International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 44 (2004) 439–456 www.elsevier.com/locate/ijmactool A review of developments towards dry and high speed machining of Inconel 718 alloy D. Dudzinski a,∗, A. Devillez a, A. Moufki a, D. Larrouquère b, V. Zerrouki b, J. Vigneau b a Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique des Matériaux, UMR CNRS 7554, ISGMP, Université de Metz, Ile du Saulcy, 57045 Metz Cedex 1, France b SNECMA Moteurs, Route Nationale 7, BP 81, 91003 Evry Cedex, France Received 21 March 2003; received in revised form 9 June 2003; accepted 10 June 2003 Abstract The increasing attention to the environmental and health impacts of industry activities by governmental regulation and by the growing awareness in society is forcing manufacturers to reduce the use of lubricants. In the machining of aeronautical materials, classified as difficult-to-machine materials, the consumption of cooling lubricant during the machining operations is very important. The associated costs of coolant acquisition, use, disposal and washing the machined components are significant, up to four times the cost of consumable tooling used in the cutting operations. To reduce the costs of production and to make the processes environmentally safe, the goal of the aeronautical manufacturers is to move toward dry cutting by eliminating or minimising cutting fluids. This goal can be achieved by a clear understanding of the cutting fluid function in machining operations, in particular in high speed cutting, and by the development and the use of new materials for tools and coatings. High speed cutting is another important aspect of advanced manufacturing technology introduced to achieve high productivity and to save machining cost. The combination of high speed cutting and dry cutting for difficult-to-cut aerospace materials is the growing challenge to deal with the economic, environmental and health aspects of machining. In this paper, attention is focussed on Inconel 718 and recent work and advances concerning machining of this material are presented. In addition, some solutions to reduce the use of coolants are explored, and different coating techniques to enable a move towards dry machining are examined. 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Inconel 718; High speed cutting; Dry cutting; Cemented tools; Ceramic tools; Coatings; Minimum lubrication application; Surface integrity 1. Introduction The development of governmental pollution-preventing initiatives and increasing consumer focus on environmentally conscious products has placed increased pressure on industries to minimise their waste streams. In this way, the ISO 14000 international environmental management system standards have been developed to help industries to manage better the impact of their activities on the environment. Particularly concerned is the metal-working sector which includes automotive and aerospace industries. Attention is being directed to the ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: dudzinski@lpmm.univmetz.fr (D. Dudzinski). 0890-6955/$ - see front matter 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0890-6955(03)00159-7 role of cutting fluids in machining, machine tool energy efficiency and the impact of process wastes on the environment. The ADEME, French Agency for Environment and Energy Management, supports a project with the goal of improving the machining processes of difficult-to-cut materials for the aerospace industry, in order to move towards dry cutting operations that are more friendly for environment and health, and in the same way, to reduce energy consumption. The advantages of dry machining are: 앫 non-pollution of atmosphere or of water which reduces the danger to health, in particular, skin and respiratory damage, 앫 no residue of lubricant on machined components 440 D. Dudzinski et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 44 (2004) 439–456 which reduces or eliminates cleaning costs and associated energy consumption, 앫 no residue of lubricant on evacuated chips which reduces disposal costs and the associated energy consumption. At high cutting speeds, it is well known that the lubrication in the cutting zone is not evident and not really effective. That is why high speed machining and dry machining are often associated. High speed machining leads to lower cutting forces, higher removal rates and therefore to lower energy consumption. The project is concerned with these two aspects of machining to realise the ecological importance and high performance machining of hard-to-cut aerospace materials. In the first step, the dry machining of the Inconel 718 alloy used by Snecma-Moteurs will be studied. Before introducing dry machining, it is important to summarise the functions of cutting fluids and to search how the effects of cutting fluids may be substituted. Generally, the use of cutting fluid leads to an increase of tool life by the reduction of cutting forces (lubrication effect) and temperatures in the tool (cooling effect). However, these effects are not evident in high speed machining, in particular, when ceramic inserts are employed [1]. The energy consumed in performing a machining operation is mainly converted into heat. Cutting fluids are employed to remove heat from the workpiece, the tool, the fixtures and the machine tool (cooling effect). The heat generated is mainly dissipated in the chip and in the workpiece, a rather small part of heat flows to the tool. However, the highest temperature is obtained at the tool–chip interface which leads to diffusion wear and cutting edge degradation. The other important functions of the cutting fluids are to flush away the chips from the cutting zone (flushing effect) and to provide corrosive resistance to the machined component. In addition, it is necessary to understand well the mechanisms that contribute to tool wear and to workpiece surface integrity when working with Inconel 718. Hence, this paper is a general review of the recent developments in the machining of this material and an exploration of the possible ways to dry cutting. In the first part, the characteristics of Inconel 718 that are responsible for its poor machinability are reviewed and the associated problems are listed. Then, the latest research carried out on the use of uncoated and coated carbide tools under wet and dry conditions is summarised. The constant demand to increase productivity and quality has led to the development of ceramic tools. They are used for machining nickel-based alloys at higher cutting speeds and some of their results are given. When surfaces are produced, they need to meet functional service requirements, in particular for the aerospace components. As a consequence, attention is focussed on the parameters influencing the surface quality during mach- ining Inconel 718. Finally, to examine the move towards dry cutting of Inconel 718, interesting alternatives to conventional flooding coolant supply that are minimum quantity lubrication technologies, are reported and recent innovations of tool coatings for dry machining are discussed. 2. Machinability of Inconel 718 Nickel-based superalloys are widely employed in the aerospace industry, in particular in the hot sections of gas turbine engines, due to their high-temperature strength and high corrosion resistance. They are known to be among the most difficult-to-cut materials. Attention is focussed on the Inconel 718 family in the following paragraphs. The properties responsible for the poor machinability of the nickel-based superalloys, especially of Inconel 718, are [2–6]: 앫 a major part of their strength is maintained during machining due to their high-temperature properties, 앫 they are very strain rate sensitive and readily work harden, causing further tool wear, 앫 the highly abrasive carbide particles contained in the microstructure cause abrasive wear, 앫 the poor thermal conductivity leads to high cutting temperatures up to 1200 °C at the rake face [7], 앫 nickel-based superalloys have high chemical affinity for many tool materials leading to diffusion wear, 앫 welding and adhesion of nickel alloys onto the cutting tool frequently occur during machining causing severe notching as well as alteration of the tool rake face due to the consequent pull-out of the tool materials, 앫 due to their high strength, the cutting forces attain high values, excite the machine tool system and may generate vibrations which compromise the surface quality. The difficulty of machining resolves itself into two basic problems: short tool life and severe surface abuse of machined workpiece [3,8]. The heat generation and the plastic deformation induced during machining affect the machined surface. The heat generated usually alters the microstructure of the alloy and induces residual stresses. Residual stresses are also produced by plastic deformation without heat. Heat and deformation generate cracks and microstructural changes, as well as large microhardness variations [9]. Residual stresses have consequences on the mechanical behaviour, especially on the fatigue life of the workpieces [10,11]. Residual stresses are also responsible for the dimensional instability phenomenon of the parts which can lead to important difficulties during assembly [12,13]. Extreme care must be taken therefore to ensure the surface integ- D. Dudzinski et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 44 (2004) 439–456 rity of the component during machining. Most of the major parameters including the choice of tool and coating materials, tool geometry, machining method, cutting speed, feed rate, depth of cut, lubrication, must be controlled in order to achieve adequate tool lives and surface integrity of the machined surface [9,11]. 