Cutting Fluids Used For Metal

Cutting
by Brian Boswell
Infrared Picture Showing Tool Tip
Temperature
 Cutting Fluids
There are two main functions of cutting
fluid while machining, these are:
1. To remove heat generated in the cutting
and so limit the rise of temperature at the
tool cutting edge.
2. To lubricate the area of contact between
the tool rake face and the chip reducing
friction.
 The Goal of Using Cutting Fluid:

• is to improve surface finish and to increase

the tool life by minimising abrasive wear
and build-up edge on the cutting tool.
 Additional important aspects of
cutting fluid are:
• cuttings from the tool interface are washed
away.
• the cutting fluid should not cause corrosion
to the workpiece or the machine tool.
 Maximum and minimum tool
temperature generated during cutting
300

250
Tool temperature ( C)
o

200 dry

150 wet

100

50

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time (s)
Example of Heat Disposal From
Cutting Tool
• The power required to cut a material under certain
conditions is 1.97 W/mm3/s. A cut of 6.4 mm
deep, with a feed rate of 0.25 mm/rev at a cutting
speed of 25 m/min. The work is cooled by a flow
of 2.3 litres per min of coolant, specific heat
capacity 3.56 kJ/kg0C, which conducts away
approximately 90  of the heat produced. The
mass of 1 litre of coolant is 0.92 kg.
• Determine the rise in the temperature of the
coolant due to this cut.
• Volume of metal removed per second = 0.25 x 6.4 x 25 x
1000 / 60
= 667 mm3
• Power consumed in cutting = 667 x 1.97 = 1.3 kW
• Heat produced per min = 1.3 x 60 = 78 kW
• Weight of coolant supplied per min = 2.3 x 0.92
= 2.12 kg
• Temperature rise = 78 x 0.9 / 3.56 x 2.12 = 9.3 oC

• Note: The temperature rise is dependent upon the flow of

the cutting fluid.
 Disadvantages of Wet Cutting
• Adds to the cost of machining of each part.
• Health issues.
• Environmental costs.
 Air-cooling
• Why use air??
• Air-cooling has been tried before but has
never been considered as efficient as
traditional wet cooling.
• Can it be improved?
• Vortex tube air-cooling.
 H  mcC p  (Tc  Ti   mhC p  Th  Ti   0

m c  Tc Pi  m h  Th Pi 
S  C
 p ln  R ln   C
 p ln R ln 
m i  Ti Pc  m i  Ti Ph 

H c
COP 
W
 Tool tip temperature before
machining has commenced
Ch13 Ch14 Ch15 Cold nozzle teemp.
30

20
Tool tip temperature ( C)
o

10

0
0 10 20 30 40
-10

-20

-30

-40
Time (s)
Tool tip temperature during
machining
 The Advantages Of Air Cooling
During Cutting
• Reduced tool temperature during machining
below that achieved by liquid coolant

• Increase tool life

• No environmental damage
 Top rake face after 7 minutes machining
at a cutting speed of 190 m/min

No cooling used Air-cooling being used

Picture showing chips produced by a 2 mm depth of cut at
0.23 feed rate, and cutting speed of 190 m/min.

The left hand chips produced during dry cutting

and the right hand produced during air-cooling

 Minimum quantity lubricant
(MQL)
• This method of cooling the tool tip uses a fine mist
of air-fluid mixture containing very small amounts
of cutting fluid delivered to the cutting zone
through the spindle of the machine tool. Typically
this is sprayed through a 1 mm diameter nozzle at
a pressure of 600 kPa and at a rate of 1 to 100
cc/hr, which is approximately one ten-thousandth
of that used in using traditional coolant.
 Cryogenic Cooling
• Cryogenic cooling consists of using liquid
nitrogen to reduce the temperature at the
cutting zone. Liquid nitrogen as a cryogenic
coolant has been investigated intensely in
recent years as a method of cooling for hard
to machine materials.
 They considered three methods to
cool the cutting zone:
1. cryogenically freezing the workpiece;
2. heat conduction using a cold chamber
under the tool tip;
3. and spraying liquid nitrogen onto the tool
tip.
Tool tip cooled by nitrogen chamber
positioned under the tool tip.
 Cryogenic Cooling
Advantages/disadvantages
• Expensive.
• Difficult to use.
Conclusion For The Use Of Air
Cooling During Metal Cutting
• The results obtained from using compressed
air combined with the vortex tube have
shown that cooling the tool tip is effective.
• The temperature recoded during air-cooling
was found to be 60 C which is 40 C cooler
than that obtained during traditional wet
machining.
• There are no disposal problems associated
with air-cooling unlike traditional liquid
cooling.