Investigation of Performance of Application of vortex tube for tool tip cooling and Minimum quantity Lubrication in turning of EN24 material

Production Engineering

Minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) has increasingly found its way into the area of metal cutting machining and, in many areas, has already been established as an alternative to conventional wet processing. In contrast to flood lubrication, minimum quantity lubrication uses only a few drops of lubrication (approx. 5 ml to 50 ml per hour) in machining. Today, the enormous cost-saving potential resulting from doing almost entirely without metalworking fluids in machining production is recognized and implemented by many companies, primarily in the automotive industry. While in the early 1990s small applications (sawing, drilling) were done “dry”, today we are able to produce cylinder heads, crankcases, camshafts and numerous other components made of common materials – such as steel, cast iron and aluminium – using MQL in the framework of highly automated large volume production. The advantages of this new technology are clear. With respect to occupational safety, MQL offers numerous advantages over water-mixed metalworking fluids. A major advantage is the substantially better compatibility concerning skin care. Minimum quantity lubrication is a total-loss lubrication method rather than the circulated lubrication method used with emulsions. This means using new, clean lubricants that are fatty-alcohol or ester based. Additives against pollution, e.g. biocides and fungicides, are not necessary at all, since microbial growth is possible only in an aqueous phase. The extreme reduction of lubrication quantities results in nearly dry work pieces and chips. This greatly reduces health hazards caused by emissions of metalworking fluids in breathed-in air and on the skin of employees at their workplaces. Metalworking fluids do not spread throughout the area around the machine, thus making for a cleaner workplace. Costs generated by conventional flood lubrication (e.g. maintenance, inspection, preparation and disposal of metalworking fluids) are no longer an issue with minimum quantity lubrication

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