An experimental evaluation of an atomization-based cutting fluid application system for micromachining

An atomization-based cutting fluid application system is developed for micro-end milling. The system was designed to ensure spreading of the droplets on the workpiece surface based on the analysis of the atomized droplet impingement dynamics. The results of the initial experiments conducted to examine the viability of the system show that the cutting forces are lower and tool life is significantly improved with the atomized cutting fluids when compared to dry and flood cooling methods. Also, application of atomized cutting fluid is found to result in good chip evacuation and lower cutting temperature. Experiments were also conducted to study the effect of fluid properties on cutting performance, and the results show that cutting fluids with lower surface tension and higher viscosity perform better in terms of cutting forces.