Journal of Manufacturing Processes 31 (2018) 662–673

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Journal of Manufacturing Processes

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/manpro

The effects of cutting conditions on cutting temperature and hole

quality in drilling of Inconel 718 using solid carbide drills
Necati Uçak ∗ , Adem Çiçek
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Ankara, Turkey

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this study, the drillability of Inconel 718 has been experimentally investigated under dry, wet, and
Received 3 October 2017 cryogenic conditions. Drilling tests have been performed at a cutting speed of 15 m/min and a feed of
Received in revised form 0.02 mm/rev using TiAlN coated and uncoated solid carbide drills. The effects of cooling/lubrication con-
27 November 2017
ditions and coating material on drillability of Inconel 718 are evaluated in terms of thrust force, torque,
Accepted 2 January 2018
cutting temperature, hole quality, and tool wear. Experimental results show that cooling/lubrication con-
Available online 8 January 2018
ditions have significant effects on all performance criteria. Cryogenic cooling significantly reduces the
cutting temperatures. Generally, cryogenic drilling exhibits better performance in terms of hole quality
Keywords:
Cryogenic drilling
and surface integrity. However, it is found that cryogenic conditions increase the thrust force and signif-
Cutting temperature icantly reduce the tool life due to excessive chippings. Good surface roughness and tool life are achieved
Hole quality under wet conditions. In addition, the use of the coating material also reduces the tool wear dramatically.
© 2018 The Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction low thermal conductivity, ability to maintain its mechanical prop-

The main purpose in superalloy development is to achieve an
alloy with the required mechanical and physical properties under
severe working conditions. The superalloys can maintain their out-
standing properties at elevated temperatures, thus, the desired
service performance can be achieved in especially aerospace indus-
try [1,2]. Among all superalloys, nickel-based superalloys have the
highest temperature/strength combination. This superior property
makes them suitable materials for very challenging applications
such as turbine blades [3]. Inconel 718 is one of the most common
nickel-based superalloys in industrial area [4]. As well as its applica-
tion in hot section parts of gas turbine engines in aerospace industry
[5], owing to its outstanding mechanical and physical properties, it
is also preferred in various industries such as automotive, chemical
and medical industries [4]. When the application fields of Inconel
718 are considered, high surface quality and close tolerances are
needed. It is known as one of the difficult-to-cut materials and its
machinability rating is very low (about 14%) when compared to an
AISI 1018 low carbon steel (reference steel) [6]. Its superior prop-
erties are also responsible for its poor machinability. Especially,
some properties of Inconel 718 such as work hardening tendency,
∗ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: nucak@ybu.edu.tr (N. Uçak).
erties at elevated temperatures, chemical affinity with some of the
cutting tool materials, etc. lead to insufficient tool performance,
poor workpiece quality and thus, high manufacturing costs [1,5,7].
Nowadays, machinability of Inconel 718 is an important research
topic for the researchers due to its critical application areas and
machining difficulties. Although there are many studies regarding
turning and milling of this advanced engineering material, very few
studies are related to the drilling operation. Commercially avail-
able drills are insufficient to meet product quality desired by the
aerospace industry. Therefore, additional operations such as ream-
ing and/or grinding are required to obtain the high product quality
[5]. Application of different machining conditions and innovative
techniques are necessary to improve drillability characteristics of
Inconel 718. Modification of the twist drill geometry [8], appli-
cations of different cooling and/or lubrication techniques such as
minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) [9], cryogenic cooling [10],
and hybrid cooling, are current issues for research works in drilling
of Inconel 718. In addition, surface integrity studies [8,9] have a
great importance in drilling of Inconel 718. At this point, the cut-
ting fluids play a critical role to obtain the desired product quality.
According to first law of metal cutting (the Makarow’s law), the
most effective machining can be achieved at a specific tempera-
ture known as optimal cutting temperature [11]. This temperature
is independent from the cutting conditions and it is related to
only the cutting tool and the workpiece material properties. How-

