Microlubrication minimizes the exposure of metal working fluids to the machining operators leading to an economical, safer, and healthier workplace environment. In this study, a vegetable oil-based lubricant was used to conduct wear analysis and to analyze the effectiveness of microlubrication during end milling AISI 1018 steel. A solid carbide cutting tool with bright oxide finish was used with varying cutting speed and feed rate having a constant depth of cut. Abrasion was the dominant wear mechanism for all the cutting tools under consideration. Other than abrasion, sliding adhesive wear of the workpiece materials was also observed. The scanning electron microscope investigation of the used cutting tools revealed microfatigue cracks, welded microchips, and unusual built-up edges on the cutting tools flank and rake side. A full factorial experiment was conducted and regression models were generated for both the sides of tool flank wear. The study shows that with a proper selection of the cutting parameters it is possible to obtain higher tool life. 1. Introduction Metal working fluids (MWFs) are used to cool and lubricate the tool/workpiece interface during machining. The MWFs perform several important functions including reducing the friction-heat generation and dissipating generated heat at tool/workpiece interface which results in the reduction of tool wear. MWFs also flush the chips away from the tool and clean the workpiece causing less built-up edge (BUE). Therefore, MWFs cannot be completely avoided; however, their exposure to machine operators is a cause of growing occupational health hazards. U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends that occupational permissible exposure limits to MWF aerosols be limited to 0.4？mg/m3 of thoracic particulate mass which corresponds to approximately 0.5？mg/m3 of total particulate mass as a time-weighted average (TWA) concentration for up to 10 hours per day during a 40-hour workweek [1]. However, the oil mist level in the U.S. automotive parts manufacturing facilities has been estimated to be 20–90？mg/m3 with the use of conventional lubrication by flood coolant [2]. The exposure to such amounts of metal working fluid may contribute to adverse health effects and safety issues, including toxicity, dermatitis, respiratory disorders, and cancer [3]. Also, the costs related to the use of MWFs range from 7 to 17% of the total costs of the manufactured workpiece [4] as compared to the tool cost which is only about 2–4% [5]. Microlubrication is also known as “minimum quantity
References
[1]
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Occupational Exposure to Metal Working Fluid, 98-102, NIOSH Publication, 1998.
[2]
E. O. Bennett and D. L. Bennett, “Occupational airway diseases in the metalworking industry. Part 1: respiratory infections, pneumonia, chronic bronchitis and emphysema,” Tribology International, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 169–176, 1985.
[3]
N. Boubekri and V. Shaikh, “Machining using minimum quantity lubrication: a technology for sustainability,” International Journal of Applied Science and Technology, vol. 2, pp. 111–115, 2012.
[4]
K. Weinert, I. Inasaki, J. W. Sutherland, and T. Wakabayashi, “Dry machining and minimum quantity lubrication,” CIRP Annals—Manufacturing Technology, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 511–537, 2004.
[5]
S. Zhang, J. F. Li, and Y. W. Wang, “Tool life and cutting forces in end milling Inconel 718 under dry and minimum quantity cooling lubrication cutting conditions,” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 32, pp. 81–87, 2012.
[6]
A. D. Jayal and A. K. Balaji, “Effects of cutting fluid application on tool wear in machining: interactions with tool-coatings and tool surface features,” Wear, vol. 267, no. 9-10, pp. 1723–1730, 2009.
[7]
S. Kurgin, G. Barber, and Q. Zou, “Cutting insert and work piece materials for minimum quantity lubrication,” in International Seminar on Modern Cutting and Measurement Engineering, vol. 7997 of Proceedings of the SPIE, pp. 1–10, Beijing, China, December 2010.
[8]
M. H. Sadeghi, M. J. Hadad, T. Tawakoli, A. Vesali, and M. Emami, “An investigation on surface grinding of AISI 4140 hardened steel using minimum quantity lubrication-MQL technique,” International Journal of Material Forming, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 241–251, 2010.
[9]
V. Shaikh and N. Boubekri, “Effects of minimum quantity lubrication in drilling 1018 steel,” Journal of Manufacturing Technology Research, vol. 1, pp. 1–14, 2010.
[10]
A. Attanasio, M. Gelfi, C. Giardini, and C. Remino, “Minimal quantity lubrication in turning: effect on tool wear,” Wear, vol. 260, no. 3, pp. 333–338, 2006.
