Cutting oil

Cutting oil is a liquid used in metalworking operations for reducing friction between the work
piece and the tool and for removal of the heat generated by the friction.
The metal working operation are cutting, milling, turning, drilling etc. Most metalworking and
machining processes can benefit from the use of cutting fluid, depending on workpiece material

Purposes of cutting oils

The purposes of a cutting fluid are given below,
➢ Cooling
➢ Lubrication

1. Cooling

Machining operations create heat. This heat must be removed from the process. The chip helps
carry away heat from the tool and work piece. Coolant takes heat from the chips tool, and work
piece. To be effective the fluid must be able to transfer heat very rapidly. The fluid absorbs the
heat and carries it away.

2. Lubrication

In a typical machining operation, two-thirds of the heat is created by the resistance of the work
piece atoms to being sheared. The friction of the chip sliding over the cutting tool face creates
the other one-third of the heat. Cutting fluid with good lubrication qualities can reduce the
friction of the chip sliding over the tool face. The lubrication actually changes the shear angle,
which reduces the shear path and produces a thinner chip. Good lubrication also reduces
internal friction and heat through less molecular disturbance.

Types of cutting oils,

The types of cutting oils are given below,

➢ Straight Cutting Oils

➢ Soluble oils
➢ Emulsifiable metalworking oils

1) Straight cutting oils

These oils are non-emulsifiable and very useful in machining operations where they function
in undiluted form. Their composition is a base mineral or even petroleum oil. They contain
polar lubricants like vegetable oils, fats and esters. They may also contain extreme pressure
additives including Sulphur, chlorine, and phosphorus. To achieve the best lubrication use
straight oils.

They provide excellent lubrication, good corrosion protection, easy maintenance. Straight oils
are used in low speed applications, for metalworking Stainless steels and other poorly
machinable metals and in the operations, in which good lubrication is necessary.
 2) Soluble oils
Soluble Oils usually form an emulsion after mixing them with water. The resulting concentrate
contains emulsions and a base mineral oil to produce a stable emulsion. They function well in
their diluted form and offer a great lubrication in addition to heat transfer performance. They
are the least expensive and are the most widely used oils in the industry.

3) Emulsifiable metalworking oils

Emulsifiable oils are mineral oil based and contain emulsifiers, EP and other additives.
Emulsifiers reduce interfacial tension between oil droplets and water, providing stable finely
dispersed oil emulsion in water. Emulsifiable oils are mixed with water in a concentration 2-
10%. They provide good lubrication, good cooling capability, some corrosion protection, low
cost, nonflammable.

Advantages of cutting oils

The advantages of cutting oils are discussed below,

❖ Better surface finish.

Cutting (metalworking) oils lubricate the workpiece-tool metal-to-metal contact zone
preventing tool galling and seizure, which assures good surface finish.
❖ Longer tool life.
Temperature of a tool properly cooled by a cutting oil does not exceed the critical value, beyond
which the tool hardness drops and its wear rate increases.
❖ Narrower tolerances of the work piece size.
Cutting oils provide both decreasing the amount of heat generated in the workpiece-tool contact
zone due to reduction of the friction (lubricating effect) and removing the heat (cooling effect).
Thus cutting oils stabilizes the work piece temperature providing better control of its geometry.
Cutting oils reduce the tool wear and prevent formation of built-up edges, which also results in
more precise processing.
❖ Lower energy consumption.
Reduced friction provided by a metalworking fluid results in decreased work of the operation
(cutting, abrading or forming).
❖ Cleaner cutting zone.
Cutting oils remove the chips and fines formed in cutting (abrading) operations keeping the
cutting zone clean and preventing the surface damage.
❖ Better corrosion protection.
Metalworking (cutting) fluids may contain Corrosion inhibitors. Such fluids form a protection
film on the work piece surface, machine parts and chips.