THREE:105In compression processes no material is cut away as in cutting or grinding, the mass being forced into shape by dies or forms that give the required configuration. The action of compressing machines may be either intermittent, as in the case of rolling mills; percussive, as in steam hammers, where a great force acts throughout a limited distance; or gradual and sustained, as in press forging. Machines of application, for abrading or grinding, are constantly coming more into use; their main purpose being to cut or shape material too hard to be acted upon by compression or by cutting processes. It follows that the necessity for machines of this kind is in proportion to the amount of hard material which enters into manufactures; in metal work the employment of hardened steel and iron is rapidly increasing, and as a result, grinding machines have now a place among the standard machine tools of a fitting shop.
