Advancements in cooling techniques and its impact on machining: A review

Abstract

During any machining process, a huge amount of heat is produced at the cutting zone which aggravates the tool wear. Tool cost is one of the prime concerns during machining. To increase the tool life, the heat produced during machining has to be removed effectively. In the past few decades various new concepts have been developed effectively to remove the heat from the cutting zone so that the tool life increases. In this article various methods that are in use and the recent developments in the field of cooling during different machining operations have been discussed. The various cooling methods like dry machining (natural cooling), air-cooling, flood, cryogenic, MQL cooling, high pressure coolant, solid lubricants and mist cooling are discussed along with their advantages and limitations and the recent advancements in each cooling method. Each cooling process has its own advantages and application area. It is concluded that dry machining is best for environment, MQL is nearer to dry machining with better machinability results and consumes very less lubricants, cryogenic cooling has very less impact on environment, high pressure coolant is better for specific target area and solid lubricants are good for high speed with high temperature. This article will help researchers to understand the methods and to find the best cooling and lubrication method to be adopted in industry with less impact on environment. One can easily find various research gaps which will help researchers to proceed further in this area.