Implementation of Sustainable Vegetable-Oil-Based Minimum Quantity Cooling Lubrication (MQCL) Machining of Titanium Alloy with Coated Tools

Abstract

The lubrication capacity and penetration ability of the minimum quantity cooling lubrication-based strategy is linked with lubrication specific parameters (oil flow rates and air pressure), cutting conditions, and chip formation. It points out the complex selection involved in the MQCL-assisted strategy to attain optimal machining performance. Lubrication during metal cutting operations is a complex phenomenon, as it is a strong function of the cutting conditions. In addition, it also depends on the physical properties of the lubricant and chemical interactions. Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) has been criticized due to the absence of cooling parts; MQCL is a modified version where a cooling part in the form of sub-zero temperatures is provided. The aim of this paper was to investigate the influence of different lubrication flow parameters under minimum quantity cooling lubrication (MQCL) when machining aeronautic titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) using Titanium Aluminum Nitride—Physical Vapor Deposition (TiAlN-PVD) coated cutting inserts. The machining experiments on the MQCL system were performed with different levels of oil flow rates (70, 90, and 100 mL/h) and the performance was compared with the conventional dry cutting and flood cooling settings. A generic trend was observed that increasing the oil flow rate from 70—mL/h to 100 h/h improved the surface finish and reduced thermal softening at a low feed of 0.1 mm/rev. The results revealed that many tool-wear mechanisms such as adhesion, micro-abrasion, edge chipping, notch wear, built-up edge (BUE), and built-up layer (BUL) existed.