3. Cutting tools for machining Inconel 718 The requirements for any cutting tool material used for machining nickel-based alloys should include [3]: 앫 앫 앫 앫 앫 good wear resistance, high hot hardness, high strength and toughness, good thermal shock properties, adequate chemical stability at elevated temperature. Turning, milling and drilling are common operations carried out in the manufacture of jet engine mounts and blades, while turning and drilling are the predominant machining operations in the manufacture of disks for gas turbines. Most published work on the machining of nickel-based alloys deal with turning, then with milling, while drilling has received little attention. 3.1. Machining Inconel 718 with carbide tools Cemented carbide tools are still largely used for machining the nickel-based superalloys, especially Inconel 718. Over the years, the use of carbides for cutting tools has been established. However, with the increasing demand to achieve fast material removal and better surface quality, high speed machining was introduced and the use of the cemented carbide tools has become more problematic. For nickel-based alloys, the concept of high speed machining refers to speeds over 50 m/min approximately. In order to achieve higher cutting speeds, coated cemented carbides have been developed. In the following, the performance of coated and uncoated carbide tools in machining Inconel 718 is presented. Liao and Shiue [14] analysed the wear mechanism of two cemented carbide tools: K20 and P20 grades, in dry turning of Inconel 718. The feed rate and the depth of cut were 0.10 mm/rev and 1.5 mm, respectively. The cutting speed was either 35 or 15 m/min. On the wear surface of the K20 carbide, they observed a sticking layer very close to the cutting edge. Built-upedge (BUE) was formed at a cutting speed of 35 m/min with chipping of the cutting edge. When P20 carbide was used, the sticking layer also could be found, but comparatively, the wear was more irregular, the flank wear length was larger and the groove was deeper. Using the electron probe microanalyser (EPMA) to analyse the concentrations of tool elements and work 441 elements beneath the rake face, they found for the cutting speed V = 35 m / min, that there were no change of tool elements but Ni and Fe diffused into the cutting tool for the two cemented carbide tools. This diffusion of the work elements into the cutting tool may be explained by the very high cutting temperature (about 1000 °C) during the experiments. Alaudin et al. [15] performed extensive research on the end milling of Inconel 718. They carried out tests under dry conditions with uncoated tungsten carbide inserts (K20 grade). The tool life was investigated in the full immersion and half immersion (both in up cut and down cut). From the cutting tests, it was found that a tool life range of 5–10 min can be obtained at cutting speed of 19.32 m/min, feed of 0.09 mm/tooth and axial depth of cut of 1.0 mm. In addition, they concluded that full immersion increased tool life in comparison with half immersion and down cut gave better performance than the up cut end milling. Derrien and Vigneau [16] tested uncoated and coated carbide (K20 grade, CrN and TiN coatings) for milling operations (contouring) at a high cutting speed of 200 m/min, a feed rate of 0.04 mm/tooth and a depth of cut of 0.5 mm. They showed that TiN coated carbide has the lowest wear. In addition, the machining performances with air assistance and micropulverisation were compared with those of dry cutting. Dry cutting resulted in the best tool performance. Rahman et al. [4] presented a work which discusses the machinability of Inconel 718 subjected to various machining parameters including tool geometry, cutting speed and feed rate. Flank wear of the inserts, workpiece surface roughness and cutting force components have been considered as the performance indicators for tool life. Turning experiments were conducted under wet conditions. Two types of inserts were used: 앫 K type substrate, TiN PVD coated cemented carbide, and 앫 multi Al2O3 CVD coated cemented carbide. They studied the effect of the side cutting edge angle (SCEA), Fig. 1, on the tool life for three feeds (0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 mm/rev) and three cutting speeds (30, 40 and 50 m/min), the depth of cut was fixed to 2 mm. For the two inserts, tool life increases as the SCEA increases from ⫺5 to 45°, see for example Fig. 2. For these increasing values of the SCEA, the temperature of the tool–chip interface related to the undeformed chip thickness t1 certainly decreases. Moreover, the heat generated during the cutting process is distributed over a greater length of the cutting edge lS. This improves heat removal from the cutting edge, distributes the cutting forces over a larger portion of the cutting edge, reduces tool notching and substantially improves tool life. Throughout the experiments, the PVD–TiN coated 442 D. Dudzinski et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 44 (2004) 439–456 Fig. 1. SCEA or approach angle.t1 is the undeformed chip thickness, f is the feed, w is the width of cut, lS is the length of the engaged cutting edge. Fig. 2. Effect of SCEA on tool life for a cutting speed of 30 m/min and different feed rates using the Al2O3 CVD cemented coated tool. From Rahman et al. [4]. carbide insert exhibited excellent resistance to depth of cut notch wear at the approach angles of 15° and 45°. The inserts performed satisfactorily even at the highest speed of 50 m/min and at the highest feed rate of 0.4 mm/rev at 45° approach angle. This type of insert performed best at the speed of 30 m/min and the feed rate of 0.2 mm/rev with an approach angle of 45°. The Al2O3 CVD coated cemented carbide exhibited more severe notch wear at all three angles tested and might not be suitable for cutting Inconel 718. Itakura et al. [17] conducted dry turning experiments to identify the tool wear mechanism clearly when a commonly used coated cemented carbide tool cuts Inconel 718. The tool was a square tip made of coated cemented (P20, TiN/TiC multilayered coating). The temperature was measured using the tool–workpiece thermocouple method. With this method, only the average temperature of the contact area can be measured. The cutting speeds were 30, 100 and 150 m/min, the feed rate was 0.2 mm/rev and the depth of cut was 0.25 mm. Continuous and interrupted experiments were conducted. During continuous cutting at a speed of 30 m/min, Inconel 718 adhered to the rake face of the major cutting edge and the adhering material became a stable BUE protecting the face. For this reason, there was almost no rake wear but only flank wear. The hard particles contained in the Inconel 718 alloy were certainly responsible for abrasive wear of the coating film on the flank face. In addition, the work material adhered to the surface of the worn area of the flank and tool material was repeatedly being removed. The cutting temperature at 30 m/min was 990 °K and at 100 m/min it was 1320 °K; at this temperature, stable adhesion of the BUE is no longer possible and wear advances on both rake and flank faces. The coating film on the rake face wears off, and later, when the wear reaches the cemented carbide material, the rate of wear increases. In the same way, the flank wear progresses faster at a cutting speed of 100 m/min. This is due to the high-temperature causing diffusion and surface oxidation at high speeds. During interrupted cutting, material adhering to the rake face (BUE) is removed, causing the coating film to flake. Wear advances as the number of repetitions increases. It has been verified that gradually reducing the undeformed chip thickness at the end of cutting will help to reduce the separation of BUE and, as a result, will reduce the separation of coating film from the rake face. Jindal et al. [18] studied the relative merits of PVD– TiN,TiCN and TiAlN coatings on cemented carbide substrate (WC—6 wt% Co alloy) in the turning of Inconel 718 with coolant. The tested cutting speeds were 46 and 76 m/min, the feed rate and the depth of cut were maintained constant and equal to 0.15 mm/rev and 1.5 mm, respectively. At