Dry machining of Inconel 718, workpiece surface integrity

In the machining of Inconel 718, nickel based heat resistant superalloy and classified difficult-to-cut material, the consumption of cooling lubricant is very important. To reduce the costs of production and to make the processes environmentally safe, the goal is to move toward dry cutting by eliminating cutting fluids. This goal can be achieved by using coated carbide tool and by increasing cutting speed. The present paper firstly reviews the main works on surface integrity and especially residual stresses when machining Inconel 718 superalloy. It focuses then on the effect of dry machining on surface integrity. Wet and dry turning tests were performed at various cutting speeds, with semi-finishing conditions (0.5 mm depth of cut and 0.1 mm/rev feed rate) and using a coated carbide tool. For each cutting test, cutting force was measured, machined surface was observed, and residual stress profiles were determined. An optimal cutting speed of 60 m/min was determined, and additional measurements and observations were performed. Microhardness increment and the microstructure alteration beneath the machined surface were analysed. It is demonstrated that dry machining with a coated carbide tool leads to potentially acceptable surface quality with residual stresses and microhardness values in the machining affected zone of the same order than those obtained in wet conditions when using the optimised cutting speed value; in addition, no severe microstructure alteration was depicted.