What is P material group?
The ISO P classification of workpiece materials includes the metals generally referred to as steels.Learn more about steel materials
Steel is defined as an alloy consisting of iron, Fe, and carbon, C, with carbon content less than 2% by weight. In addition, the properties of steel can be modified for different purposes by alloying with other metallic elements such as Chromium (Cr), Nickel (Ni), and Molybdenium (Mo) etc. for example for increasing corrosion resistance.
ISO P related industry segments and components
The ISO P classification of workpiece materials includes the metals generally referred to as steels. While steels don’t present obvious machining challenges on the level of materials such as heat-resistant aerospace alloys used in aerospace applications, steel alloys and irons are the workpiece materials most widely applied across all industries. Such wide use has spawned the development of a large selection of steel alloys with differing physical properties that generate a variety of metal cutting performance issues. Those issues, in addition to economic considerations born of high-volume production demands, make machining of ISO P steels a significant challenge for parts manufacturers as well as the makers of the tools used to machine them.
Main properties of this material
Seco classifies the machinability of materials based on 5 important properties: abrasiveness, ductility, strain hardening, thermal conductivity and hardness.
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5 tips on machining Steel
Basic guidelines for machining ISO P materials, e.g. steel machining:
- High mechanical loads are your main concern (leading to flank and crater wear)
- Use big depth of cut and high feed
- Use cutting speed to balance tool life with economic considerations on the process
- Use versatile carbide grades and appropriate cutting geometry to balance with selected feed
- Emulsion (4% – 6%) cooling is advised, JETSTREAM cooling gives good results
SMG P materials - Steels, ferritic and martensitic stainless steels

ISO P Tab extract