both speeds, TiAlN and TiCN coated tools performed significantly better than tools with TiN coatings. The end of life for all the three coated tools was dictated by maximum flank wear or nose wear. At the lower cutting speed of 46 m/min, an excellent performance of the TiAlN coated tools was noted, Fig. 3. The maximum flank wear was about 0.15 mm after a cutting time of 5 min. Furthermore, the TiAlN tools exhibit lower nose and crater wear than the TiCN and TiN coated tools. Since the substrate material was the same for all the coated tools, the observed differences in tool lives and wear behaviour were attributed to the coatings. Coatings increase wear resistance and may reduce cutting forces and temperatures at the tool edge and thereby indirectly affect the deformation and fracture behaviour of the tool. TiAlN has a significantly higher hardness than TiCN or TiN above 750 °C which will translate into improved resistance to abrasive wear. Also, it exhibits good hightemperature chemical stability. This high-temperature D. Dudzinski et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 44 (2004) 439–456 443 Fig. 4. Performance of TiAlN–monolayer and TiAlN–multilayer coated carbide tools in turning Inconel 718, from Prengel et al. [19]. The two tested cutting conditions were: cutting speed = 61 m / min, feed = 0.125 mm/ rev, depth of cut = 1.27 mm, cutting speed = 76.2 m / min, feed = 0.15 mm / rev, depth of cut = 1.52 mm. Fig. 3. (a) Tool lives of PVD–TiN, TiCN and TiAlN coated inserts in turning Inconel 718 (feed = 0.15 mm / rev, depth of cut = 1.5 mm, cutting speed = 46 and 76 m / min); (b) maximum flank wear as a function of time (cutting speed = 46 m /min), from Jindal et al. [18]. stability is a result of the tendency of TiAlN coating to form a protective outermost layer of Al2O3 and an intermediate layer comprising titanium, aluminium, oxygen and nitrogen during the machining operation, leading to higher oxidation resistance. Finally, TiAlN has the lowest thermal conductivity among the three coatings tested. This should result in lower tool tip temperatures as much of the heat generated during machining would be carried away by the chip. As a result, the TiAlN coating imparts excellent crater resistance. Prengel et al. [19] confirmed the conclusion of the previous work but with a multilayer coated tool. They performed Inconel 718 turning tests with a coolant and different PVD coated carbide cutting tools at 61 and 76 m/min, Fig. 4. The TiAlN-multilayer showed some advantages over the TiAlN-monolayer and TiN/TiCN/TiAlN-multilayer coating particularly at a higher speed of 76 m/min. The main failure mode in Inconel 718 machining was abrasive nose wear accompanied by plastic deformation. Depth-of-cut notching was also observed. The notching was heavily influenced by burr formation on the uncut diameter. Coated flaking was observed early in the cut at the depth of cut region for all the coated tools tested. Sharman et al. [2] detailed experimental work using TiAlN and CrN coated tungsten carbide (K10 grade carbide) end mills for dry machining up to 150 m/min rectangular blocks of Inconel 718. A three factor, full factorial cutting experiment design at two levels was outlined with the workpiece inclined at 45° and 60° from the horizontal, Fig. 5. All the tests resulted in low tool lives; however, the longest one occurred with TiAlN coated tools at 90 m/min with a workpiece angle of 45°, Fig. 6. One large notch located towards the high speed position together with a smaller notch at the leading edge position was generally evident. Finally, TiAlN coated tools performed better than CrN coated tools due to their higher hardness and oxidation resistance. The extensive BUE and coating peeling seen with CrN coated tools at a cutting of 90 m/min suggests Fig. 5. Configuration of ball end milling tests performed by Sharman et al. [2]. Axial and radial depths of cut: 0.5 and 1 mm, feed rate: 0.1 mm/tooth. 444 D. Dudzinski et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 44 (2004) 439–456 Fig. 6. Dry ball end milling of Inconel 718 with coated carbide tools, results of the machining tests, from Sharman et al. [2]. that CrN has a higher chemical affinity to Inconel 718 than TiAlN. The work of Jawaid et al. [5] is concentrated on the wear behaviour of two different grades of single layer PVD–TiN coated and uncoated tungsten carbide insert when face milling Inconel 718 for various cutting conditions, Fig. 7. An emulsion with 6% concentration was used as a coolant. The cutting speeds were 25, 50, 75 and 100 m/min for the coated tools and 25 and 50 m/min for the uncoated tool. The depth of cut was 1 mm and the feed rates were 0.08 and 0.14 mm per tooth. The uncoated carbide (WC 90.1%, 9.5% Co, 0.4% VC) tool performed better than the PVD–TiN layer coated tools at the lowest cutting speed of 25 m/min and for both feed rates in terms of tool life and of volume of metal removed. Flank wear developed either on the main cutting edge or on the nose, controlled the tool life at all cutting conditions for all the three types of inserts. Premature removal of the coating layers from the tool–chip contact zone hindered the overall performance of the PVD–TiN layer coated tools at a cutting speed of 25 m/min. Ducros et al. [20] studied TiN/AlTiN and CrN/TiN nanolayer coatings deposited on a K20 cemented carbide and its machining performance was tested by turning Inconel 718 alloy. Lubricated tests were carried out; cutting speed, feed and depth of cut were 40 m/min, 0.2 mm/rev and 1.5 mm, respectively. The performance of the nanolayer coated tools was compared with that of classical mono- and multilayer coated and uncoated inserts, Table 1. Abrasive nose wear and chipping at the cutting edge were the main failure modes observed. The depth-of-cut notch is considered as a determinant for tool life when machining Inconel 718. The notching is influenced by burr formation on the uncut diameter; this failure mode is mainly due to the hardening of the material during machining. This phenomenon appeared for uncoated or CrN/TiN coated tool and was attenuated with TiN/AlTiN nanolayer coated insert. According to the authors, this was probably due to better chip sliding and a reduced cutting temperature with this coating. Abrasive wear is mainly due to carbide particles in Inconel 718. The high hardness of the TiN/AlTiN nanolayer coating (Hardness HV0.05 = 3900) provides better abrasion resistance than classical multilayer and monolayer structures. In addition, TiN/AlTiN nanolayer coating presents a better resistance to welding. High-temperature resistance of AlTiN included in this coating allows better resistance to the BUE phenomenon than CrN/TiN nanolayer coating. As summary, it appears from previous studies that adhesion and abrasion are dominant when machining Inconel 718. Work material adheres to the cutting edge to form a BUE, depending on the cutting conditions. The BUE is not always stable and is sometimes repeatedly removed with tool material leading to important notching at the depth of cut and at the tool nose and coating Fig. 7. Average flank wear when face milling Inconel 718, (a) at feed rate 0.08 mm per tooth, (b) at feed rate 0.14 mm per tooth. A and B were two different grades of single layer PVD–TiN layer coated tools, C was an uncoated tungsten carbide insert (WC 90.1%, 9.5% Co, 0.4% VC). From Jawaid et al. [5]. D. Dudzinski et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 44 (2004) 439–456 445 Table 1 Cutting tool failures of different coatings used for turning Inconel 718. Tool life was determined by an average flank wear of 0.5 mm, a depthof-cut notch width of 1 mm or a nose wear of 0.8 mm. Cutting conditions were: cutting speed V = 40 m / min; feed rate f = 0.2 mm / rev; depth of cut d = 1.5 mm Cutting tool and coating Tool life Depth-of-cut notching after Flank wear VB (µm) after BUE after 4 min 4 min machining (2 passes) 4 min machining (2 passes) machining (2 passes) Uncoated Commercial multilayer TIN/TiAlN (26 layers) Multilayer CrN/TiN Nanolayer CrN/TiN Multilayer TiN/AlTiN Nanolayer TiN/AlTiN 4 min 6 min +++ + 500 300 +++ + 5 6 6 7 ++ ++ + 0 400 250 300 100 ++ + + 0 min min 30 s min min 30 s The wear was: +++ very important, ++ important, + beginning, 0 not significant. From Ducros et al. [20]. peeling. The hard particles contained in Inconel 718 produce severe flank wear. Flank wear and notching are the main failure modes which limit the tool life. Due to the high cutting temperatures, oxidation and diffusion also occur [17]. The cutting speeds usually employed, under dry conditions, are in the range of 20–30 m/min and up to 50 m/min for coated tools, the feed rates are about 0.1– 0.2 mm/rev in turning. Some authors [2,16] tested with success higher cutting speeds, up to 200 m/min with carbide tools. The K20 grade (WC 93%, 7% Co) cemented carbide seems to be the best for cutting Inconel 718. This is due to its high hot hardness and high compressive strength; in addition, its relative low cobalt content increases its abrasion resistance. The high thermal conductivity and low thermal expansion coefficient of the K20 grade also improves performance by reducing the thermal shock [8]. It has been shown also that the cutting geometry, especially the SCEA, has a significant influence on the tool life [4] and for interrupted cutting such as end milling, the down cut gives better results [15]. In comparison with the TiN and TiCN coatings, it has been shown that the PVD (Ti,Al)N coating is most suitable in dry machining of difficult-to-cut materials such as Inconel 718. Superior oxidation resistance, high-temperature chemical stability, high hot hardness and low thermal conductivity are the principal reasons of its performance [18]. Recently, a TiN/AlTiN nanolayer coating gave good results when machining Inconel 718 with low BUE phenomenon and reduced abrasion wear [20]. 