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmapro.2018.01.003
1526-6125/© 2018 The Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 N. Uçak, A. Çiçek / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 31 (2018) 662–673
ever, considering machining of Inconel 718, it cannot be possible
to achieve this optimal cutting temperature due its work hard-
ening tendency, and strength and hardness properties at elevated
temperatures which cutting tools cannot withstand. Therefore, the
cooling action of cutting fluids help to keep the cutting tempera-
ture closer to optimal cutting temperature to obtain an effective
machining [11,12]. Ezugwu et al. [1] reported that the most impor-
tant issues during machining of nickel-based superalloys are poor
surface quality and insufficient cutting tool life. Therefore, usage
of the cutting fluids is crucial, because with the reduction in the
overall cutting temperature, more efficient machining can be pro-
vided. According to Ezugwu [13], cryogenic machining technology
is one of the custom designed cooling techniques to reduce cutting
temperatures and thus, effective and economic machining can be
achieved in machining of aero-engine materials. In addition to its
possible advantages in machinability of difficult-to-cut materials,
cryogenic machining is also known as one of the green manu-
facturing methods [14]. Nowadays, there is a growing interest in
environmentally friendly manufacturing because conventional cut-
ting fluids lead to some environmental and health problems and
undesirable manufacturing costs. Thus, cryogenic machining has a
good attention in machining community [14–17]. In a study [18],
authors investigated application methods and effects of cryogens
in metal cutting processes. It was reported that cryogenic cooling
enhances the dimensional accuracy, surface quality of workpiece
and tool life. However, it was also claimed that lower temperatures
at cutting zone lead to harder and stronger workpiece material,
as a result, this situation causes an increase in cutting forces. One
of the earlier investigations about cryogenic machining of Inconel
718 have been conducted by Shokrani et al. [12]. They analyzed
the performance of TiAlN coated carbide cutting tools in cryo-
genic milling of Inconel 718. It was found that cryogenic machining
enhanced the surface roughness by about 33% without a significant
increase in power consumption in comparison to dry machining.
However significant tool life reduction occurred under cryogenic
cooling conditions. Aramcharoen and Chuan [19] obtained lesser
plastic deformation with the usage of cryogenic cooling in milling
of Inconel 718. In addition, it provided better tool life with a sig-
nificant reduction in cutting temperature. They recommend the
cryogenic cooling to enhance the machinability of Inconel 718. On
the other hand, surface integrity comparisons of different cooling
environments in turning of Inconel 718 have been investigated by
Pusavec et al. [20]. They used a hybrid system called cryo-MQL.
The test results showed that cryogenic machining increased com-
pressive residual stress, decreased surface roughness, and slightly
decreased plastic deformation zone. Cryogenic drilling studies have
been conducted by researchers on several engineering materials,
different from Inconel 718, and significant temperature reductions,
better surface quality, lower torque and thrust force values [21], and
reduction of burr formation [22,23] were achieved under cryogenic
conditions. The thermo-mechanical effects of cryogenic drilling in
drilling Inconel 718 was investigated by Outeiro et al. [10]. They
used TiAlN coated solid carbide drills in drilling of Inconel 718
under wet and cryogenic cooling conditions. It was found that in
general, torque and thrust force values measured under cryogenic
conditions were higher than those of wet conditions. In addition,
