Generally, work piece materials are divided into 2 main groups, metallic and non-metallic. Most of the materials are metallic, however there has been an increase in the machining of non-metallic materials such as wood, resins, graphite and glass reinforced plastics (GRP).
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View classification chart
The chart below shows a simplified diagram of the main kinds of metals. These materials can be categorized as "ferrous" and "non- ferrous." Steel and cast iron is included under the category of "ferrous." The difference is the amount of carbon in the material. Less than 0.04% is regarded as iron, between 0.04% and 2.1% is steel, and between 2.1% and 6.7% is cast iron. While most people may regard any metallic material as "iron," most materials used do not consist of pure "iron," but are rather mostly "steel".
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Kayaks, often made of GRP.