3.2. Machining Inconel 718 with ceramic tools The advantages of ceramic tools are [8]: 앫 high-temperature resistance enables them to be used at high cutting speeds, 앫 abrasion and corrosion resistance, 앫 hot hardness and low chemical affinity resulting in longer tool life in comparison with carbide tools. However, the major disadvantages of ceramic tools are their low resistance to mechanical shock or low fracture toughness and their low thermal conductivity. The low toughness is the biggest problem when cutting nickel-based alloys. In the paper by Narutaki et al. [21], wear characteristics of three ceramics tools were examined: 앫 SiC whisker-reinforced alumina Al2O3 ceramic, 앫 silicon nitride Si3N4 ceramic, and 앫 TiC added alumina ceramic Al2O3–TiC under high speed turning tests of Inconel 718 up to 500 m/min, in the presence of 10% water-based coolant and the use of these ceramics tools was discussed. Another interesting point of this work was the discussion on tool geometry. The SiC whisker ceramic showed the best performance in respect of notch wear VN at the side cutting edge in the speed range of 100–300 m/min with a feed rate of 0.19 mm/rev and a depth of cut of 0.5 mm, Fig. 8. However, the notch wear VN and the flank wear VB with the SiC whisker and the Si3N4 ceramics became very large at higher speeds or higher feed rates. The Al2O3– TiC ceramic showed very small flank wear VB under the same testing cutting conditions but a maximal value for VN around a cutting speed of 100 m/min. In addition, the TiC added alumina ceramic tool showed very small flank and notch wear at the cutting speed of 500 m/min. Using a thermocouple method, the authors estimated the rake and the flank temperatures during the tests. In the cutting speed range of 400–500 m/min, the flank temperature attained 1250–1300 °C, Fig. 9. The wear of the SiC whisker and of the Si3N4 ceramics increases drastically over the cutting temperature of 1300 °C (the melting point of Inconel 718 is 1550 °C). In addition, diffusion tests between the three chosen ceramics and 446 D. Dudzinski et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 44 (2004) 439–456 Fig. 8. Influence of cutting speed and of feed on notch wear VN and flank wear VB, when turning Inconel 718 with ceramic tools. From Narutaki et al. [21]. Fig. 9. Cutting temperature when machining Inconel 718 with Si3N4 ceramic tool, from Narutaki et al. [21]. Inconel 718 were carried out. With the SiC whisker ceramic, the Ni diffused into the tool. With the Si3N4 ceramic, Si diffused into Inconel 718 and Cr in the alloy. These tests showed that the Al2O3–TiC ceramic tool was the most stable to Inconel 718. Therefore, the Al2O3– TiC ceramic tool was the best cutting tool, as it has more thermal wear resistance than the other tools in high speed machining. The same conclusion was also obtained by Kitagawa et al. [7]. The maximum notch wear observed for the Al2O3– TiC ceramic tool around the cutting speed of 100 m/min was a kind of transfer type wear generated by an adhesion of work material to the tool, this mechanism was temperature dependent. The flank wear is generally considered as a kind of mechanical wear, such as an abrasive wear. However, for the SiC whisker and the Si3N4 ceramic tools flank abrasive wear was accompanied by diffusion, which is a thermally activated process. Kitagawa et al. [7] investigated tool wear and cutting tool temperature by means of turning experiments up to 300 m/m, in the presence of 10% water-based coolant. Performances of two types of ceramic, Si3N4 and Al2O3– TiC, have been investigated. They confirmed that notch wear VN (at the side cutting edge) and VN⬘ (at the end cutting edge) were the major types of wear observed when cutting Inconel 718. Flank wear VB remained lower in the whole tested speed range, Fig. 10. They postulated that temperature has an important role in tool wear. They measured it in the rake face and in the flank of the tool. All the temperatures rose monotonically, up to about 1200 °C, with increasing cutting speed. However, taking into account the decreasing of notch wear at higher cutting speed, they estimated that the wear characteristics observed cannot be explained by temperature alone and that the wear is rather developed by an abrasive process than a thermally activated adhesion mechanism. They observed also the chip morphology: with increasing cutting speed, serrations in the chip became obvious and the chip thickness decreased. In addition, large plastic flow towards the side of the chip could be depicted at a speed of 150 m/min. Plastic flow took place D. Dudzinski et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 44 (2004) 439–456 Fig. 10. Dependence of flank wear VC = VB and notch wear VN and VN⬘ on cutting speed at cut distance of 50 m with an Al2O3–TiC ceramic tool (depth of cut = 0.5 mm, feed rate = 0.19 mm / rev), from Kitagawa et al. [7]. on the work surface and a burr was generated by the side cutting with a maximum height at the same cutting speed. They confirmed the superiority of the Al2O3–TiC ceramic on the Si3N4 one over a cutting speed of 250 m/min. To reduce the notch wear of the Al2O3–TiC at low cutting speed, different tool geometry, Fig. 11, was tested by Narutaki et al. [21] corresponding to increasing value of the SCEA. A tool with a large cutting edge radius (button type with nick) corresponding to a high value of the SCEA showed better performance in terms of tool wear. The effect of tool geometry on cutting temperature was also discussed by El-Wardany et al. [22] when turning hardened steel with an Al2O3–TiC ceramic cutting tools. Different geometrical tool configurations (different nose radii, angles of approach, widths of tool chamfer, Fig. 11. Increasing the SCEA reduces the wear, from Narutaki et al. [21]. 447 and rake angles) were tested. In addition, they estimated the cutting edge temperature during tests at cutting speeds up to 500 m/min by measuring the rake face temperature with a thermocouple located very close to the tool tip. The cutting edge temperature decreased with the increasing tool nose radius. According to the authors, this can be explained by the fact that for smaller nose radius, the tool tip area available for heat conduction decreases making the local temperature to rise. Increasing the angle of approach (SCEA) reduced the cutting edge temperature. Increasing the angle of approach reduced the undeformed chip thickness t1 and increases the width of cut w, see Fig. 1, leading to a lower heat generation during cutting and, consequently, the tool cutting edge temperature is reduced. In addition, the authors showed that there exists an optimal negative rake angle for which the temperature is minimum during cutting. In the same paper, El-Wardany et al. [22] present experimental results concerning turning Inconel 718 with an Al2O3–TiC ceramic cutting tool. An interesting result emerged, initially with an increase of cutting speed from 110 to 510 m/min, the cutting edge temperature decreases, but with a further increase in the cutting speed up to 720 m/min, the measured temperatures increase to the range of 650–850 °C, Fig. 12. Although the rake temperature was found to increase with the increase of the cutting speed [21], the temperature at the tool tip depends on the nature of the tool and workpiece materials and on their thermal diffusivity. The thermal diffusivity is a measure of transient heat flow and is defined as the thermal conductivity divided by the product of specific heat times density. The thermal conductivity of the Inconel 718 increases linearly with temperature and its value at 1300 °C is 1.5 times higher than at 1000 °C. The variations with temperature of density and Fig. 12. Turning Inconel 718 with an Al2O3–TiC ceramic cutting tool, effect of cutting speed on tool edge temperature, from El-Wardany et al. [22]. 