Effects of minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) by vegetable oil-based cutting fluid on machinability of AISI 9310 steel

The growing demands for high productivity of machining need use of high cutting speed and feed rate. Such machining inherently produces high cutting temperature, which not only reduces tool life but also impairs the product quality. Metal cutting fluids changes the performance of machining operations because of their lubrication, cooling and chip flushing functions but the use of cutting fluid has become more problematic in terms of both employee health and environmental pollution. The minimisation of cutting fluid leads to economical benefits by way of saving lubricant costs. This paper presents the effects of minimum quantity lubricant (MQL) by vegetable oil-based cutting fluid on the cutting performance of AISI 9310 steel, as compared to dry and wet machining. Compared to the dry or wet machining, MQL machining performed much superior mainly due to substantial reduction in cutting temperature enabling favourable chip formation and chip-tool interaction. It also provides substantial reduction in tool wear, which enhanced the tool life and surface finish.