Fundamental Research on Hobbing with Minimal Quantity Lubrication of Cutting Oil Comparison of Cutting Performance with Dry Cutting

Abstract

This paper deals with the influence of the quantity of oil supply in hobbing with minimal quantity lubrication (MQL) of cutting oil, compared with that using dry cutting and flooded oil, in terms of flank wear, crater wear and finished surface roughness, for various types of coating films of the hob. Experiments were carried out using a fly tool. The results obtained are summarized as follows. (1) The flank wear obtained with a quantity of oil supply of only I mL/h showed almost the same value as that obtained by dry cutting, when using the TiN- and (AI,Ti)N-coated tools. However, it is a result of great interest that flank wear increases with increasing quantity of oil supply, and the largest value was obtained when the oil was flooded. (2) The crater wear and finished surface roughness with the MQL system are smaller than those using dry cutting and flooded oil. (3) The quantities of oil supply of I mL/h to 15 mL/h in the MQL system are suitable for hobbing in terms of reducing flank wear, crater wear and finished surface roughness.