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    Feeds & Speeds

    Turning Surface Speed

    Baseline SFM ranges for common turning materials.

    turning
    sfm
    lathe
    intermediate

    Formula

    RPM = (SFM × 12) / (π × D_workpiece)

    Units: inch

    Machine-readable reference

    Structured metadata for formulas, tags, canonical status, and future diagram support.

    Slug

    turning-sfm

    Category

    Feeds & Speeds

    Canonical

    Yes

    Updated

    4/23/2026

    Units

    inch

    Tags

    turning, sfm, lathe

    Source

    Machinery's Handbook, 31st ed., Turning

    Turning Surface Speed

    Use the workpiece diameter rather than tool diameter when converting turning SFM to RPM.

    Formula

    RPM = (SFM × 12) / (π × D_workpiece)

    Typical carbide ranges

    • 1018 steel: 400 roughing, 600 finishing
    • 4140 annealed: 300 roughing, 500 finishing
    • 304 stainless: 250 roughing, 400 finishing
    • 6061 aluminum: 800 roughing, 1500 finishing

    Source: Machinery's Handbook, 31st ed., Turning