TAF PUBLISHING

This study is focused on evaluating newly developed chilled-emulsion Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) method on machining hard-to-cut metals. Previous research work revealed that, aerosol at 150C provides the optimal tool life and generates the least surface roughness when machining AISI P20 and D2 tool steels at a given cutting speed. In that context, the influence of varying cutting speeds with MQL aerosol at 15 0C is further studied in this paper. Three cutting speeds were used as per the tool manufacturer’s recommendations. For the aforementioned cutting conditions, tool nose wear were measured and topologies of worn cutting edges were observed and compared. The experimental results revealed that tool wear rate and other forms of damages such as chipping and plastic deformation for different work material have contrasting responses. This indicates that MQL aerosol performance is notably sensitive to work material properties and its benefits as a cutting fluid should be further investigated over wider range of materials.