International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 46 (2006) 189198

www.elsevier.com/locate/ijmactool

Experimental investigation to study the effect of solid lubricants

on cutting forces and surface quality in end milling
N. Suresh Kumar Reddy, P. Venkateswara Rao*
Mechanical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi 110016, India

Received 6 January 2005; accepted 7 April 2005

Available online 23 May 2005

Abstract
Milling is a widely employed material removal process for different materials. It is characterized by high material removal rate. Machining
leads to high friction between tool and workpiece, and can result in high temperatures, impairing the dimensional accuracy and the surface
quality of products. Application of conventional cutting fluid may not effectively control the heat generation in milling. Besides, cutting
fluids are a major source of pollution. Solid lubricant assisted machining is an environmental friendly clean technology for desirable control
of cutting temperature. The present work investigates the role of solid lubricant assisted machining with graphite and molybdenum
disulphide lubricants on surface quality, cutting forces and specific energy while machining AISI 1045 steel using cutting tools of different
tool geometry (radial rake angle and nose radius). The performance of solid lubricant assisted machining has been studied in comparison with
that of wet machining. The results indicate that there is a considerable improvement in the process performance with solid lubricant assisted
machining as compared to that of machining with cutting fluids.
q 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Radial rake angle; Nose radius; Solid lubricant; Graphite; Molybdenum disulphide; End milling