the cryogenic cooling led to larger tool wear. It was pointed out
that, drill geometry, coolant pressure and application method, and
location of the coolant supply have a great importance on thermo-
mechanical phenomena and thus drilling performance. It was found
that the main advantage of cryogenic cooling is a remarkable reduc-
tion in heat generation on the twist drill. Therefore, it is possible
to achieve a reduction in drilling time, and thus an increase in
productivity in cryogenic drilling of Inconel 718.
The literature survey showed that there are relatively few stud-
ies about drilling of Inconel 718 using solid carbide drills. It is
663
obvious that excessive temperatures in the cutting zone result in
undesirable hole quality, surface integrity, and tool life. Commer-
cial drills are not effective to obtain desirable results and therefore,
new solutions are necessary. There is a need for further investi-
gations about cryogenic drilling of Inconel 718. Cryogenic drilling
may be an effective cooling method to obtain better hole quality,
lower tool wear, cutting forces and temperatures. The main objec-
tives of this study are to reveal the positive and negative effects
of cryogenic cooling on drillability of Inconel 718 and provide a
contribution to sustainable machining studies. Therefore, a com-
prehensive experimental study on performance assessment criteria
such as the thrust force, the torque, the cutting temperature, the
hole quality, the surface integrity, and the tool wear have been
performed under dry, wet, and cryogenic conditions. All studies
(only two studies) in the literature on cryogenic drilling of difficult-
to-cut materials up to now have been conducted using indexable
inserts [21] and solid carbide drills [10] and focused on some per-
formance criteria such as cutting temperature, tool wear, surface
roughness, hole diameter, roundness error, cutting force, torque.
However, there is no investigation about the influence of cryogenic
conditions on microstructural and microhardness changes beneath
the hole surface and burr formation which are critical issues in
especially drilling operations of aerospace materials. In this study,
these criteria have been included. In addition, another novel aspect
of this study is cutting temperature measurement method. Mea-
surement of cutting temperature carries out from the five different
locations throughout the thickness of workpiece during the drilling
tests under all cutting conditions. It is a significant contribution
to literature because the effects of coating material and different
cutting conditions on surface integrity and burr formation are eval-
uated according to cutting temperatures. In addition, temperature
change depending on hole depth and the effects of the temperature
change on performance criteria are discussed in this study.
2. Experimental setup and procedure
2.1. Workpiece material
In the tests, the hot rolled and annealed Inconel 718 plates
with dimensions of 100 mm × 80 mm × 15 mm have been used as
the workpiece material. In order to provide dimensional accu-
racy for each specimen and to avoid surface defects, all the
surfaces of the workpiece have been ground to dimensions
of 100 mm × 80 mm × 15 mm. Chemical composition and some
mechanical and physical properties of the Inconel 718 are given
in Tables 1 and 2, respectively.
Table 1
Chemical composition of the Inconel 718.
Element Ni Cr Fe Nb Mo Ti Co Cu Si Mn C
wt. % 53.66 18.41 17.90 4.92 2.87 0.96 0.34 0.13 0.09 0.08 0.03
Table 2
Some mechanical and physical properties of the Inconel 718.
Property Value
Tensile strength 860.47 MPa
Yield strength 368.18 MPa
Reduction of area 55.9%
Elongation 53.4%
Hardness 90.5 HRB
Grain size 7 (ASTM)
Thermal conductivity [5] 11.4 W/mK
664 N. Uçak, A. Çiçek / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 31 (2018) 662–673