448 D. Dudzinski et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 44 (2004) 439–456 specific heats for Inconel 718 are not thought to be major; hence, the increase of thermal diffusivity with temperature is due to thermal conductivity variations. This high value of the workpiece’s thermal diffusivity is accompanied by lower values of the tool’s thermal diffusivity; therefore, the dissipation of heat at high cutting speed is higher through the workpiece than through the tool and assures low values of tool tip temperature. At the cutting speed of 720 m/min, the cutting edge was covered with workpiece material caused by pressure welding between the work and the tool. This pressure welding appears when the rake temperature approaches the melting temperature of Inconel 718. Therefore, the thermal diffusivity of the tool is affected by the welded layer. Hence, at 720 m/min, the tool tip temperature attains a higher value, about 800 °C. Elbestawi et al. [23] investigated the failure characteristics and the cutting performance of silicon carbide (SiC) whisker-reinforced ceramic tools during milling of Inconel 718. They performed cutting tests using round and square inserts, at cutting speeds ranging from 200 to 700 m/min, and feeds from 0.05 to 0.15 mm/tooth. Various immersion ratios were considered (from 0.25 to 1.00). They observed three main types of tool wear: flank wear, depth of cut notch wear and trailing edge wear. The depth of cut notch wear was the dominant failure mode for tool at full immersion, and cutting speeds from 200 to 400 m/min, Fig. 13a. For higher cutting speeds (400–700 m/min), lower immersion ratios and higher feeds, trailing edge wear and/or flank wear were the dominant modes, Fig. 13b. Round inserts improved the cutting performance in comparison with square ones. They provided a stronger cutting edge aiding notch wear resistance. The optimum performance was obtained at cutting speed of 700 m/min or higher, axial depths of cut in the range from 1 to 2 mm, and feeds of 0.10 to 0.18 mm/tooth, increasing the immersion ratio improved the tool life. El-Wardany and Elbestawi [24] extended their end milling experiments of Inconel 718 up to 2000 m/min using flood coolant. Some tests were performed under dry conditions, at cutting speeds of 1000 and 2000 m/min, and feed of 0.2 mm/tooth. As in the previous work, they used round inserts of SiC whisker-reinforced ceramic. The best combination of cutting conditions was a speed of 1000 m/min, a feed of 0.2 mm/tooth and full immersion (the depth of cut was 0.75 and 1.5 mm). For these conditions, the mode of tool failure was flaking of the rake face caused by the sticking of the workpiece on it. The tool life in terms of volume of material removal was three times that removed by cutting speeds higher or lower that this optimal speed and a surface finish of 0.7 µm was produced. The cutting process was more stable during dry cutting tests at high speeds; only crater wear was developed on the tool accompanied by a small Fig. 13. (a) End milling Inconel 718 with a SiC whisker-reinforced ceramic tool. Modes of Failure at 1.25 mm depth of cut and full immersion. (b) End milling Inconel 718 with a SiC whisker-reinforced ceramic tool. Modes of Failure at 1.25 mm depth of cut and 0.5 and 0.25 immersion, from Elbestawi et al. [23]. amount of plastic deformation on the tool rake face, and the surface finish was about 0.5 µm. Gatto and Iuliano [25] coated 20% SiC whiskerreinforced Al2O3 tools with CrN and TiAlN using PVD in order to minimise the temperature effect and to obtain an increase in tool life. They performed machining tests on a vertical boring mill under dry conditions. The cutting speeds were 300, 400 and 530 m/min, the feed rates were 0.08, 0.12 and 0.22 mm/rev and the depth of cut was 1.5 mm for all the tests. Flank wear VB and notch wear VN were measured and statistical models were proposed. The coatings protected the ceramic tool as a thermal barrier and they increased the ceramic tool life. Maximum productivity was obtained with the TiAlN coated ceramic, Fig. 14. Li et al. [6] used Sialon (Si3N4–Al2O3) ceramic tools for turning tests of Inconel 718. Sialon ceramic tools are prone to notch wear, with minimum damage to the tool nose at lower speeds (120 m/min). A transition is observed at 240 m/min. Further increasing the speed to 300 m/min leads to a reduction in notching and an increase in nose and flank wear. Tool life of ceramic tools is severely limited by excessive notching in the depth of cut region, caused by welding and pull-out, which may be due to the relatively low mechanical toughness of ceramic tools. In addition, ceramics are poor heat conductors which make them vul- D. Dudzinski et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 44 (2004) 439–456 Fig. 14. Dry machining Inconel 718 with coated ceramic tools. Maximum productivity values Q, the values refer to a machined volume of 40 cm3, from Gatto and Iuliano, [25]. Q = Vfd, where V is the cutting speed, f the feed and d the depth of cut. nerable to thermal cracks. However, ceramic tools have large usage possibilities. They can withstand higher cutting speeds (above 200 m/min) than uncoated and coated carbide tools. Dry conditions are generally recommended during machining with ceramic tools. Coatings may be used to improve the cutting performance of ceramic tools. 3.3. Assisted machining for Inconel 718 One approach to enhance the machining performance (in terms of material removal rate, tool life and surface finish) in hard-to-cut materials is hot machining. Localised heat sources such as laser and plasma [26,27] were used to assist the machining of such materials. At high temperatures above 750 °C, Inconel 718 exhibits significantly reduced yield stress, Fig. 15; therefore, localised heating may soften the material and reduce the shear strength and strain hardening associated with chip formation. During plasma enhanced machining (PEM), Leshock et al. [27] showed that the cutting forces decrease with increasing the surface temperature, Fig. Fig. 15. Yield stress of Inconel 718 vs. temperature from Leshock et al. [27]. 449 Fig. 16. Resultant cutting force vs. surface temperature for various cutting speeds (feed = 0.124 mm / rev), during PEM of Inconel 718 with ceramic inserts (aluminium oxide reinforced with silicon carbide whiskers) from Leshock et al. [27]. 16, and the surface roughness is also improved. However, beyond 530 °C, surface oxidation was observed; this problem should be resolved by a more accurate control of the plasma arc. With PEM, the notching is eliminated and the tool life is increased, but the chip temperature is a little higher than in conventional machining, leading to higher flank wear rates [27]. An alternative solution to enhancing the machining performance of hard-to-cut materials is to reduce the cutting temperatures by the application of a high pressure waterjet coolant [28]. Another possibility is to use liquid nitrogen as coolant [29,30]. To minimise waste, cryogenic fluid is applied directly to the cutting edge where the material is cut and heat is generated. The flow rate of the cryogenic fluid is proportional to the heat generated in the cutting process, preventing the workpiece from becoming distorted due to extreme heating or cooling, Fig. 17. The cooling effect obtained with this Fig. 17. Assisted machining of Inconel 718. Application of liquid nitrogen to the cutting zone. From Hong et al. [30]. 450 D. Dudzinski et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 44 (2004) 439–456 method is stronger than with waterjet cooling and the temperature dependent wear reduced significantly in the tests of machining titanium and Inconel 718 alloys. However, nitrogen is expensive and does not recycle. Kim et al. [31] proposed a cooling system which uses compressed air. The drier air exchanges heat in an aircooler system and its temperature decreases down to about ⫺2 °C. The compressed chilly air is jetted through the nozzle enabling adiabatic expansion and leading to a temperature in the jet of about ⫺12 °C. This cooling technique was tested in ball end milling at cutting speeds of 90 and 210 m/min, feed rate of 0.1 mm/tooth, depth of cut of 0.5 mm with coated TiAlN carbide tool. The tool life was significantly improved at 90 m/min; however, at a speed of 210 m/min, the compressed air failed to infiltrate into the tool–chip interface or tool–workpiece and the advantage of the proposed cooling system was reduced. 