Machinability of Stainless Tool Steel using Nitrogen Oil-Mist coalant

Amad E Elshwain,Yasir A Mohamed,Norizah Redzuan,Mohamed H Elmunafi,Hassan A Wahab,Denni Kurniawan,Noordin M Yusof

doi:10.20914/2310-1202-2017-3-143-147

Amad E Elshwain, Yasir A Mohamed + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.20914/2310-1202-2017-3-143-147

Copy DOI

Abstract

For all dry machining process, temperature generated in the cutting zone is the major challenge. It causes tool failure and results in unsatisfactory surface finish. Application of flood coolant method during machining processes can significantly reduce the temperature and consequently extend the cutting tool life. However, it has serious concerns regarding environmental pollution, operator health and manufacturing cost. These issues are usually attempts to be overcame by using minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) technique. This method merges the advantages of both dry cutting and flood cooling by spraying a small amount of lubricant to the cutting zone using vegetable oil. In this paper, another technique is proposed in order to further enhance the machineability of the stainless tool steel (STAVAX ESR 48 HRC). This involves using of nitrogen gas (N 2 ) and air as cooling medium in combination with oil mist lubricant (MQL). The results show that the combination between nitrogen and oil-mist lubricant much more prolonged the tool life and improved the surface finish than the air-oil mist lubricant medium.

Highlights

Dry hard turning has become an alternative machining process to grinding due to its ability to increase material removal rate, reduce production cost and enhance of material properties
Increasing cutting speed and feed rate in dry cutting resulted in decreasing the tool life
Comparing these tool life results of the nitrogen-oil mist with the air-oil mist, it was found that the tool life was moderately prolonged at the three combinations of speed and feed

Summary

Introduction

Dry hard turning has become an alternative machining process to grinding due to its ability to increase material removal rate, reduce production cost and enhance of material properties. Handawi et al [6] conducted their experiments under nitrogen-oil mist and air-oil mist lubricant conditions during high-speed turning of stainless steel (AISI 420). The result shows that the machining performance with nitrogen-oil mist was better than air-oil mist in terms of tool life and surface finish.

Results

Conclusion