Investigation of a new polymer-water based cutting fluid to substitute mineral oil based fluids in grinding processes

Cutting fluids are primarily needed for cooling, lubrication and for chip removal in the processing zone. In most cases, the finite resource mineral oil is the source for the fluid. The use of mineral oil based cutting fluids is often associated with functional, economic and environmental disadvantages. A possible alternative are biopolymers diluted in water. However, the decisive factor for this alternative is the ability to achieve similar or better process performances than conventional cutting fluids. This paper investigates the technological suitability of a polymer based cutting fluid in comparison to conventional cutting fluids on mineral oil basis in grinding processes.