4. Surface integrity when machining Inconel 718 For safety critical industries such as aerospace, surface integrity is important for the components submitted to high thermal and mechanical loads during their use, Axinte and Dewes, [32]. Structures in aerospace applications are subjected to severe conditions of stress, temperature and hostile environments. Section size is continually reduced in order to minimise weight so that surface condition has an ever-increasing influence on its performances. Service histories and failure analyses of dynamic components show that fatigue failures almost always nucleate on or near the surface of a component. By considering stress corrosion resistance, it is again recognised that the surface of a component is a primary factor in determining susceptibility to attack and subsequent failure. Hence, much attention should be paid to surface characteristics of components [33]. Overheating/burning, surface irregularities, BUEs or deposits of debris, macro- and microcracks, cavities, microdefects such as laps and inclusions, metallurgical alterations including microstructural distortion, phase transformations, heat affected layers, tensile residual stresses are the main problems identified. Such changes occur due to thermal and mechanical loads during machining. Residual stresses are an effect from both heat generated and mechanical work going into the surface and subsurface. Thermal effects tend to give tensile stresses, while mechanical influences contribute to compressive residual stresses, [32]. Jacobson et al. [34] have noted that when increasing cutting speed during hard turning of bainitic steels, one also increases the strain rate in the process which gives more mechanical work leading to compressive stress. In the same way, increasing the strain rate in the cutting zone introduces more generated heat, which has a tendency to produce tensile stress at the machined surface. Residual stress strongly affects the fatigue life of a component. A tensile mean stress reduces the allowed alternating stress in service. Conversely, the introduction of a compressive mean stress will increase the allowed alternating stress for a given fatigue life. High tensile stresses generated by the machining of work hardening alloys can be highly deleterious to fatigue performance. The effect is most significant in the high cycle fatigue regime where the applied stress magnitude is not sufficient to significantly relax the residual stresses produced during manufacturing. Brinksmeier et al. [35] give a good overview of the subject of residual stresses, their measurement and causes in machining processes. Field and Khales [33] proposed a minimum surface integrity data set, which involves surface finish (roughness and waviness), macro- and microstructure and hardness of the surface, microhardness variations, structural changes in the machined surface layer. They added residual stresses and a minimal fatigue testing to give a ‘standard’ data set. In the following, we present some results about surface finish during machining Inconel 718 and the main parameters which affect the surface integrity are identified. Ezugwu and Tang [9] carried out turning tests on Inconel 718 alloy using round- and rhomboid-shaped pure oxide (Al2O3 + ZrO2) and mixed oxide (Al2O3 + TiC) ceramic tools. Coolant was not used because of the low thermal shock properties of ceramics. Inconel 718 alloy was machined at a speed of 152 m/min, a feed rate of 0.125 mm/min and a constant depth of cut of 2.0 mm. They have shown that the geometry of cutting tools plays an important role in determining the nature of machined surfaces. The round inserts produced better surface finish than the rhomboid inserts. All the rhomboid-shaped ceramic tools failed after machining for 1 min due to severe notching at the depth of cut. Under the chosen conditions, long continuous chips were produced due to the ductility of the work material. The hardness of the workpiece surface layer increased with prolonged machining due to plastic deformation and to the high rate of work hardening of Inconel 718. Plastic deformation was evident by the observation of the elongation of grains and orientation under the machined surface. Tearing of the surface layer of the Inconel 718 was observed in all machining trials. Tearing on the machined surface of a component reduces its fatigue strength. Bresseler et al. [36] and Kishawy and Elbestawi [37] studied the phenomenon of material side flow which represents an important aspect of machined surfaces. They conducted experiments in order to study the effect of cutting edge preparation, nose radius, feed and tool wear on surface material side flow quality during dry hard boring and hard turning. The work material was not the D. Dudzinski et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 44 (2004) 439–456 Inconel 718 alloy but a hardened steel. However, their work is important to identify the generally parameters influencing surface quality. They verified that cutting edge preparation has a significant effect upon the material side flow, especially during finishing operations. Although cutting with a small feed improves surface finish, it leads to more material side flow on the machined surface, hence to a deterioration in surface quality. In addition, an increase in the tool nose radius leads to the ploughing of a large part of the chip and in consequence to severe material side flow on the machined surface. Near surface residual stress distributions in Inconel 718 arising from a turning operation were studied by Schlauer et al. [38]. The cutting conditions were very similar to orthogonal cutting. The cutting tool used was a SiC whisker-reinforced alumina Al2O3 ceramic. The tool geometry was kept constant. Cutting speeds were 10, 410 and 810 m/min and for the feed were 0.01, 0.06 and 0.11 mm/rev. For the cutting speed of 10 m/min, low residual stresses were found. At higher cutting speeds of 410 and 810 m/min, a thin layer exhibiting tensile residual stresses was formed near the machined surface, with a maximum tensile stress at the surface, Fig. 18. Within 10 µm from the machined surface, the tensile stress dropped to 0. It was followed by a layer with compressive stresses that is several times thicker than the tensile layer. When the cutting speed was increased, the tensile and the compressive stresses increased and the depth of the layer affected by machining increased too. Similar stress profiles were found by Derrien and Vigneau [16] and Guerville and Vigneau [11]. They carried out high speed and dry milling tests (contouring and point milling) with uncoated cemented carbide K20 mills. For contouring operations at V = 200 m / min (f = 0.04 mm / tooth and depth of cut = 0.5 mm), residual stresses are tensile, affecting a layer of 400 µm with an extreme value of 1500 MPa. This maximum value was three times the one obtained using a conventional speed Fig. 18. Turning Inconel 718 with a SiC whisker-reinforced alumina ceramic tool. Residual stress depth profiles for the feed 0.06 mm/rev and the three tested cutting speeds (10, 410, 810 m/min). From Schlauer et al. [38]. 451 Fig. 19. Contouring Inconel 718 with a carbide K20 tool: comparison of residual stresses profiles after high speed machining (200 m/min, dry conditions) and conventional machining (16 m/min, emulsion 5%), from Derrien and Vigneau [16], Guerville and Vigneau [11]. of 16 m/min and wet conditions, Fig. 19. On the other hand, for the point milling tests, the level of the residual stresses was lower with a maximum tensile stress value of about 750 MPa near the machined surface, a maximum compressive stress value of 500 MPa and a 100 µm affected layer, Fig. 20. Comparable residual stress profiles were also obtained after ball end milling by Ng et al. [39]. The tests were performed at a cutting speed of 90 m/min, feed of 0.2 mm/tooth and an axial depth of cut of 0.5 mm in down milling, the workpiece surface was inclined with an angle of 45° from the horizontal. High tensile stress Fig. 20. Point milling Inconel 718 with carbide K20: comparison of residual stresses profiles after high speed machining (200 m/min, dry conditions) and conventional machining (18 m/min, dry conditions), from Derrien and Vigneau [16], Guerville and Vigneau [11]. 452 D. Dudzinski et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 44 (2004) 439–456 values were measured parallel to the feed direction near the machined surface, followed by highly compressive stress at a shallow depth and the compressive layer was maintained to 150 µm. Gas turbine components are complex in their shape. They are thin walled and call for very close dimensional tolerances and good surface integrity. The Inconel 718 used for jet engine component is not only known to be difficult to cut but also to reveal dimensional instability after machining [12,13]. Dimensional instability is a change of dimension with respect to time without any further work being done on the component. Dimensional instability of components induces problems during assembly. The two probable causes of this phenomenon are the residual stresses and microstructure changes introduced by the machining process. Subhas et al. [12,13] compared the dimensional instability of Inconel 718 with that of Ti–6Al–4V and mild steel. The specimens were machined at identical cutting conditions and the dimensional changes were measured with respect to time up to 220 h after machining. Inconel 718 is more prone to dimensional instability than either titanium alloy or mild steel, dimensional changes being lowest for the latter material. It can be noted that this phenomenon is not observed in other nickel-based alloys. Microscopic observations showed that shear localised chips were formed with the Inconel 718 alloy at various cutting speeds. These chips are very similar to those obtained with the Ti–6Al–4V alloy, see also the study of Komanduri and Shroeder [40]. According to Subhas et al. [12,13], the dimensional instability of Inconel 718 may be attributed to the presence of g⬙ phase. They also studied the influence of cutting conditions on the plastic deformation mechanism and then on residual stresses. In particular, they observed that negative rake angles increase the residual stresses. They finally proposed a process parameter optimisation technique to control the dimensional changes within acceptable limits. 