Table 3 oil and water with oil concentration of 5% and water concentra-
Selected properties of the twist drills.
tion of 95%. Liquid nitrogen (LN2 ) has been used as a cooling agent
Property Uncoated TiAlN under cryogenic conditions. It has been sprayed to the cutting zone
Standard DIN 6537 through a nozzle with a diameter of 2 mm at a fixed pressure of
Diameter 5 mm 1.5 bar. The nozzle has been fixed on the spindle, and thus, simul-
Point angle 140◦ taneous motion between nozzle and twist drill has been provided.
Helix angle 30◦ Schematic representation of the experimental setup of the study
Clearance angle 10◦ / 22◦
including cryogenic cooling setup is given in Fig. 1.
Edge chamfer 0.08±0.03
Shank diameter 6 mm
Co% 10% 2.4. Cutting force and torque
Hardness 1620 HV 3300 HV

A Kistler 9272 4-component dynamometer has been used to

2.2. Cutting tool
Uncoated and TiAlN coated tungsten carbide twist drills with a
diameter of 5 mm (produced by Gühring) have been used in this
study. It is well-known some superior properties of TiAlN coat-
ing material such as hot hardness, low thermal conductivity, and
high oxidation resistance and wear resistance. Therefore, it is a suit-
able coating material in machining of heat resistant materials such
as Inconel 718. Literature survey supports this claim [7,10,12,24].
Some geometric and dimensional properties of the twist drills are
given in Table 3. A new twist drill has been used for each drilling
test.
2.3. Cutting conditions
The drilling tests have been performed at a feed of 0.02 mm/rev
and a cutting speed of 15 m/min under dry, wet, and cryogenic
conditions on a Johnford VMC-550 CNC vertical machining cen-
ter. The cutting speed and feed values have been determined for
three cutting conditions (dry, cryogenic, and wet) according to a
number of preliminary test results. In the tests, through holes with
a depth of 15 mm have been drilled on the workpiece material.
Three holes have been drilled in each test condition to obtain more
accurate results. In addition, the wear tests up to 50 holes have been
performed to reveal the effects of coating material and cutting con-
ditions on drill life. The distance between axes of the drilled holes
has been 8 mm to avoid the effect of work hardening around the
drilled holes. Drilling tests under wet cutting environment have
been conducted using an emulsion of the semi-synthetic cutting
measure thrust force and torque values in all the test conditions.
Mean values of thrust force and torque values from three drilling
operations have been accepted as final thrust force and torque val-
ues. During the tests, the distance between drill bit and tool holder
has been fixed to 30 mm. In this manner, it is aimed to ensure the
same cutting conditions for each drilling operation and to avoid
twisting effect.
2.5. Cutting temperature
The cutting temperature has been measured from the five dif-
ferent locations throughout the thickness of workpiece during the
drilling tests under all cutting conditions. K type (NiCr-Ni) ther-
mocouples with a diameter of 1 mm, which can be measured the
temperatures in the range between −200 ◦ C and 1200 ◦ C, have
been employed for the measurement of cutting temperatures. In
order to prevent any deformation during the tests and to get more
accurate and reliable measurements under cryogenic temperatures
(−196 ◦ C), thermocouples have been insulated with Inconel 600
protecting tube. The recordings of the temperatures have been
monitored on a data logger (E-PR-110, Elimko Co.). A thermocouple
clamping apparatus has been designed and manufactured in order
to position the five thermocouples properly and to firmly fix the
thermocouples on the workpiece. The locations of the thermocou-
ples on the workpiece and their clamping conditions are shown
in Fig. 2. The thermocouples have been positioned in equal dis-
tance from each other (3 mm), and in distance of 1.75 mm from hole
entrance (T1) and 1.25 mm from hole exit (T5). Thus, temperature
changes throughout the drilled hole can be determined precisely.

Fig. 1. Experimental setup.

 N. Uçak, A. Çiçek / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 31 (2018) 662–673 665

Fig. 2. Measurement setup for cutting temperature.

Fig. 3. SEM images of the cross section of the workpiece showing positions and dimensions of thermocouple holes.

The five thermocouples named from T1 to T5 have been posi-
tioned at approximately a distance of 0.1 mm from the surface of
the drilled test hole. TiAlN coated tungsten carbide twist drills with
a diameter of 1.5 mm and point angle of 120◦ have been used to drill
thermocouple holes. After thermocouple holes have been drilled,
TiAlN coated tungsten carbide end mills with a diameter of 1.3 mm
have been used to flatten the bottom of the holes. In this manner,
it has been aimed to provide a full contact between end surfaces
of thermocouples and bottom surfaces of the drilled thermocouple
holes. It is essential to ensure full contact between thermocouple
and workpiece material in the achievement of accurate and reliable
results [25]. Fig. 3 indicates the SEM images of the cross section of
the workpiece showing thermocouple holes.
2.6. Surface roughness
In order to reveal the effects of cutting conditions on surface
hole quality, the roughness values of the machined surfaces have
been measured using a Mitutoyo Surftest SJ-301 surface roughness
tester. For this purpose, drilled holes have been sliced into two
parts parallel to the hole axes using a wire EDM. Three measure-
ments have been taken for the both parts of the hole from different
locations and their mean value has been accepted as final surface
roughness value (Ra).
2.7. Hole diameter and roundness error
Hole diameters and roundness errors have been measured using
a DEA Global coordinate measuring machine (CMM). They have
been measured from five points at different depths through the
hole. At each point, measurements have been performed three
times at different locations. Hole diameter and roundness error val-
ues have been determined as mean values of these measurements,
separately. The roundness error values have been evaluated using
least square circle (LSC) technique. In this method, the theoretical
reference circle is fitted inside the profile, such that the sum of the
squares of radial coordinates between the circle and the profile is
minimized. After that, the center of the reference circle is used to
draw two circles, inside and outside of the polar profile. Thus, the
roundness error value would be determined as the radial separation
of these circles [26,27].
666 N. Uçak, A. Çiçek / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 31 (2018) 662–673

Fig. 4. Microhardness measurements.

2.8. Burr formation

The burr heights occurred at the entrance and at the exit of

the holes have been measured by a digital microscope (Dino-Lite
AM4113T). Six burr height measurements have been taken from
the both sliced parts of the workpiece, and mean value of these
measurements have been accepted as the burr height. This man-
ner has been conducted for both entrance and exit burr height
measurements.

