Investigation of Machinability in Minimum Quantity Lubrication Milling of GH4169 Aerospace Superalloy

Due to environmental concerns and the coming legislations, pollution-free and eco-friendly minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) technology has become focus of attention in manufacture field. The MQL and cooling system in this work has been designed, fabricated and used. The cutting performance of MQL with cooling air compare with the conventional cooling method in milling of GH4169 aerospace superalloy is evaluated based on analysis of cutting force and surface finish. The effect of cutting parameters (depth of cut, feed rate) on machining performances is analyzed. The experimental results show that, the application of MQL and cooling air brings about a lower cutting force, better surface finish compared to conventional coolant environment.