Influence of GnP additive to vegetable oil on machining performance when MQL-assisted turning Alloy 718

The current study demonstrates through experiment the effect of solid lubricant assisted minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) on the machining performance when turning Alloy 718 with cemented carbide tools. A powder of nanosized (~30 nm) graphite nanoplatelets (GnP) was dispersed (0.2% vol.) in a vegetable oil-based lubricant “ECOLUBRIC E200L” and used in MQL-assisted machining. The effect of cutting conditions on the machining performance parameters such as forces, tool wear, surface finish, and vibrations generated was studied. Results demonstrate a significant improvement of the machining performance when MQL-assisted turning of Alloy 718 with GnP-modified oil in terms of tool life, surface finish and process stability.