An Experimental Investigation on Cryogenic Milling of Inconel 718 and its Sustainability Assessment

Machining of Inconel 718 is a challenge due to its mechanical, thermal and chemical properties and thus results in poor machinability. The use of conventional oil-based coolant could be ineffective and non-sustainable for cutting this material. This paper presents the experimental investigations on the influence of cryogenic cooling on milling of Inconel 718 as compared to dry and conventional oil-based coolant. Cutting force, machining temperature, tool wear, machined surface quality, chip formation and energy consumption were studied. The results demonstrated that the cryogenic cooling is promising for machinability and sustainability improvement as compared to the conventional oil- based coolant and dry cutting in term of tool wear reduction, less friction at secondary deformation zone, lower energy consumption and contamination-free on machined part.