Tribological aspects of drilling wrought and WAAMed Inconel-625 utilizing nanofluid-MQL environment
Authors :- Khanna N.; Mistry P.; Shah A.; Tsunoji N.; Makhesana M.; Bandyopadhyay M.
Publication :- Journal of Manufacturing Processes, Elsevier, 2025
The machining of nickel-based alloys is challenging and can lead to increased cutting temperatures, poor surface finish, rapid tool wear, and higher energy consumption. In recent years, the cost-effective wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) process has gradually replaced conventional production techniques for nickel-based superalloys. However, due to its anisotropic characteristics, the challenges are increased, making machining of wire arc additive manufactured (WAAMed) Inconel 625 more difficult. This novel study presents the tribological aspects of drilling wrought and WAAMed Inconel 625 under the sustainable nanofluid minimum quantity lubrication (NMQL) strategy. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Powder X-ray Diffraction (PXRD), Vickers hardness test (ASTM E92) and spectrochemical analysis (ASTM E3047) of wrought and WAAMed plates are performed before machining. The drilling performance of wrought and WAAMed Inconel 625 is comprehended by SEM and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) Analysis of tool wear, surface roughness, and chip morphology. The analysis revealed distinct wear characteristics at a finer microscopy level. The cutting edge of the drilling tool displayed varied wear patterns, suggesting different interactions. The specific cutting energy is also studied to investigate the drilling performance and for the wrought component it is found to be 15.85 % higher than that of the WAAMed component, whereas the surface roughness of WAAMed is about 10.25 % higher than wrought Inconel 625. The results offer critical insights into the combined effect of microstructure, chemical composition and machining conditions on tribological aspects of drilling wrought and WAAMed Inconel 625 utilizing nanofluid-MQL environment.