAE Description Properties MR
A2-A10 Air-hardening, cold-work steels Carbon content of 0.7-1.25% leads to lower machinability 30-40%
O1-O7 Oil-hardening cold-work steels Carbon content of 1-1.5% leads to lower machinability 30-40%
D2-D7 High-carbon, high-chromium, cold-work steels Very high Carbon content of 1.5-2.5% leads to poor machinability 20-30%
H10-H19 Chromium hot-work steels Medium Carbon content around 0.4% with Chromium around 5% 50-60%
M1-M62 Molybdenum based high-speed steels Molybdenum 5-10% / Tungsten 2-10% 20-40%

Summary – Machinability Rate 20-50%

The steels in this group either have high carbon content above 1% and/or additional alloying elements[1] in high quantities leading to a very poor machinability rating.

Tool Steel – Machinability Chart

Page Glossary Terms
1. ↑ Alloying elements for machining ( alloying elements ) Alloying element is a chemical element added to the primary substance of the material (in most cases ferrous) to tweak and enhance mechanical, metallurgical, and physical properties to suit different engineering needs.
2. ↑ Free-Machining Steel ( free-machining steels ) Free-Cutting Steel is a nickname for carbon steel with additional alloying elements for the sole purpose of improving their machinability and chip control. They are also nicknamed Free-Cut or Free-Cutting materials.
3. ↑ Tool Steel ( High alloy steels ) Tool steel is the common name for high-alloy steel. They are defined as carbon steel with additional alloying elements of at least 5%. It is much stronger at the expense of low productivity when compared with alloy steel.
4. ↑ Manganese (Mn). Manganese is one of the most common alloying elements. It is added to almost all Steel, stainless steel, and aluminum alloys. In each one of them, it has a different role. In steel, it helps with heat treatment. In stainless steel, it is a nickel substituted and in Aluminum to enhance strength.
5. ↑ Machinability (%). Machinability is the ease with which a metal can be machined. It is represented in percentage relative to a reference metal. A smaller value means the metal is harder to machine. Very difficult to machine materials can rate 10-20%, while very easy to machine material can reach 200-400%
6. ↑ Molybdenum (Mo. Molybdenum, like chromium, effects the corrosion resistance of steel. Molybdenum also increases the hardenability, toughness, and tensile strength of steel. The hardenability is increased by lowering the required quench rate during heat-treatment. Molybdenum also decreased the risk of pitting (PRE) by improving resistance to chloride.
7. ↑ stainless steel. Stainless steels (ISO M), as their name suggests are a group of steel alloys with a shiny appearance and good corrosion resistance. The base element (70-80%) is Iron (Fe) with a minimum of 10.5% Chromium; most grades will have additional alloying elements such as nickel (Ni) and molybdenum (Mo).
8. ↑ cutting edge. Cutting edge refers to the "Micro-Geometry" of the cross-section at the tip of the inserts that engages with the workpiece material. Although the length of the cross-section could be less than 1 mm it has an enormous effect on the performance.
9. ↑ Chromium (Cr). Chromium added to carbon steel in percentages greater than 11% creates Stainless Steel. At this percentage and greater (When combined with Nickel), the corrosion resistance of steel vastly increases, and oxidation of the iron is prevented. Chromium also helps to improve mechanical properties, even in smaller amounts. It will increase the steel’s strength, hardness, and ability to be heat treated.
10. ↑ Nickel (Ni). Nickel is one of the most important alloying element in the machining world. It is added in various quantities to many materials having a major effect on their properties. Its presence in high quantity creates materials that are very hard to machine.
11. ↑ Iron (Fe). Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe (from Latin: Ferrum). It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's core. Iron alloys, such as steel, stainless steel, and cast iron, are the most common industrial metals because of their mechanical characteristics and economic cost. Humans started to master iron as helpful material for making tools in Eurasia as early as 2000 BCE. In some regions, iron tools and weapons began to displace copper only around 1200 BCE.
12. ↑ Ductility ( ductile ) Ductility is defined as the amount of plastic deformation the material can absorb before failure. In simple words, it describes how "Soft" is the raw material. Machining ductile materials create two main problems: Chip control and Build-Up edge.
13. ↑ Carbon (C). Carbon is a chemical element designated by the symbol C; moreover, carbon is a critical factor in several machining topics. Although it is added in small doses of 0.03% up to 3% (Usually between 0.1 -1%) to metals, it is the most influential element in many materials used in machine shops. It is also a primary component in Carbide Grades
14. ↑ hardness. Hardness is a measurement of the resistance to localized plastic deformation caused by force or abrasion. Materials with high hardness would generally be stronger and more wear-resistant, but on the other hand, more brittle and sensitive to fracture.
15. ↑ toughness. In machining, the term toughness usually refers to the fracture toughness of carbide grades. A tough grade will have better resistance to cracks, breakages, and impact.
16. ↑ Built-Up Edge (Bue) ( BUE ) Built-Up Edge (Nicknamed BUE) is a wear mechanism caused by the welding of chips to the insert body. It can occur when machining any raw material but is more common when machining sticky materials, such as low carbon steel, austenitic stainless steel, and aluminum.
17. ↑ Lead (Threading) ( Lead ) The lead is the linear distance the thread travels due to a full 360° rotation.
Related Glossary Terms:
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