2.9. Microstructure and microhardness

The changes in the microstructure and microhardness beneath

the hole surface have been also analyzed. In order to perform met-
allographic examinations, the specimens have been cut, ground
and polished. After polishing, each specimen has been etched for
5 s. The composition of the reagent is 100 ml hydrochloric acid,
100 ml water, and 40 ml hydrogen peroxide 30%. The microstruc-
tural changes beneath the hole surface have been displayed using
an optical microscope. The subsurface microhardness has been
measured using a HMV-G21 Shimadzu Vickers hardness tester. The
load of 50 g has been applied for 10 s. First microhardness measure-
ments have been conducted at a distance of 40 ␮m from the test
hole surface and ten measurements have been taken with a dis-
tance of 40 ␮m between each measurement. These measurements
have been taken from the entrance, the middle and the exit of the
drilled holes and mean value of these values has been accepted as
subsurface microhardness value. Optical microscope image of the
micro-indentations is given in Fig. 4.
2.10. Tool wear
A number of wear tests with 50 holes have been performed to
reveal the effects of coating material and cutting conditions on drill
life. After the tests, scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis
has been conducted in order to determine the wear types under
different cutting conditions and to make further explanation of the
test results. The amount of the flank wear (VB) has been measured
Fig. 5. Measurement of the flank wear on drill [28].
from the same locations (d/6 in Fig. 5, where, d is drill diameter) of
the flank face for all conditions by means of a digital microscope.
Schematic representation of the measurement method for flank
wear is given in Fig. 5. During the examinations, maximum value
measured from both cutting edges of each drill has been accepted
as flank wear value.
3. Results and discussions
3.1. Cutting force and torque
The test results show that the application of cooling/lubrication
agents has an important influence on thrust force and torque. The
average of thrust force values under different cutting conditions
are given in Fig. 6a. Cryogenic cooling increases the thrust force
in the range of 2.6% (388.36–398.47 N) and 10% (362–398.47 N) in
comparison to other cutting conditions. In cryogenic drilling pro-
cess, low temperatures make the workpiece material stronger and
harder, thus, cutting forces tend to increase [29]. Although some
studies emphasize that cryogenic drilling leads to a reduction in
 N. Uçak, A. Çiçek / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 31 (2018) 662–673 667

Fig. 6. (a) Thrust force and (b) torque values.

the thrust force [21], experimental findings on cryogenic drilling of

Inconel 718 show that cryogenic conditions increase the material
resistance to plastic deformation due to embrittlement at very low
temperatures which result in higher thrust force values [10]. On
the other hand, thrust force values under wet conditions are lower
than the other machining environments almost all cutting condi-
tions. In general, the cutting forces and lubrication are related to
each other in machining of engineering materials. During machin-
ing, adequate lubrication decreases the friction and adhesions in
tool-chip and tool-workpiece interfaces. Therefore, this situation
results in a decline of the cutting forces [29,30]. Coating material
leads to an increase in thrust force values in all machining condi-
tions. According to test results, TiAlN coating increases the thrust
force by 8.3% (358.62–388.36 N), 6% (375.92–398.47 N), and 3.8%
(348.87−362 N) under dry, cryogenic, and wet conditions, respec-
tively. This case can be associated with the increasing cutting-edge
radius with application of the coating material on tungsten carbide
substrate.
As can be seen from Fig. 6b, the highest torque values are
obtained under dry conditions. This can be explained with exces-
sive BUE formation due to absence of the coolants and lubricants
under dry conditions. Large adhesions on test hole surface in Fig. 9a
confirm this claim. BUE formation leads to edge rounding and
results in increasing torque values when compared to a sharp cut- Fig. 7. Cutting temperature values under different machining conditions.

