Evaluating the use of high-pressure coolant in turning process of Inconel 625 nickel-based alloy

The automotive, aerospace and energy industries have lately increased their search for materials which must have high mechanical resistance/weight ratio and capability to maintain the mechanical properties in high temperatures and at corrosive environments in order to produce critical parts of their equipment. The nickel-based alloys are one type of materials which have been a good answer for this search. On the other hand, the very good mechanical properties of these alloys make their manufacturing very difficult, especially when machining processes are used. Among other problems in the machining of these alloys, due to the high mechanical resistance in high temperature, tool lives used to be much shorter than when steel alloys are machined, forcing cutting speeds to be much lower and, consequently, to have less productive processes. The main goal of this work was to test an alternative to increase tool life in the turning of Inconel 625 nickel-based alloy by the use of high-pressure coolant. This system was tested using different directions of the fluid flow (toward the rake face, toward the flank face and directing the fluid simultaneously toward these two tool faces) compared to the conventional way of applying fluid. The results show that the use of high-pressure coolant harms the notch wear development and, consequently, increases tool life with simultaneous improvement of workpiece surface roughness in some cases. However, the application of high-pressure coolant over both flank and rake faces at the same time did not provide any improvement.