The Use of Hybrid CO₂+MQL in Machining Operations

Nowadays, the environmental concern in machining industry is a fact. Because of that, in this article a new cooling-lubrication system which combines CO₂ cryogenic and MQL technologies is presented. The aim of this new cooling-lubrication system is to offer an ecological and economic efficient alternative. Two nozzle adapters are proposed with different CO₂ outlets. The developed nozzles are Plug & Play and directly applicable to commercial MQL systems. The behaviors of nozzle adapters were simulated by CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) and the optimal nozzle adapter was tested by milling Inconel 718 ®. In these milling tests, the tool life was measured and using different main cooling-lubrication techniques: dry, wet, CO₂ stand alone, MQL stand alone and CO₂+MQL (proposed alternative).