ting edge. The torque values under wet cutting conditions exhibit a
similar trend with the thrust force results. Lubrication and cooling
effects of the cutting fluid play a major role on low torque val-
ues. In addition, the coating material reduces the torque values
for all three conditions by 12% (1–0.88 Nm), 27.5% (0.91–0.66 Nm),
and 5.6% (0.72–0.68 Nm) under dry, cryogenic, and wet conditions,
respectively. This can be attributed to decreasing BUE tendency due
to lower friction coefficient of the coating material.
3.2. Cutting temperature
Fig. 7 presents the maximum cutting temperatures for each
thermocouple position under different cutting conditions. The
use of LN2 (−196 ◦ C) significantly decreases the operation tem-
peratures. When examined the recorded maximum temperatures
(at T5 position), it is observed that cryogenic cooling reduces
the cutting temperatures by 12.5% (80.7–70.6 ◦ C) and 66.3%
(209.5–70.6 ◦ C) with uncoated and by 54.3% (76.4–34.9 ◦ C) and
81% (183.6 ◦ C–34.9 ◦ C) with TiAlN coated drills in comparison to
wet and dry conditions, respectively. The highest cutting temper-
atures are measured under dry conditions due to absence of any
coolant and lubricant in the drilling process. The wet conditions
produce intermediate temperatures (between dry and cryogenic
conditions) owing to lubrication and moderate cooling effects of
the conventional cutting fluid. In addition, lower temperatures are
recorded with TiAlN coated drills. This case shows the effect of
low friction coefficient of coating material, which can help decreas-
ing the cutting temperature by easier chip formation [31]. As the
drilling depth increases, the temperature measured by each ther-
mocouple also increases as expected [32]. When considered the
recorded temperature values at each thermocouple position (From
T1 to T5), lower cutting temperatures are observed with TiAlN
coated drills after T2 and T3 drilling locations under dry and cryo-
genic conditions. It is interesting that temperature transitions are
dependent on drilling depth regardless of cooling/lubrication con-
ditions. It is well-known that uncoated drills have higher thermal
conductivity and sharper cutting edges due to absence of coating
material in comparison to TiAlN coated drills. At the beginning of
drilling process, they exhibit more effective cutting performance
and transfer the heat from the cutting zone more quickly. There-
fore, up to T2 and T3 drilling locations, uncoated drills generate
less amount of the heat. After these locations, uncoated drills pro-
duce larger amount of the heat due to increasing tool wear with the
668 N. Uçak, A. Çiçek / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 31 (2018) 662–673
Fig. 8. Surface roughness values.
effect of higher mechanical and thermal loads acting on the cutting
edge. This case can be associated with higher yield strength and
wear resistance of the coating material than those of the substrate
material [33]. Under wet conditions, trend lines of temperatures
generated by uncoated and TiAlN coated drills are very similar to
one another (Fig. 7). It can be concluded that combination of lubri-
cation and intermediate cooling effects of the conventional cutting
fluid prevents rapid tool wear and excessive BUE formation. The
wear test results in this study are good evidences for this claim.
In the wear tests, premature failures take place under dry and
cryogenic conditions while gradual wear (GW) occurs under wet
conditions. Another interesting point in Fig. 7 is that there is a slight
difference between temperatures produced by the uncoated drills
after T4 locations under cryogenic and wet conditions while trend
line of the temperature generated by TiAlN coated drills under cryo-
genic conditions is parallel to those of uncoated and TiAlN coated
drills under wet condition. This case confirms rapid tool wear of
uncoated drills under cryogenic conditions (see Section 3.7).
3.3. Surface roughness
Fig. 8 shows the average surface roughness values under differ-
ent cutting conditions. The lowest values are obtained under wet
conditions with a reduction in the range of 29.5% (2.27–1.6 ␮m)
and 56.49% (3.7–1.61 ␮m) when compared with dry and cryo-
Fig. 9. Cross-sectional SEM images of the holes under (a) dry, (b) cryogenic, and (c) wet conditions.
genic conditions. This can be explained with sufficient cooling
and lubrication effects of wet cutting conditions at the chip-tool
and tool-workpiece interfaces [34]. Although surface roughness
values in cryogenic drilling are better than those in dry drilling,
the lowest surface roughness values could not be reached under
this conditions. Therefore, it can be concluded that the combi-
nation of cooling and lubrication effects in wet conditions rather
than effective cooling in cryogenic conditions should be primary
consideration to obtain desirable surface quality in drilling of
Inconel 718. The coating material enhances the surface roughness
in all cutting conditions. According to test results, TiAlN coating
decreases the surface roughness values by 9.5% (3.7–3.35 ␮m),
32.2% (3.5–2.27 ␮m), and 0.6% (1.61–1.60 ␮m) under dry, cryo-
genic, and wet conditions, respectively (Fig. 8). One of the intended
purposes of the coating material is to enhance the resistance to
abrasion, adhesion, diffusion, and oxidation wear mechanisms [31].
In general, lower wear amounts result in better surface roughness
of the machined surface. For this reason, achievement of smoother
surfaces can be associated with increasing wear resistance of drills
with the coating material.
It is well-known that higher cutting forces reduce the cutting
tool life due to excessive chippings, and increase chatter, therefore
rougher surface texture are obtained [35]. However, test results
show that although higher thrust force values are recorded under
cryogenic machining conditions, the surface roughness values are
better than the dry machining conditions. It can be explained
that high temperatures and lack of cooling and lubrication dur-
ing drilling result in adhesion or welding of the chips on the hole
surface and deteriorated the machined surface under dry condi-
tions (Fig. 9a), whereas smoother hole surface is obtained under
cryogenic conditions due to effective cooling. On the other hand,
cooling and lubrication effects of wet conditions provide to get
better surface roughness than the others (Fig. 9c). These situations
are shown on the cross-sectional SEM images of holes under these
three cutting conditions in Fig. 9. Adhered or welded chips are
seen in dry conditions, due to excessive BUE formation, which is
good evidence for explanation of high torque values. On the other
hand, major scratches are clearly seen under cryogenic conditions
(Fig. 9b). This can be associated with worn drill (excessive chip-
pings), higher thrust force values [34] and hard chip evacuation
because chips are more brittle under very low temperatures and
they could cause to scratches on the machined surface during chip
evacuation [25].
3.4. Hole diameter and roundness error
Fig. 10a shows the average hole diameter values under dif-
ferent cutting conditions. As shown in the figure, although
 N. Uçak, A. Çiçek / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 31 (2018) 662–673 669

