Improving the workability of steels

Conclusions

• 1. Steels with lead and automatic steels (GOST 1414-54) can be used for manufacturing lightly loaded parts on automatic lathes. Steels with lead are not recommended for heavily loaded parts requiring high fatigue strength and contact-fatigue strength because of the high anisotropy of the mechanical properties, high susceptibility to brittle fracture, and low fatigue strength.

• 2. Steels with selenium have a better machinability than those with lead. No anisotropy of the properties was observed in stamped blanks. These steels are less susceptible to brittle fracture than steels with lead, although the mechanical properties are inferior to those of ordinary structural steels.

• 3. By preliminary heat treatment it is possible without reducing the mechanical properties, and in several cases improving them, to improve substantially the workability of standard structural steels.