[11]
A. K. Singh and A. K. Gupta, “Metalworking fluids from vegetable oils,” Journal of Synthetic Lubrication, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 167–176, 2006.
[12]
S. A. Lawal, I. A. Choudhury, and Y. Nukman, “Application of vegetable oil-based metalworking fluids in machining ferrous metals—a review,” International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 1–12, 2012.
[13]
S. Woods, “Going green,” Cutting Tool Engineering, vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 11–13, 2005.
[14]
W. R. Stott, “Environmentally friendly cutting fluids,” Gear Technology, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 16–18, 2005.
[15]
J. R. Davis, ASM Metals Handbook, Machining, vol. 16, 19th edition, 1989.
[16]
D. C. Montgomery, Design and Analysis of Experiments, John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY, USA, 5th edition, 2001.
[17]
T. H. C. Childs, K. Maekawa, T. Obikawa, and Y. Yamane, Metal Machining, Theory and Applications, Oxford, UK, 2000.
[18]
S. Min, I. Inasaki, S. Fujimura, T. Wakabayashi, and S. Suda, “Investigation of adsorption behaviour of lubricants in near-dry machining,” Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture, vol. 219, no. 9, pp. 665–671, 2005.
[19]
D. P. Adler, W. W.-S. Hii, D. J. Michalek, and J. W. Sutherland, “Examining the role of cutting fluids in machining and efforts to address associated environmental/health concerns,” Machining Science and Technology, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 23–58, 2006.
[20]
S. M. Ali, N. R. Dhar, and S. K. Dey, “Effect of minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) on cutting performance in turning medium carbon steel by uncoated carbide insert at different speed-feed combinations,” Advances in Production Engineering & Management, vol. 6, pp. 185–198, 2011.
[21]
M. Shaw, J. Pigott, and L. Richardson, “The effect of cutting fluid upon chip-tool interface temperature,” Transaction of ASME, vol. 73, pp. 45–56, 1951.
[22]
H. Yanda, J. A. Ghani, M. N. A. M. Rodzi, K. Othman, and C. H. C. Haron, “Optimization of material removal rate, surface roughness and tool life on conventional dry turning of FCD700,” International Journal of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 182–190, 2010.
[23]
N. R. Dhar, M. T. Ahmed, and S. Islam, “An experimental investigation on effect of minimum quantity lubrication in machining AISI 1040 steel,” International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture, vol. 47, no. 5, pp. 748–753, 2007.
[24]
H. Caliskan, C. Kurbanoglu, P. Panjan, M. Cekad, and D. Kramar, “Wear behavior and cutting performance of nanostructured hard coatings on cemented carbide cutting tools in hard milling,” Tribology International, vol. 62, pp. 215–222, 2013.
[25]
R. Suresh, S. Basavarajappa, V. N. Gaitonde, and G. L. Samuel, “Machinability investigations on hardened AISI 4340 steel using coated carbide insert,” International Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials, vol. 38, pp. 124–133, 2013.
[26]
A. K. Sahoo and B. Sahoo, “Experimental investigations on machinability aspects in finish hard turning of AISI, 4340 steel using uncoated and multilayer coated carbide inserts,” Measurement, vol. 45, pp. 2153–2165, 2012.
[27]
S. Kalpakjian, Manufacturing Engineering and Technology, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, New York, NY, USA, 3rd edition, 1995.
[28]
R. B. Da Silva, J. M. Vieira, R. N. Cardoso et al., “Tool wear analysis in milling of medium carbon steel with coated cemented carbide inserts using different machining lubrication/cooling systems,” Wear, vol. 271, no. 9-10, pp. 2459–2465, 2011.
[29]
S. Dhiman, R. Sehgal, S. K. Sharma, and V. S. Sharma, “Machining behavior of AlSI 1018 steel during turning,” Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research, vol. 67, no. 5, pp. 355–360, 2008.
[30]
P. Kwon, “Predictive models for flank wear on coated inserts,” Journal of Tribology, vol. 122, no. 1, pp. 340–347, 2000.
[31]
K. Abu-Shgair, M. Al-Hasan, A. K. Abdul Jawwad, A. Al-Bashir, H. H. Abu-Safe, and M. H. Gordon, “Characterizing (Ti, AI)N film coating produced by inverted cylindrical magnetron sputtering for metal machining applications,” Reviews on Advanced Materials Science, vol. 24, no. 1-2, pp. 48–55, 2010.