1. Introduction fluids creates some techno-environmental problems like

In any metal cutting operation, a lot of heat is generated
due to plastic deformation of work material, friction at the
toolchip interface and friction between the clearance face
of the tool and workpiece. The heat generated in machining
adversely affects the quality of the products produced
(dimensional accuracy and surface finish). So, it is generally
considered that the heat produced during the machining
process is critical in terms of workpiece quality. Thus,
effective control of heat generated in the cutting zone is
essential to ensure good workpiece surface quality in
machining.
Cutting fluids have been the conventional choice to deal
with this problem. Cutting fluids are introduced in the
machining zone to improve the tribological characteristics
of machining processes and also to dissipate the heat
generated. But, the application of conventional cutting
* Corresponding author. Tel.: C91 11 26591443; fax: C91 11 26582053.
E-mail address: pvrao@mech.iitd.ernet.in (P. Venkateswara Rao).
0890-6955/$ - see front matter q 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2005.04.008
environmental pollution, biological problems to operators,
water pollution, etc. [1]. Further, the cutting fluids also incur
a major portion of the total manufacturing cost [2]. All these
factors prompt investigations on the use of biodegradable
coolants and coolant free machining. But any attempt to
minimize or avoid the coolant can be dealt with only by
replacing the functions normally met by the coolants with
some other means. If friction at the tool and workpiece
interaction can be minimized, by providing effective
lubrication, the heat generated also can be reduced to
some extent. Advancement in modern tribology has
identified many solid lubricants, which can sustain and
provide lubricity over a wide range of temperatures.
In order to produce any product with desired quality by
machining, cutting parameters should be selected properly.
Cutting speed, feed rate, depth of cut are the process
parameters, which influence the machining process to great
extent. Apart from the process parameters, the geometry of
cutting tool has a significant effect on machining perform-
ance. Among various parameters of tool geometry, radial
rake angle is one of the most important parameters, which
determines the tool and chip contact area and hence affects
190 N. Suresh Kumar Reddy, P. Venkateswara Rao / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 46 (2006) 189198
the power consumption. In addition to radial rake angle,
nose radius has an important role in influencing the chip
formation. Hence, any attempt to assess the performance of
machining processes should include these two aspects of
tool geometry.
So, the aim of present study is to investigate the effect of
graphite and molybdenum disulphide as solid lubricants at
the contact surface between tool/workpiece and tool/chip
during machining. In the first stage of this work,
experiments have been carried out to investigate the role
of solid lubricants such as graphite and molybdenum
disulphide on cutting forces, specific energy and surface
finish of the product in machining (milling) a AISI 1045
steel by solid coated carbide end mill cutters of different tool
geometry (radial rake angle and nose radius) under different
cutting speeds and feeds. In the second stage, a comparative
performance analysis of graphite and molybdenum dis-
ulphide assisted machining with wet machining has been
conducted in order to identify the best possible solution for
machining AISI 1045 steel.
2. Literature review
End milling is widely used in a variety of industries
such as automotive, aerospace, textile and other manu-
facturing industries. In the recent past, there has been a
greater demand for decreasing the machining errors in end
milling. These errors could be due to the problems in
machine tools, cutters and the machining process itself. Of
these, the error due to cutting force is one of the major
problems for precision machining. So, in milling oper-
ations, cutting forces and specific energy are important
parameters by which the performance can be assessed. It
is also important to minimize the cutting forces of milling
process since it is intermittent cutting process which can
lead to undesirable vibrations, resulting in poor surface
finish.
The development of governmental pollution-preventing
initiatives and increasing consumer focus on environmen-
tally conscious products has put increased pressure on
industries to minimize the use of cutting fluids [3]. It has
been reported [4] that cutting fluids can pose serious
problems, the major ones being those of related to the
preservation of the environment, workers health, etc. The
use of cutting fluids needs to be eliminated and
subsequently new machining methods are to be investi-
gated. A proposition on the mechanics of machining under
cryogenic cooling was presented as a new concept to
dissipate the high heat generation at machining zone
without polluting the environment. Experiments have been
conducted to study the effect of liquid nitrogen on
grinding forces and to check the validity of the
proposition. Results indicate a substantial reduction in
grinding forces under cryogenic cooling for different
commonly used steels [5]. The effectiveness of cryogenic
coolant seems to increase at higher feeds. It reduced the
magnitude of tensile residual stress for all materials,
although to varying degrees, under all feed levels. This
can be attributed to the efficient cooling action, better
modes of chip formation, less specific energy, and finally,
lower grinding zone temperature [6]. Researchers [7]
investigated the use of graphite as a lubricating medium
while grinding SiC to reduce the heat generated at the
grinding zone. The tangential force component and hence
specific energy requirement, were found to be consider-
ably reduced using graphite as a solid lubricant. The
effective role of graphite as lubricant was evident from the
overall. Improvement in the process. Surface roughness is
one of the important factors for evaluating workpiece
quality of the machined components because the surface
roughness influences the functional characteristics of the
workpiece such as compatibility, fatigue resistance and
surface friction. The factors, which influence the surface
roughness during the end milling process, include tool
geometry, process parameters and heat generated in
machining operation. During a machining process, a
substantial part of the energy is converted into heat
through the friction generated between the tool and the
workpiece and the plastic deformation of the workmaterial
in the machining zone. The rapidly accumulated heat
causes the temperature of the tool and workpiece contact
zone to rise at a fast rate, directly affecting the surface
finish of products. So, heat produced in machining is
critical in terms of workpiece surface quality. Researchers
[8] investigated the possibility of using graphite as
lubricating medium to reduce the heat generated at the
grinding zone in surface grinding with a newly developed
experimental setup. They studied the effect of process
parameters such as speed, feed and mode of dressing on
the force components and surface finish produced on the
basis of Taguchis experimental design. The results have
been compared with those obtained in the conventional
coolant grinding. It can be concluded that, though the
trends of the average factor effects in case of graphite
assisted grinding are also more or less the same as those
of the conventional coolant grinding, a remarkable
difference between the two systems of grinding has been
seen. It has been observed that, with the graphite
application, the tangential force and surface roughness
are lower and normal force is higher compared to those in
conventional grinding. The review of literature reveals
that the use of solid lubricants in machining improves the
process performance. Hence, in the present work, an
experimental investigation has been planned to study the
role of solid lubricant assisted machining by graphite and
molybdenum disulphide on machining forces, specific
energy requirements, surface roughness, etc. while
machining of AISI1045 steel, and to compare the
effectiveness of solid lubricant assisted machining with
that of machining with cutting fluids under the same
operating conditions.
 N. Suresh Kumar Reddy, P. Venkateswara Rao / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 46 (2006) 189198 191

