In metal cutting, the heat and friction generated is the form of energy. The high surface load and the heat and friction generated by the high speed slip along the tool's rake face cause the tool to be in a challenging processing environment.

           The size of the cutting force tends to fluctuate up and down, depending on the processing conditions (such as hard materials in the workpiece material, or intermittent cutting). Therefore, in order to maintain its strength at high cutting temperatures, the tool is required to have some basic characteristics, including excellent toughness, abrasion resistance and high hardness.

         Although the cutting temperature at the tool / workpiece interface is a key element in determining the wear rate of almost all tool materials, it is difficult to determine the values required to calculate the cutting temperature. However, the results of the cutting test can lay the foundation for some empirical methods.