Effect of Cryogenic Treatment of Cutting Tool on Surface Roughness and Tool Wear in Machining of AISI 304 Stainless Steel

Work piece surface roughness as one of the most important output parameters of the machining process has a significant impact on the final cost of production. Parameters such as cutting edge sharpness, vibration and cutting tool wear have a great effect on the surface roughness of the work piece. In this paper, the effect of cutting tool cryogenic treatment on tool wear and work piece surface quality in different machining parameters (cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut) was investigated and compared with dry and conventional (wet) turning of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel. The Taguchi method for design of experiments and the signal-to-noise ratio method for analysis of results were used. According to the obtained results, the wear of the cryogenic treated tool was reduced compared to the cutting tool in dry and conventional machining modes. The surface roughness of the work piece in machining with the cryogenic treated tool is less than in the dry and conventional machining modes due to reduced tool wear and preserving the sharpness of the cutting edge of the tool.