A techno-health study of the use of cutting fluids and future alternatives

Abstract

The health issues associated with exposure to cutting fluids is an increasing concern among occupational health researchers. However, this issue has been overlooked in manufacturing enterprises from engineering prospective. The aim of this paper is to provide a multi-disciplinary review of the health issues related to the use of cutting fluids in machining companies and provides some alternative solutions through a series of case studies. The studies indicated that minimum quantity lubrication, biostable oils, cryogenic machining and dry machining are potential alternatives to traditional flood cooling with potential to improve machinability.