Table 1 speed, feed rate, radial rake angle and nose radius.
Experimental conditions The details of experimentation have been shown in
Machine tool CNC milling machine Table 1.
Workpiece material AISI1045 steel composition
(% by weight)
Fe, 97.7 3.1. Experimental setup
C, 0.485
Si, 0.390 The experiments were conducted using a Rambaudi
Mn, 0.991
P, 0.0138
CNC milling machine. The experimental setup for solid
S, 0.020 lubricant powder assisted machining, developed for the
Size 100!75!20 mm3 investigation is shown schematically in Fig. 1.
Heat treatment Annealing The solid lubricant powder feeder is attached to the
Hardness 170 BHN
spindle plate of the milling machine. The fine solid lubricant
Cutting tools Solid coated carbide end mill
cutters (Kennametal Widia) powder, with 2 mm average particle size, was loaded into the
Cutter diameter F20 mm size hopper of the feeder. The powder is pushed out of the hopper
Overall length 108 mm through square box (50!50 mm2 size) with the help of the
Flute length 38 mm blades (four plates of size 49!21 mm2) placed around the
No. of flutes 4
periphery of the motor driven shaft (F7 mm). The powder,
Helix angle 308
Relief angle 68 pushed out through the square box, was transferred first to
Hardness 1570 HV rectangular channel and from there to the machining zone.
Density 14.5 g/cm3 The opening at the end of the rectangular channel was
Transverse rupture strength 3800 N/mm2 selected (20 mm width, selected so as to suit the size of the
Process parameters
Cutting conditions
cutter, F20 mm) in such a way that it was sufficient for the
Cutting speed (S) 150, 200 and 250 m/min powder to flow continuously onto the workpiece. In order to
Feed rate (f) 200, 300 and 400 mm/min assist the smooth flow of solid lubricant powder, a vibrator
Tool geometry was placed on the top of the hopper. Further the cutting action
Radial rake angle (a) 4, 10 and 168 of the cutter and the feed motion of the workpiece dragged the
Nose radius (r) 0.4, 0.8 and 1.2 mm
Environment Wet (cutting fluid) and solid
powder to the machining zone. After ensuring the setup for
lubricants (graphite and proper lubrication, the experiments were carried out. The
molybdenum disulphide) entire machining operation, while using solid lubricants, was
carried out in a closed chamber. So, powder was not allowed
to mix freely in air. With the introduction of a solid lubricant
3. Experimental work powder recovery system, the amount of solid powder waste
was substantially reduced by incorporating a sieve to
Cutting force and surface roughness were measured separate solid lubricant powder from chips produced during
during end milling of AISI 1045 Steel. The factors machining process. This system allows the powder to be
considered for the study in this work were cutting reused.

Fig. 1. Experimental setup showing the graphite feeder.

192 N. Suresh Kumar Reddy, P. Venkateswara Rao / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 46 (2006) 189198

A full factorial design was employed so that all the graphite and molybdenum disulphide in machining of
interactions between the independent variables could be AISI 1045 steel.
investigated. Based on this, a total number of 81
experiments in wet machining, 81 experiments in 3.3. Cutting experiments
graphite assisted machining and 81 experiments in
molybdenum disulphide assisted machining, each having A three component Kistler dynamometer of type 9257A
a combination of different levels of factors were carried and a recorder (Graphtec-4 channel thermal arraycorder)
out. All the experiments were carried out at constant axial were employed for force measurements. The forces reported
depth of cut of 20 mm and radial depth of cut of 1 mm. are those for the process in a stable state with almost steady
The variables such as machine condition, variability in pulses. The surface roughness (response) was measured
setup, etc. have been maintained constant throughout the with Talysurf-6 at 0.8 mm cut-off value. The tool wear was
experimentation. checked with a Mitutoyo optical microscope (1 mm
resolution).
The tool wear has been measured for both wet and solid
3.2. Optimization of flow rate lubricant assisted machining and it has been observed that
there was no appreciable tool wear (less than or equal to
An investigation has been carried out to select 0.036 mm).
optimum flow rate of solid lubricant powder using the Specific energy was calculated using the formula given
powder feeder. At this stage, it was also required to see below.
the effect of increasing flow rate on cutting and normal
forces for machining AISI 1045 steel in milling. Fig. 2 Fc v c
Ec Z J=mm3
shows the variation of cutting force and normal force with fda dr
flow rate at 150 m/min cutting speed, 200 mm/min feed Where is the Ec specific energy, Fc is the cutting
rate, 48 radial rake angle and 0.4 mm nose radius in force (Newtons), vc is the cutting speed (m/min) of
graphite and molybdenum disulphide assisted machining the tool, f is the work feed (mm/min), da is the
respectively. axial depth of cut (mm), and dr is the radial depth of
It can be observed from graphite assisted machining cut (mm).
(Fig. 2) that the cutting and normal forces decrease as the To ensure uniformity of chemical composition, micro-
flow rate increases from 1 to 3 gm/sec. For greater flow structure and other properties, all workpieces from the same
rates there is no substantial reduction up to a maximum of batch were taken and all of them were annealed, by holding
10 gm/sec. Similar trend has been observed for other cutting them at 850 8C for one hour in a furnace, followed by
conditions. The same is the case for molybdenum disulphide furnace cooling. The cutting tools, used for the experimen-
assisted machining also (Fig. 2). tation, were solid coated (TiAlN) carbide four fluted end
Hence it can be concluded from the above experimen- mill cutters (Kennametal Widia) with different tool
tation that 3 gm/sec is the best flow rate for both geometry. Three sets of nine different tools have been