5. The way to dry machining The use of coolants, in addition to being undesirable to the environment and for the human health, entails high costs in production and disposal. Depending on the machined workpiece, cost savings up to 17% of the total workpiece cost can be made by introducing dry machining. This is mainly due to the elimination of coolant supply, cleaning, maintenance and disposal costs [41,42]. Reducing costs in the cutting process together with reduced environmental pollution by the use of dry machining is the main key for the industry to remain competitive and profitable in the future [42]. Today, wet cutting is still largely used in manufacturing industry, but research and development is being undertaken to minimise the use of coolant lubricants and new concepts of minimum quantity cutting fluid application have been developed, [42–47]. In the following, the concept of minimum fluid application is developed and then the results of some dry cutting experiments using hard coatings are presented. 5.1. Minimal quantity of cutting fluid application The characteristic of the ‘minimal quantity’ application is to substitute all the effects of the coolant lubricant by using jet application to produce effects of equal values. Only a small amount of lubricant is needed if it is efficiently applied to the cutting zone. This lubricant is completely used and results in almost dry chips. However, all the effects provided by the usual cutting fluid flood-type lubricant are not possible with minimal quantity application or dry cutting alone. For example, the flushing effect is not supplied and the cooling effect is partially or not at all (with dry cutting) obtained. Then, additional use of minimum cooling system of the workpiece and a specially adapted blow-out technology for chip removal are required. Nevertheless, the results obtained with minimum quantities of cutting fluid application in drilling are excellent compared to the usual flood-type application, [45]. The ‘minimal quantity’ lubrication is a suitable alternative for economically and environmentally compatible production. It combines the functionality of cooling lubrication with an extremely low consumption of lubricant and therefore it has the potential to close the gap between overflow lubrication and dry cutting [43]. Machado and Wallbank [44] conducted experiments on turning medium carbon steel (AISI1040) using a Venturi to mix compressed air (the air pressure was of 2.3 bar) with small quantities of a liquid lubricant, water or soluble oil (the mean flow rate was between 3 and 5 ml/min). The mixture was directed onto the rake face of a carbide tool against the chip flow direction. The application of a mixture of air + soluble oil was able to reduce the consumption of cutting fluid, but it promoted a mist in the environment with problems of odours, bacteria and fungi growth of the overhead flooding system. For this reason, the mixture of air + water was preferred. However, even if the obtained results were encouraging, the system needed yet some development to achieve the required effects in terms of cutting forces, temperatures, tool life and surface finish. In contrast, Varadarajan et al. [46] developed an alternative test equipment for injecting the fluid and used it with success in hard turning for which a large supply of cutting fluid is the normal practice. The test equipment consisted of a fuel pump generally used for diesel fuel injection in truck engines coupled to a variable electric drive. A high speed electrical mixing chamber facilitated thorough emulsification. The test equipment permitted the independent variation of the injection pressure, the D. Dudzinski et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 44 (2004) 439–456 frequency of injection and the rate of injection. The investigations performed by the authors revealed that a coolant-rich (60%) lubricant fluid with minimal additives was the ideal formulation. During hard turning of an AISI 4340 hardened steel of 46HRC (460 HV), the optimum levels for the fluid delivery parameters were: a rate of 2 ml/min, a pressure of 20 MPa and a high pulsing rate of 600 pulses/min. In comparison, for the same cutting conditions, with dry cutting and wet cutting, the minimum quantity of cutting fluid method has led to lower cutting forces, temperatures, better surface finish, longer tool life. In addition, it was observed that tightly coiled chips were formed during wet turning and during minimal application, while long snarled chips were prevalent during dry turning. It must be noted that during minimal application, the rate of fluid was only 0.05% of that used during wet turning. The major part of the fluid used during minimal quantity application was evaporated, the remnant was carried out by work and chips and was too low in volume to cause contamination of the environment. The paper of Klocke and Eisenblätter [47] deals with drilling tests using minimum cooling lubrication systems which are based on atomising the lubricant directly to the cutting zone. Small quantities of lubricant, in order of 10–50 ml/h, were mixed with compressed air for an external feeding via a nozzle or for internal feeding via spindle and tool. Internal feed systems with their ability to deliver the mixture very close to the drill–workpiece contact point may achieve very good results in terms of surface finish and tool life. Lahres et al. [42] presented dry machining of synchronising cones for automotive application. The work material was austenitic 22Mn6 steel. In the first step of their study, dry machining was compared to machining with coolant and with minimal lubricant system. The used minimal lubricant system worked with a special oil which had food-grade quality. The air volume flow was about 50 l/min and the air volume oil was about 20 ml/h; hence, the produced chips were dry after leaving the contact zone of the cutting process. At this oil volume flow, a single chip can carry a maximum of 1 nl. Therefore, the chips could be declared as being almost dry and passed for metallic recycling without further treatment. The results exhibited an advantage for the minimal lubricant technique and for the dry machining. In the second step, they investigated new tool coatings with a potential for dry machining: TiAlNOx, TiAlN + MoS2, single layer (Ti,Al)N, multilayer TiN + TiAlN. A new series of experiments were performed under 453 minimal lubrication. The best performance was obtained with the double layer TiAlN + MoS2 coating. Metallographical studies indicated that the solid lubricant MoS2 is worn after a few machined parts. However, a small amount of solid lubricant exists further in the valleys of the tool surface profile and initiates a low friction at the tool–chip interface. Nevertheless, a small amount of solid lubricant exists perhaps also on the machined surface; this pollution is a problem for the aerospace components. The TiAlNOx consists of two layers: the first layer on top of the substrate surface is a thick TiAlN-coating necessary to achieve good adhesion, the second is a thin Al2O3-coating used to reduce oxidation and wear. The performance of this coating was almost as good as the one of TiAlN + MoS2 - coating. 