Experimental investigation into the effects of nozzle position, workpiece hardness, and tool type in MQL turning of AISI 1045 steel

Minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) is a replacement for dry machining in which a minimum quantity of lubricant fluid is mixed up with compressed air and sprayed periodically on the machining area. In this research the effects of different parameters on the MQL turning of AISI 1045 steel have been investigated to evaluate the cutting force, surface roughness, and tool wear in comparison with the wet and dry machining. The research is aimed to study the effect of the MQL nozzle position, workpiece hardness and tool type on the output parameters. During MQL machining experiments, the nozzles were placed in three different arrangements relative to the tool to investigate the effect of the nozzle position. The effect of workpiece hardness and tool type were also studied experimentally for different lubrication conditions. The results indicated that the MQL system significantly increases the cutting efficiency in AISI 1045 steel machining. The experiments results have also confirmed a significant influence of the nozzle position, workpiece hardness, and tool type on the outputs. Machining with MQL is also beneficial to the environment and machine tool operator health as lubricant consumption during operation with MQL is 7-fold lower than in the conventional system.