580 200

560
180
Normal force (N)
Cutting force (N)

540
160
520

140
500

480 120
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Lubricant flow rate (gm/sec) Lubricant flow rate (gm/sec)

Graphite machining MoS2 machining

Fig. 2. Variation of cutting force and normal force at selected levels of cutting speed (S), feed rate (f), radial rake angle (a) and nose radius (r) (SZ150 m/min,
fZ200 mm/min, aZ48 and rZ0.4 mm).
 N. Suresh Kumar Reddy, P. Venkateswara Rao / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 46 (2006) 189198 193

used in the experimentation. Each tool was used for nine with water in the ratio of 1:20 at a flow rate of 4 l/min.
experiments. The cutting fluid used in the experimentation The solid lubricants, used in the present experimentation for
was soluble oil (KOOLKUT -40, a product of Hindustan the purpose of reducing the friction at the machining zone,
Petroleum-Emulsifiable oil Emulsion strength, 510%) were graphite and molybdenum disulphide. The important

S=150m/min, r=0.4mm S=200m/min, r=0.4mm S=250m/min, r=0.4mm

1000 1000 1000

900 900 900

800 800 800

Cutting force (N)

Cutting force (N)

Cutting force (N)

700 700 700

600 600 600

500 500 500

400 400 400

300 300 300

0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20
Radial rake angle (degree) Radial rake angle (degree) Radial rake angle (degree)

S=150m/min, r=0.8mm S=200m/min, r=0.8mm S=250m/min, r=0.8mm

1000 1000 1000

900 900 900

800 800 800

Cutting force (m)

Cutting force (N)

Cutting force (N)

700 700 700

600 600 600

500 500 500

400 400 400

300 300 300

0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20

Radial rake angle (degree) Radial rake angle (degree) Radial rake angle (degree)

S=150m/min, r=1.2mm S=200m/min, r=1.2mm S=250m/min, r=1.2mm

1000 1000 1000

900 900 900

800 800 800

Cutting force (N)

Cutting force (N)

Cutting force (N)

700 700 700

600 600 600

500 500 500

400 400 400

300 300 300

0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20
Radial rake angle (degree) Radial rake angle (degree) Radial rake angle (degree)
Wet machining f=200mm/min f=300mm/min f=400mm/min
Graphite machining f=200mm/min f=300mm/min f=400mm/min

