In this study, unsintered and presintered low purity alumina ceramics were machined with various tools to clarify the machinability and the optimum cutting conditions. The main conclusions obtained were as follows. Machined with ceramic tool, the ceramics presintered at the temperature range of 1000~1100℃ showed the best machinability due to the adhesion formed in weared surface within a certain cutting speed range. In the above combination and conditions, the ceramic tool showed the highest productivity through all experiments. The life of CBN tool was longer in machining of the ceramics presintered at 1000℃ than in the case of that presintered at 600℃. but the diamond tool showed adverse tendency. In machining of the ceramics presintered at 1000℃, the ceramic tool exhibits the longest tool life in high speed, the tool lives became extremely worse in the order of CBN tool and diamond tool. However, in the case of the ceramics presintered at 600℃, the diamond tool shows the longest tool life, the tool lives was much worse in the order of CBN tool and ceramic tool.
