John,
High quality, ductile cast iron piston rings can be easily machined for our miniature size engines. There are many articles & papers on the procedures. I use a machining process similar to the machining of head sealing rings for my QD engines, shown in the photo, to make piston rings. The ductile cast iron piston rings are machined without any burrs, split, wedged open, heat treated & then finish machined with a fixture to assure perfect roundness. Many piston ring makers eliminate the final machining process which is absolutely necessary after the rings have been wedged open!
JA