MoS2 machining f=200mm/min f=300mm/min f=400mm/min

Fig. 3. Variation of cutting force with radial rake angle at various levels of cutting speed, feed rate and nose radii.
194 N. Suresh Kumar Reddy, P. Venkateswara Rao / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 46 (2006) 189198
properties of graphite and molybdenum disulphide are as
given below:
Graphite:
Formula C more adiabatic and the heat generated in the shear zone can
Density 2.12.3 g/cm3
Hardness (Mohs) 1
Melting point 3800 8C (sublimation)
Particle size 2 mm
Molybdenum disulphide:
Formula MoS2
Molecular mass 160.08 g/mol
Density 4.74.8 g/cm3
Hardness (Mohs) 11.5
Melting point 1900 8C
Particle size 2 mm
4. Results and discussion
During machining, heat is generated at the primary
deformation zone, secondary deformation zone, but the
temperature becomes maximum at the tool/chip interface.
The cutting fluid applied conventionally may not effectively
reduce the heat generated because it loses its cooling
properties upon film boiling and that the film boiling
temperature of conventional coolants are lower than that of
biodegradable coolants. So, there is a need for controlling
the cutting zone temperature within the tolerable limits for
achieving good machining performance. Hence in the
present work, graphite and molybdenum disulphide have
been used as solid lubricants to reduce the friction between
tool and workpiece and thereby reduce heat generation at
tool and workpiece interface.
Machining forces are one of the important criteria by
which the performance of any machining process can be
evaluated. The relative contribution of different parameters
on the cutting force depends upon the type of work material,
tool material and the presence of cutting fluid/solid
lubricants. The cutting force component determines the
power requirement of the process [9]. The intensity of heat
generation depends upon this force and it is primarily
important as far as the machining temperature and surface
quality of the products are concerned.
Fig. 3 shows the variation of cutting forces with radial
rake angle and feed rate for different levels of cutting speed
and nose radii under different machining environments.
Results show that the cutting force decreases when the
radial rake angle changes from 4 to 108. This is due to the
increase in sharpness of the tool, with the increase in rake
angle. By increasing rake angle beyond 108, the cutting
force increased. This could be attributed to the increase in
contact area between tool and workpiece due to the
weakening of teeth beyond the optimum value of rake
angle. A similar trend has been observed with nose radius
also (the nose radius values are mentioned on the top of each
figure). It has been observed from Fig. 3 that as speed
increases the cutting force decreases. This trend is expected
because as cutting speed increases, machining becomes
not be conducted away during the very short time in which
the metal passes through this zone. So, the temperature rise
softens the material aiding grain boundary dislocation and
thus reducing the cutting forces as can be seen from Fig. 3
[10]. It can also be observed from Fig. 3 that, as the feed rate
increases, cutting force increases. This is due to the fact that
as the feed rate is increased, more material will have to be
cut per tooth per revolution, as a consequence more energy
is required. This causes an increase in the cutting force.
The comparative performance analysis of graphite and
molybdenum disulphide assisted machining with the coolant
machining has been carried out (Fig. 3). The lubricant
effectiveness in minimizing the frictional effects at the tool
and workpiece interaction in the case of solid lubricant assisted
machining is evident from the reduced cutting forces
compared to that of cutting fluid assisted machining. Graphite
and molybdenum disulphide are known to be good solid
lubricants because of the low friction behavior, which could
have contributed to the reduction of forces. The key to this
performance of graphite and molybdenum disulphide lies in its
layer-lattice structure. The atomic structure consists of layers
of atoms or molecules, and the structure is called layer-lattice
structure. The substantial reduction of cutting forces by
graphite and molybdenum disulphide assisted machining be
attributed to the formation of the thin film of lubrication,
reducing the shear strength of material at the machining zone,
so that machining becomes easier.
It is important that the solid lubricant should adhere
strongly to the metal surface, otherwise it should be easily
rubbed away and gives very short service life as well as
lubricating properties also [11]. Close observation of crystal
lattice reveals that the adhesion tendency is more in
Fig. 4. Relative contribution of each factor (cutting speed S, feed f, radial
rake angle a and nose radius r) on cutting force under different
machining conditions.
 N. Suresh Kumar Reddy, P. Venkateswara Rao / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 46 (2006) 189198 195

molybdenum disulphide as compared with graphite, due to The relative contributions of each process variable on
the presence of free electrons. Due to this fact molybdenum cutting forces were found in all types of machining using
disulphide assisted machining results in lower cutting forces ANOVA technique [12] and shown in Fig. 4. The relative
as compared to graphite assisted machining (Fig. 3). contributions of various factors on the cutting force in all

S=150m/min, r=0.4mm S=200m/min, r=0.4mm S=250m/min, r=0.4mm

30 40 40
38 38
28
36 36
26 34 34
Specific energy (J/mm3)

Specific energy (J/mm3)

Specific energy (J/mm3)

32 32
24
30 30
22 28 28
26 26
20
24 24
18 22 22
20 20
16
18 18
14 16 16
12 14 14
12 12
10 10 10
8 8 8
0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20
Radial rake angle (degree) Radial rake angle (degree) Radial rake angle (degree)

S=150m/min, r=0.8mm S=200m/min, r=0.8mm S=250m/min, r=0.8mm

30 40 40
38 38
28
36 36
26 34 34
Specific energy (J/mm3)

Specific energy (J/mm3)

32 32
Specific energy(J/mm3)

