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2009
Conference Paper
Titel
Internal cooling of cutting tools
Abstract
A micro cooler consisting of copper foam was soldered into a hollow cutting tool. FEM and CFD simulations were used to optimise the design of the internally cooled tool with regard to mechanical stability and thermal flow. The coolant flow was directed to the heat source inside the cooling structure by means of an adapter mounted on the tool holder. The manufactured prototype tool was built to fit easily into existing machine tools. Cutting experiments have been conducted with the developed system and compared with uncooled tools. Infrared analyses of the temperatures on the rake face of the tools have shown that the temperatures could be decreased by 25 % with the internal cooling system. With increasing cutting speeds the advantage of the internally cooled tool was found to decrease. A variation of the feed showed that higher feed also decreases the difference in tool life between the uncooled and cooled tool. The higher mechanical loads compensate the better thermal performance of the tools. This leads to the conclusion that the internally cooled system is best suited for finishing operations. The economic value of the system can be drawn out of the increased tool life. A variation of the coolant flow rate that was realised in the simulations could be used to further increase the performance of the cooling system. With an intelligent control it seems possible to adapt the tool's temperature to different cutting conditions. The potential for further development lies in an improved heat conduction and more effective cooling structures.