ISO 513 application group · brand-neutral
ISO N grades — non-ferrous
Two different N scales, and they are not the same. On a workpiece chart, N plus a number describes the material you are cutting. On an insert box, N plus a number describes what the grade is built for. The letter is shared, so a N-group material is cut with N-group grades. The numbers are not: a workpiece subgroup number and a grade's application number come from different scales and must never be matched to each other. Everything on this page is the grade side.
ISO N is the non-ferrous group. 36 grades from 10 manufacturers are placed somewhere in it across 4 application classes, according to the comparison charts the makers publish themselves.
What the number after the N means
Inside a letter the two-digit number is a position on one axis: the low numbers are the wear-resistant, harder grades meant for finishing cuts at higher speed and lighter load, the high numbers are the tougher grades meant for roughing, interrupted cuts and less stable setups. It is a continuum, not a set of boxes, and makers place their own grades on it.
Grades at each N class
Two grades in the same class are built for the same job. They are not identical: substrate, cobalt content, coating and edge preparation still differ, and so will tool life and the cutting data you should start from.
N01
5 grades from 5 manufacturers are placed at N01: Kyocera KPD001 · NTK PD1 · Sandvik CD05 · Sumitomo DA90 · Tungaloy DX180.
N10
18 grades from 9 manufacturers are placed at N10. The 4 below have a cross-brand equivalence page: Kennametal KD1425 · Mitsubishi MD220 · Seco PCD05 · Sumitomo DA1000 and 14 more.
N20
13 grades from 7 manufacturers are placed at N20. The 7 below have a cross-brand equivalence page: Kennametal KD1425 · Mitsubishi HTi10 · Mitsubishi MD220 · Mitsubishi MD230 · Seco PCD05 · Sumitomo DA1000 · Sumitomo DA2200 and 6 more.
N30
9 grades from 4 manufacturers are placed at N30. The 4 below have a cross-brand equivalence page: Mitsubishi MD230 · Seco PCD05 · Sumitomo DA1000 · Sumitomo DA2200 and 5 more.
Where these numbers come from
Every placement above is read from a grade comparison chart published by a manufacturer, cross-checked against other makers' charts. Nothing is inferred from price, availability or popularity, and no manufacturer pays to appear here. Something wrong on this page? research@cuttingtoolsai.eu.
Looking for the workpiece side instead — which steel, stainless or iron falls in which group? That is the ISO material groups chart.
Are you overpaying on your ISO N inserts? Paste your insert list and get a cost audit in about 30 seconds: cross-brand equivalents at the same ISO application position, and where you are likely overpaying. No signup, no sales call.
Ask about your own case
Material, operation, machine — get a grade and a starting cutting data set, grounded in the same reference data.