Feasibility study of the minimum quantity lubrication in high-speed end milling of NAK80 hardened steel by coated carbide tool

High-speed milling of hardened steels generates high cutting temperature and leads to detrimental effects on tool life and workpiece surface finish. In this paper, feasibility study of the minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) in high-speed end milling of NAK80 hardened steel by coated carbide tool was undertaken. Flood cooling and dry cutting experiments were conducted also for comparison. It is found that cutting under flood cooling condition results in the shortest tool life due to severe thermal cracks while the use of MQL leads to the best performance. MQL is beneficial to tool life both in the lower speed cutting and the higher speed cutting conditions. A less viscous oil of MQL is essential in high cutting speed so that cooling effect can be effective. SEM micrograph of the insert shows that the use of MQL in high-speed cutting can delay welding of chips on the tool and hence prolongs tool life as compared with dry cutting condition. The application of MQL also improves machined surface finish in high-speed milling of die steels. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.