Study of minimum quantity coolant (MQC) on surface roughness during turning operation on aluminum

Metal cutting fluids change the performance of machining operations because of their cooling, and chip flushing functions. Minimization of cutting fluid leads to economical benefits by way of saving recycling of cutting fluid, corrosion and erosion of machining components and chemical reaction of cutting fluids with work, cutter and the environment. The present work focuses on the study of the effect of coolant on surface roughness for various cutting conditions on a typical work material like aluminum. It has been observed that a small amount of supply of coolant at the point of cutting, largely improves the surface finish. An approach based on the tool work combination method has been performed to identify the ideal testing parameter range. The cutting conditions include feed rate, cutting speed and the coolant flow rate. In the study, the coolant was provided from near dry condition to flooding. During each test, surface roughness, was measured and compared.