Fig. 10. (a) Hole diameter and (b) roundness error values.

Fig. 11. Burr height values at the (a) entrance and (b) exit of holes.

Fig. 12. The most common burr types at the exit surface of the holes: (a) uniform burr and (b) uniform burr with drill cap.

there is not much difference between the measured diameters
(5.018–5.032 mm), more accurate values are obtained under cryo-
genic conditions. On the other hand, dry conditions cause to larger
hole diameter values. The diameter measurement results are found
to be parallel to the cutting temperature measurements. Higher
temperatures can be a reason for larger hole diameter values
under dry cutting conditions due to higher thermal expansion
rates [22]. On the other hand, coating material slightly affected
the hole diameter. Fig. 10b indicates the results of the roundness
error measurements for each cutting condition, averagely. Cryo-
genic cooling leads to a reduction of roundness error values in the
range of 19.5% (4.1–3.3 ␮m) and 69.6% (6.9–2.1 ␮m). As observed
in the hole diameter measurement results, dry machining deterio-
rates the roundness error values at all cutting conditions. Cryogenic
conditions reduce thermal expansion of the workpiece material.
Therefore it is possible to reduce roundness error and also dimen-
sional error in comparison to dry and wet conditions [36]. On the
other hand, coating material enhances the roundness accuracy with
the reduction by 13.8% (8–6.9 ␮m), 36.4% (3.3–2.1 ␮m), and 29.27%
(4.1–2.9 ␮m) under dry, cryogenic and wet conditions, respectively.
670 N. Uçak, A. Çiçek / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 31 (2018) 662–673

Fig. 13. Plastic deformation zone thicknesses beneath the hole surface with (a) uncoated and (b) TiAlN coated twist drills under different cutting conditions.

Fig. 14. Microhardness values beneath the hole surface under different cutting conditions with (a) uncoated and (b) TiAlN coated twist drills.

