Ecological cutting: Feasible or not?

Abstract

AbstractThis paper describes the results of a two‐year research project on ecological cutting, in which four different applications, namely, cutting, pocket milling, face milling, and drilling, were investigated under dry and lubricated conditions. A traditional cutting fluid and an environmentally friendly cutting fluid were used for the latter. TiN‐, Ti (C,N), and (Ti,Al)N‐coated tools were tested, together with commercially‐available multilayer coated tools, to analyse to what extent the use of coatings could reduce or even eliminate the need for cutting fluids. The machined materials include an unalloyed steel, I.0503, a low alloyed steel, 1.2312, a stainless steel, 1.4306, and cast iron, ADI. End‐of‐ life tests were done in all cases and the wear of the tools was examined with SEM. The research showed that the results are strongly dependent on the application. For cutting, coated tools result in the best tool lives although tools used under lubricated conditions still outperform their dry used counterparts. For milling, dry machining is advantageous. The drilling tests showed better results under lubricated conditions mainly due to the cooling and chip removal capacity of the lubricants. In this case, the (Ti,Al)N‐coated drill out‐performed the commercially available coated tool.