Environmentally conscious machining of Inconel 718 with solid lubricant assisted minimum quantity lubrication

The use of conventional cutting fluid in metal cutting may increase total production cost and also a threat to the environment and health of the operator. Thus, sustainable and cost-effective measures are to be envisaged to overcome the ill effects of conventional cutting fluids. In this regard, the current study aims to develop an experimental setup for solid lubricant assisted minimum quantity lubrication during machining of Inconel 718. PVD and CVD coated tools are employed for the machining under dry, flood cooling, MQL, and solid lubricant (molybdenum disulfide and graphite) assisted MQL. The influence of these techniques is examined by considering surface roughness, tool wear, chip morphology, and microhardness of the machined surface. Experimental results revealed the effectiveness of molybdenum disulfide assisted MQL in the form of improved tool life and surface finish compared to other machining environments. The results also demonstrated the effectiveness of PVD coated by improving the tool life and surface finish in combination with MQSL compared to selected machining conditions. The presented work may help the metal cutting industries to select the combination of most suitable tool material and lubrication conditions leading towards sustainable machining.