24
30 30
22 28 28
26 26
20
24 24
18 22 22
16 20 20
18 18
14 16
16
12 14 14
12 12
10 10
10
8 8 8
0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20

Radial rake angle (degree) Radial rake angle (degree) Radial rake angle (degree)

S=150m/min, r=1.2mm S=200m/min, r=1.2mm S=250m/min, r=1.2mm

40 46
34 38 44
32 36 42
34 40
30
38
Specific energy (J/mm3)

Specific energy (J/mm3)

Specific energy(J/mm3)

28 32 36
26 30 34
28 32
24 30
26
22 24 28
26
20 22 24
18 20 22
16 18 20
16 18
14 16
14
12 14
12
12
10 10 10
8 8 8
0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20
Radial rake angle (degree) Radial rake angle (degree) Radial rake angle (degree)
Wet machining f=200mm/min f=300mm/min f=400mm/min
Graphite machining f=200mm/min f=300mm/min f=400mm/min
MoS2 machining f=200mm/min f=300mm/min f=400mm/min

Fig. 5. Variation of specific energy with radial rake angle at various levels of cutting speed, feed rate and nose radii.
196 N. Suresh Kumar Reddy, P. Venkateswara Rao / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 46 (2006) 189198

1.7 1.7

1.6 1.6

Chip thickness ratio (tc/t)

Chip thickness ratio (tc/t) 1.5 1.5

1.4 1.4

1.3 1.3

1.2 1.2

1.1 1.1

1 1
100 150 200 250 300 100 200 300 400 500
Cutting speed (m/min) Feed (mm/min)

(a) At f=400 mm/min, =10 and r=0.8 mm (b) At S=150m/min, =10 and r=0.8

1.8 1.8

1.7 1.7

Chip thickness ratio (tc/t)

Chip thickness ratio (tc/t)

1.6 1.6

1.5 1.5

1.4 1.4

1.3 1.3

1.2 1.2

1.1 1.1

1 1
0 4 8 12 16 20
0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6
Radial rake angle (degree) Nose radius (mm)
(c) At S=150 m/min, f=400 mm/min and r=0.8mm (d) At S=150 m/min, f=400 mm/min and =100

Wet machining Graphite machining MoS2 machining

Fig. 6. (a)(d) Variation of chip thickness ratio with different levels of cutting speed, feed rate, radial rake angle and nose radius.

variants of machining are more or less the same. The

radial rake angle is found to be the most significant
factor influencing the cutting force in all variety of
machining systems. As the forces developed in the
process directly depend upon the undeformed chip
thickness, the prominent influence of radial rake angle
on forces is justified.
Fig. 5 shows a comparison of specific energy with respect
to the parameters considered in the study. In all the cases
under the study the specific energy consumed during
molybdenum disulphide assisted machining is low. The
average percentage reduction in specific energy consump-
tion when machining with graphite and molybdenum
disulphide as compared with wet machining is 20 and
28% at all considered levels of process parameters. The
remarkable reduction of cutting force and hence that
of specific energy strengthen our proposition that Fig. 7. Relative contribution of each factor (cutting speed S, feed f, radial
the lubricating property of molybdenum disulphide is rake angle a and nose radius r) on surface roughness under different
effective in reducing frictional forces at the tool machining conditions.
 N. Suresh Kumar Reddy, P. Venkateswara Rao / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 46 (2006) 189198 197

S=150m/min, r=0.4mm S=200m/min, r=0.4mm S=250m/min, r=0.4mm

1.2 1.2 1

1 1
Surface roughness (m)

Surface roughness (m)

Surface roughness (m)

0.8

0.8 0.8
0.6

0.6 0.6

0.4
0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2 0.2

0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20

Radial rake angle (degree) Radial rake angle (degree) Radial rake angle (degree)

S=150m/min, r=0.8mm S=200m/min, r=0.8mm S=250m/min, r=0.8mm

1.2 1 1

1
Surface roughness (m)
Surface roughness (m)

0.8 0.8

Surface roughness (m)

0.8

0.6 0.6

0.6

0.4 0.4
0.4

0.2 0.2 0.2

0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20
Radial rake angle (degree) Radial rake angle (degree) Radial rake angle (degree)

S=150m/min, r=1.2mm S=200m/min, r=1.2mm S=250m/min, r=1.2mm

1.4 1.4 1.2

1.2 1.2
Surface roughness (m)
Surface roughness (m)
Surface roughness (m)

