Performance of coated tools during hard turning under minimum fluid application

The concept of hard turning has gained considerable attention in the recent past in metal cutting as it can apparently replace the traditional process cycle, which comprises rough turning, heat treatment and finish grinding. The fine finishing processes decisively influence the functional behavior of the machined part. In hard turning, turning operation performs fine finishing process and the results are similar to that of grinding. Generally in hard turning, copious amount of cutting fluid is used. Hard turning with minimal fluid application (HTMF) is a new strategy, in which extremely small quantity of specially prepared cutting fluid is applied precisely at the cutting zone. The present paper deals with the comparative performance of different coated tools in conventional dry turning and wet turning processes with minimal fluid application method by varying speed and feed keeping depth of cut constant. The relative influence of the different types of coatings and different operating parameters on cutting performance in machining hardened steel with minimum fluid application was analyzed using statistical design of experiments. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.