Performance evaluation of hard turning of AISI 4340 steel with minimal fluid application in the presence of semi-solid lubricants

Hard turning with minimal fluid application is an emerging machining technique in which cutting fluid is applied in the form of a minimal high velocity narrow pulsed jet so that for all practical purpose it resembles dry and wet turning but at the same time offers better cutting performance. Semi-solid assisted machining is a novel concept to control cutting force, cutting temperature, tool wear and to improve surface finish. In the present investigation, an attempt is made to improve the cutting performance during turning of hardened AISI 4340 steel with minimal fluid through the application of a semi-solid lubricant namely grease in pure form and as a mixture with 10% graphite applied at the tool–chip interface, tool–work interface and at the back side of the chip using a special semi-solid lubricant applicator developed for this purpose. The results indicated that the use of semi-solid lubricants – grease and graphite at the tool–chip interface along with minimal fluid application reduces tool vibration, cutting force, cutting temperature, tool wear and improves surface finish.

[1]  A. Liu,et al.  Friction and wear behaviors of the carbide tools embedded with solid lubricants in sliding wear tests and in dry cutting processes , 2011 .

[2]  A. S. Varadarajan,et al.  Influence of cutting fluid composition and delivery variables on performance in hard turning using minimal fluid in pulsed jet form , 2001 .

[3]  L. De Chiffre,et al.  Cutting tools with restricted contact , 1982 .

[4]  L. De Chiffre.  Function of cutting fluids in machining , 1988 .

[5]  Dilbag Singh,et al.  Improvement in Surface Quality with Solid Lubrication in Hard Turning , 2008 .

[6]  Singh Dilbag,et al.  Performance improvement of hard turning with solid lubricants , 2008 .

[7]  V. Radhakrishnan,et al.  An investigation on surface grinding using graphite as lubricant , 2002 .

[8]  Annabeth L. Propst,et al.  Designing for Quality: An introduction to the best of Taguchi and Western methods of statistical experimental design , 1990 .

[9]  A. S. Varadarajan,et al.  Investigations on hard turning with minimal cutting fluid application (HTMF) and its comparison with dry and wet turning , 2002 .

[10]  Berend Denkena,et al.  Advancing Cutting Technology , 2003 .

[11]  K. Leo Dev Wins,et al.  An Environment Friendly Twin-jet Minimal Fluid Application Scheme for Surface Milling of Hardened AISI4340 Steel , 2011 .

[12]  D. Rao,et al.  Experimental investigation to study the performance of solid lubricants in turning of AISI1040 steel , 2010 .

[13]  H. Hiroyasu,et al.  Fuel Droplet Size Distribution in Diesel Combustion Chamber , 1974 .

[14]  P. V. Rao,et al.  Experimental investigation to study the effect of solid lubricants on cutting forces and surface quality in end milling , 2006 .

[15]  Ekkard Brinksmeier,et al.  Determination of the Mechanical and Thermal Influences on Machined Surfaces by Microhardness and Residual Stress Analysis , 1980 .

[16]  Stephen C. Veldhuis,et al.  Machining performance of TiN coatings incorporating indium as a solid lubricant , 2009 .

[17]  Viktor P. Astakhov,et al.  Metal cutting theory foundations of near-dry (MQL) machining , 2010 .

[18]  J Grum,et al.  The Metallurgical Aspects of Machining , 1986 .

[19]  S. Yuan,et al.  Effects of Cooling Air Temperature and Cutting Velocity on Cryogenic Machining of 1Cr18Ni9Ti Alloy , 2011 .

[20]  L. De Chiffre,et al.  Mechanics of metal cutting and cutting fluid action , 1977 .

[21]  V. Radhakrishnan,et al.  Investigations on the application of solid lubricants in grinding , 2002 .

[22]  P. Vamsi Krishna,et al.  Performance evaluation of solid lubricants in terms of machining parameters in turning , 2008 .

[23]  A. S. Varadarajan,et al.  The effect of an auxiliary pulsing jet of cutting fluid on cutting performance during hard turning with minimal fluid application , 2012 .