1 1

0.8

0.8 0.8

0.6
0.6 0.6

0.4 0.4 0.4

0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20 0 4 8 12 16 20

Radial rake angle (degree) Radial rake angle (degree) Radial rake angle (degree)
Wet machining f=200mm/min f=300mm/min f=400mm/min
Graphite machining f=200mm/min f=300mm/min f=400mm/min
MoS2 machining f=200mm/min f=300mm/min f=400mm/min

Fig. 8. Variation of surface roughness with radial rake angle at various levels of cutting speed, feed rate and nose radii.

and workpiece interface. In order to establish the superiority decreases, the process efficiency goes up. The chips were
of this mode of machining in greater detail, it will be collected at the end of each experiment and the chip
necessary to discuss the technological distinctions between thickness was measured using profile projector. The chip
wet machining and solid lubricant assisted machining by thickness ratio values, obtained during wet, graphite and
analyzing chip thickness ratio (i.e. ratio of the chip thickness molybdenum disulphide assisted machining, were shown in
to the undeformed chip thickness). If the chip thickness ratio Fig. 6(a)(d).
198 N. Suresh Kumar Reddy, P. Venkateswara Rao / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 46 (2006) 189198
It was found in this work that the chip thickness was less in
molybdenum disulphide assisted machining when compared
to that of wet machining and also with that of graphite
assisted machining at all the levels of the considered process
parameters (cutting speed, feed rate, radial rake angle and
nose radius) (Fig. 6(a)(d)). This substantiates the results
obtained during experimentation involving force measure-
ment. Hence it can be concluded that molybdenum
disulphide assisted machining seem to be the better choice
among the variants considered in this work.
In addition to cutting forces and specific cutting energy,
surface quality can also indicate the effectiveness of the
machining process. Dimensional accuracy and surface finish
of any manufacturing process become critical because of
increased quality demands. Nam et al. [13] have stated that the
surface finish is a major concern in manufacturing. The quality
of surface generated in any machining process depends on the
machining conditions. So, a systematic analysis of process
parameters is essential to find out their influence on the process
outputs, which have direct impact on the process quality.
The present research study has attempted to show how
cutting conditions (cutting speed and feed) and tool geometry
(radial rake angle and nose radius) influence surface finish
under wet, graphite and molybdenum disulphide assisted
machining. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been
performed to find the influence of different factors on surface
finish and the same is shown in Fig. 7.
It has been found that the relative contributions of each
factor on surface finish in all types of machining were close to
each other. Fig. 7 shows that the feed rate is the most dominant
factor of all the considered factors for representing surface
roughness. This is as expected because it is well known that the
theoretical surface roughness is primarily a function of the
feed for a given nose radius and varies as the square of the feed
rate [14]. Further analysis of F-values shows that the radial
rake angle is another important factor along with nose radius.
This signifies the need to include tool geometry parameters in
empirical and analytical models of surface roughness [15].
Fig. 8 represents the surface finish obtained under
different machining conditions. It is seen from figures that
the variation of surface roughness is similar in all types of
machining. It has been observed that the surface roughness
values obtained in graphite and molybdenum disulphide
assisted machining is lower compared to wet machining.
This is due to the lubricating property of graphite and
molybdenum disulphide, which helps to retain the cutter
sharpness, there by improving surface finish. Between these
two solid lubricants, molybdenum disulphide assisted
machining yielded far better results. This finding strength-
ens the results of the cutting force study.
5. Conclusions
The use of solid lubricants has been successful in reducing
cutting forces, specific energy, surface finish, chip size while
machining AISI 1045 steel with solid coated carbide end mill
cutters. Experimental findings reveal that the friction
generated between tool and workpiece has been significantly
reduced in molybdenum disulphide assisted machining as
compared with graphite and wet assisted machining. So, this
methodology appears to offer considerable benefits over
other methods of machining AISI 1045 steel. This work also
emphasizes that proper selection of solid lubricant is
essential for making it an interesting alternative to eliminate
cutting fluids in metal cutting and hence making the
machining environmental friendly. Although the lubricating
action has been successfully taken care off in the proposed
method, an effective means for substituting flushing action
and tool cleaning, have yet to be identified in order to make
solid lubricant assisted machining as viable alternative to
conventional machining with cutting fluids.
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