5.2. Dry cutting Elimination of coolants also involves the absence of their positive effects on the metal cutting processes. For dry cutting operations, sufficient heat removal and the avoidance of heat build-up above a critical temperature must be guaranteed. The removal of chips from the cutting zone is another important aspect. The process must preserve the surface integrity of workpiece and produce stable tool wear suitable for automatic manufacturing systems. Tools with high hot hardness, high refractivity and low coefficients of friction are required and the use of tools with low-adhesion coatings can help greatly. Tool coatings play a major part in tool development, in particular for dry machining, Schulz et al. [48]. The tool coatings can at least partially substitute the eliminated functions of the cutting fluids. Tönshoff and Mohfeld [49] and Tönshoff et al. [50] presented an interesting paper on (Ti1⫺x, Alx)N coatings for wear protection in dry drilling operations of tempered steel. Due to the complex thermal and mechanical loads in drilling, cutting materials for dry drilling require high hot hardness and high toughness. Coatings separate tools from the workpiece material in cutting and offer a possibility of replacing coolants. Demands placed on coatings for dry machining include reduction of friction to decrease dissipated thermal energy in tool–workpiece contact and protection of heat and diffusion to guarantee high wear resistance at high temperatures. Because of the poor conditions for heat conduction from the drill, only thermally stable coating layers are applied. (Ti,Al)N possesses the lowest coefficient of thermal conduction and a considerably increased oxidation stability compared with other hard coatings, particularly with TiN coating. Whereas TiN oxidises at temperatures higher than 600 °C, (Ti,Al)N has a high oxidation resistance up to 800 °C. The formation of a dense Al2O3 top layer increases diffusion and oxidation resistance of the (Ti,Al)N film. Compared to 454 D. Dudzinski et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 44 (2004) 439–456 TiN, (Ti,Al)N has a high hardness even at elevated temperatures. For dry drilling operations, the ternary (Ti,Al)N system has remarkable advantages; compared to uncoated carbide and TiN coated tools, it has a superior wear behaviour. The best wear behaviour in dry drilling of tempered steel was obtained for an Al/Ti ratio equal to 1. A further improvement in dry machining was achieved by adding oxygen to a (Ti,Al)N coating to form TiAlON [51]. Though the microhardness of TiAlON was lower than (Ti,Al)N, TiAlON offered a higher abrasion resistance during dry drilling due to the formation of Al2O3. Alumina provides oxidation resistance and is thermally stable. In addition, a graded multilayer structure of TiAlON with Al2O3 was developed by providing a stable oxide layer on layer on top of the nitride coating, Bouzakis et al. [52]. Schulz et al. [48] showed the performance of oxide Al2O3 and ZrO2 PVD-coatings in dry cutting operations of high strength graphic cast iron. Commercial titaniumbased hard coatings like TiN, TiCN and TiAlN with high hardness even at high temperatures provide a high wear resistance. Oxide PVD-coatings specially developed for dry machining additionally combine a reduction of friction at elevated temperatures with high wear resistance. The changed contact conditions will decrease the heat generation. Then, the tendency for the work material to adhere on the rake face is reduced and the chip flow is improved. The substrate of the drilling tool was a fine grain tungsten carbide with 10% of cobalt (K20–40). The advantage is a much better toughness and a reduced risk of cutting edge chipping. Different oxide PVD-coatings were tested: TiAlN–Al2O3, TiAlN–ZrO2, TiZrN– ZrO2 and compared with the uncoated and the simple TiAlN coated tool performances. Due to the high hardness, increased resistance and a low friction coefficient even at elevated temperatures, the oxide-coated tools show notable advantages for dry drilling in high strength materials. With the different oxide coatings, the tool life was remarkably improved. The TiAlN–ZrO2 coating had the best performance. A significant reduction of the cutting edge temperature by using the oxide coating was also observed. Hard coatings such as TiAlN may increase tool performance and tool life by arresting or slowing down certain types of wear. However, these coatings retain a high coefficient of friction and require a lubricant. For dry cutting applications, a solid lubricant such as MoS2/titanium composite coatings may be used to reduce the friction coefficient and then to decrease the cutting forces and temperatures which reduces the local welding and, in consequence, improves surface finish. The MoS2/titanium composite coatings have a much lower wear rate than the traditional hard coatings. They have also a very low friction (0.02–0.1) which allows them to be used at high speeds. Beside the commercially obtainable MoS2 coatings, other low-friction coatings such as tungsten carbide/carbon (WC/C) coatings are available. This type of hard/lubricant coating was proposed for dry machining, [53–56]. A new highly improved AlTiN film has been developed and proposed by Arndt and Kacsich [57] for dry or minimum quantity lubrication and high speed machining of stainless steel as well as hardened steel up to 63 HRC. The improvement of the deposition operation has led, to the new coating, to possess better characteristic properties such as high hardness associated to an ultra-fine crystallinity. The cutting performances of the new coating were compared with success to other commercial (Ti,Al)N films. Recent hard coatings are the superlattice structured PVD hard coatings presented by Hovsepian and Münz [58]. They are dedicated to high-temperature performance and for tribological applications. Abrasion resistant TiAlN was combined with VN to achieve a wear resistant low friction coefficient coated tool tested with success during dry machining of steels. In the same way, the hard coating TiAlCrYN was overcoated with lubricious and non-sticking coating C/Cr and tested on end mills for the machining of extremely abrasive high Co containing Ni-based alloys. However, no published results from these tests have yet been found. 6. Conclusions Inconel 718 is a high strength thermal resistant material alloy. It is a highly strain rate sensitive material which work hardens readily, and contains hard particles making it a very difficult-to-cut material. The difficulty of machining Inconel 718 resolves into short tool life and poor surface integrity. The main wear mechanism is abrasion observed for all the tested tools. Welding and adhesion on the cutting tool frequently occur to form a BUE. The BUE is repeatedly removed leading to severe notching. Machining induces plastic deformation and heat generation, the consequences are metallurgical transformations and residual stresses in the machined surface layer. The residual stress distribution exhibits a maximum tensile stress near the machined surface and then a compressive stress. The depth of affected layer and the tensile and compressive stresses increase when the cutting speed increases. Cemented carbide tools are largely used for machining nickel-based alloys at very low cutting speeds of 20–30 m/min, the K20 grade appears to be the best for cutting Inconel 718. Higher cutting speeds, certainly up to 100 m/min, under dry conditions may be achieved with coated carbide tools. The PVD (Ti,Al)N coating seems to be most suitable. It displays high oxidation resistance, high-temperature chemical stability, high hot hardness and low thermal conduction. The nanolayer structures with higher hardness appear to give encouraging results. D. Dudzinski et al. / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 44 (2004) 439–456 Much higher cutting speeds (from 200 to 700 m/min) are attained with ceramic tools. The Al2O3–TiC is the chemical most stable to Inconel 718; it has most thermal resistance in high speed machining. Round inserts of SiC whisker-reinforced ceramic improve the cutting performance for milling of Inconel 718, in comparison with the square ones. Ceramics are poor conductors and vulnerable to thermal cracks and dry machining is recommended with them. The use of coolants is undesirable for environment and human health; furthermore, it induces high additional costs. New concepts have been introduced to minimise coolant lubrication and in the same way new coatings with a potential for dry machining have been developed. In dry machining, the positive effects of coolants have to be obtained by another way. For the removal of chips from cutting zone, heat evacuation must be guaranteed. The process must preserve an acceptable surface integrity. Tools with high hot hardness, high refractivity, low adhesion and low friction properties are required. Oxide PVD-coatings combine a reduction of friction at elevated temperature with high wear resistance, they show excellent performance during drilling high strength materials. Solid lubricants such as MoS2/titanium composite coatings or WC/C coatings should give useful results when machining Inconel 718 under dry conditions. Experiments and machining simulation now have to work together to find a way to the dry cutting of Inconel 718. The objective is to find the suitable tool and appropriate coating, to define the better geometrical tool configuration and the optimal cutting conditions in order to obtain more acceptable surface integrity and the longer tool life. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] Acknowledgements [17] The research work published in this paper was carried out with the financial aid of ADEME, French Agency for Environment and Energy Management. It corresponds to the first stage of the study concerning high speed and dry cutting of Inconel 718. 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