Performance Assessment of Use of Solid Lubricants as Cooling Method in Machining Process

Abstract

Heat generated in machining is one of the critical issue from quality of machined surface point of view. In the conventional application of cutting fluid, it creates environmental problems and also affects worker’s health. Also it puts burden on the total production cost. In order to identify an effective alternative, the present study is an attempt made to understand the performance of solid lubricant mixed in oil, used as cooling media during turning process. This paper involves turning EN31 bearing steel using coated carbide tool in three different cutting environment. The cutting process parameters at different levels were selected for experiments which were conducted using Box–Behnken design. The impact of use of solid lubricants on the output like surface finish and power consumption were analyzed. Experimental results highlight considerable improvements on output using solid lubricant mixed in oil as cooling method as compared to other cutting environments.