Free machining steel is steel that forms small chips when machined. This increases the machinability of the material by breaking the chips into small pieces, thus avoiding entanglement in the machiney. This enables automatic equipment to run without human interaction. Free machining steel with lead also allow for higher machining rates. Free machining steel costs 15 to 20% more than a standard steel, but this is made up by increased machining speeds, larger cuts, and longer tool life.
The disadvantages of free machining steel are: ductility is decreased; impact resistance is reduced; copper-based brazed joints suffer from embrittlement with bismuth free machining grades; shrink fits are not as strong.
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