An Initial Study of the Effect of Using Liquid Nitrogen Coolant on the Surface Roughness of Inconel 718 Nickel-Based Alloy in CNC Milling

The most used alloy of nickel, Inconel 718 is known to difficult to machine owing to its superior material and physical properties. This paper presents one of the very first studies on cryogenic CNC end milling of the Inconel 718 nickel based alloy using TiAlN coated solid carbide tools. The experimental investigations revealed that cryogenic cooling has a significant potential to improve surface roughness of machined parts as compared to dry machining without noticeable increase in power consumption of the machine tool. In addition to surface roughness, power consumption and tool wear have also been monitored in this study.