high-speed steel

American  

noun

1. an especially hard, heat-resistant steel for use in lathe tools and for other applications involving high friction and wear.

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high-speed steel British  

noun

1. any of various steels that retain their hardness at high temperatures and are thus suitable for making tools used on lathes and other high-speed machines

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Etymology

Origin of high-speed steel

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

high-speed steel

Do not soak high-speed steel at high heats.

From The Working of Steel Annealing, Heat Treating and Hardening of Carbon and Alloy Steel by Colvin, Fred H. (Fred Herbert)

For other makes of high-speed steel used in lathe and planer tools the makers recommend that the tools be cut from the bar with a hack saw or else heated and cut with a chisel.

From The Working of Steel Annealing, Heat Treating and Hardening of Carbon and Alloy Steel by Colvin, Fred H. (Fred Herbert)

Vanadium was first introduced in high-speed steel as a "scavenger," thereby producing a more homogeneous product, of greater density and physical strength.

From The Working of Steel Annealing, Heat Treating and Hardening of Carbon and Alloy Steel by Colvin, Fred H. (Fred Herbert)

The manganese and silicon contents are relatively unimportant in the percentages usually found in high-speed steel.

From The Working of Steel Annealing, Heat Treating and Hardening of Carbon and Alloy Steel by Colvin, Fred H. (Fred Herbert)

The complex hardenites in high-speed steel may be described as that form of solid solution which gives to it its cutting efficiency.

From The Working of Steel Annealing, Heat Treating and Hardening of Carbon and Alloy Steel by Colvin, Fred H. (Fred Herbert)