A sustainability comparison between conventional and high-speed machining

In the 1990s, the industrial application of high-speed machining achieved enormous success because of its favorable characteristics such as high productivity, better work quality, and ease of machining thin-walled structures. With fast changing emphasis of the world's manufacturing sector towards environmental benignity, the issue of sustainability with regard to application of high-speed machining becomes pivotal. The article presents an experimental investigation regarding comparison of conventional machining and high-speed machining with respect to sustainability measures. A set of 64 grooving experiments was performed on two tempers each of a high-strength low-alloy steel and a heat treatable titanium alloy. The experimental design focused on studying the effects of cutting mode (conventional/high-speed machining), cutting speed levels for each of the two modes, feed rate, and minimum quantity lubrication on tool life, specific cutting energy, productivity, process cost, and machining forces. It was found that the choice between the two machining modes is highly sensitive with respect to manufacturing sustainability. The conventional machining mode was found to be comparatively economical, while the high-speed machining mode significantly outperformed the other in terms of low specific energy consumption and high productivity. The article asserts that high speed machining can completely surpass conventional machining as the sustainable way of metal cutting if the ways could be found to curb excessive tool damage observable at high cutting speeds. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.