This can be related to improvement in the hardness and wear resis-
tance of drill with coating material [31] because lesser tool wear
will result in lower roundness errors.
3.5. Burr formation
Fig. 11a and b indicates the burr height values at the entrance
and the exit of the holes, respectively. As indicated in the fig-
ures, higher burrs take place in the majority of the cases under
dry conditions. This can be explained with increasing thermome-
chanical loads during the dry drilling process. As reported in the
previous discussions, dry machining leads to the highest cutting
temperatures and cutting torque values when compared to cryo-
genic and wet conditions. Because of the elevated temperatures
during machining, the ductility of the workpiece material increases,
and this case ends up with higher burr formation. On the other
hand, if the burr formation area is cooled sufficiently, this causes
more brittle material behavior thus, lower burr formation occurs
[37]. Generally, cryogenic cooling causes to lower burr height at
both entrance and exit of the holes due to the embrittlement at
lower temperatures. According to Fig. 11, in general lower burr
heights under cryogenic conditions are achieved with the reduc-
tion of the burr heights in the range of 3.6% (34.38–33.14 ␮m)
–27.3% (45.57–33.14 ␮m) and 14.9% (56.92–48.44 ␮m) –54.3%
(105.92–33.14 ␮m) at the entrance and exit of the holes, respec-
tively. In general, coating material slightly increases the burr
formation (up to 5 ␮m) at the entrance of the hole as shown in
Fig. 11a. On the other hand, TiAlN coating increases the burr for-
mation at the exit of the hole (Fig. 11b) by 90% (105.92–201.25 ␮m),
221.9% (48.44–155.92 ␮m), and 220.9% (56.92–182.67 ␮m) under
dry, cryogenic, and wet conditions, respectively. This result can be
associated with increasing cutting edge radius with usage of coat-
ing material and higher thrust force values of coated carbide drills
in comparison to uncoated ones.
In order to obtain more information about burr formation at the
exit of holes, SEM analysis has been carried out at the end of the
 N. Uçak, A. Çiçek / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 31 (2018) 662–673
Fig. 15. Tool wear types on TiAlN coated twist drills after three holes under (a) dry, (b) cryogenic, (c) wet conditions.
drilling process. According to results of the burr formation exami-
nations, two types of burrs are observed for all conditions: uniform
burr formation (Fig. 12a) and burr with drill cap (Fig. 12b).
3.6. Microstructural examination and microhardness
Fig. 13 shows the microstructural changes and deformation
thickness beneath the hole surface under different cutting con-
ditions. Considering the measured thickness values of the plastic
deformation zone after drilling operations, the highest subsurface
plastic deformation takes place under dry conditions. High cut-
ting temperatures and high thrust force values play a major role
in high subsurface deformation [38]. The cutting temperature and
thrust force values measured in this study confirm more plastic
deformation under dry conditions. Under wet conditions, the mea-
sured cutting temperatures and thrust force values are lower, and
therefore, a reduction in the thickness of the plastic deformation is
observed. On the other hand, plastic deformation depth is minimal
under cryogenic conditions. The lesser plastic deformation thick-
ness has been also observed in other studies about turning [39] and
milling [19] of Inconel 718 under cryogenic conditions. This can be
attributed with increasing hardness and less sticky characteristic
of the workpiece material. When the effect of coating material on
microstructural changes is investigated, it is observed that there is
an increase in the thickness of the affected zone in comparison to
uncoated ones. Pu et al. [40] proposed that tools with large cutting
edge radius cause to more burnishing effects and alter the subsur-
face microstructure of the machined surface deeper. Due to this
671
reason, it can be said that lower plastic deformation depths are
observed with uncoated drills.
Inconel 718 has an austenitic structure, thus drilling opera-
tion induces to work hardening of the deformed zone under the
machined surface [41]. Fig. 14a and b shows the microhardness val-
ues beneath the hole surfaces under different cutting conditions.
After a particular distance from the hole surface (approximately
400 ␮m), microhardness measurements reach to the bulk mate-
rial hardness by about 235 HV. The microhardness measurement
results are found to be parallel to microstructure examination find-
ings. Under cryogenic conditions, the lowest microhardness values
are achieved. It is well-known that the subsurface hardness of a
machined ductile material is dependent on the thickness of the
plastically deformed zone [34]. A slight increase in microhardness
values is observed with usage of the TiAlN coated drills, generally.
Zhou et al. [38] pointed out that the effect of the coating materials
on the increases in subsurface damage is significantly less than the
that of the cooling conditions.
3.7. Tool wear
In this study, the main tool wear types formed on carbide drills
are flank wear, BUE, chipping, corner wear, and chisel edge wear.
Fig. 15 shows the SEM images of the TiAlN coated carbide drills
after three holes under dry, cryogenic, and wet conditions, respec-
tively. In dry machining conditions, high thrust force values and
cutting temperatures cause to chisel edge wear, chippings, and
non-uniform flank wear as shown in Fig. 15a. In addition, BUE and
672 N. Uçak, A. Çiçek / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 31 (2018) 662–673
Fig. 16. Comparison of tool performances under different cutting conditions.
adhered chips on the rake face occur due to high cutting temper-
atures, lack of cooling and lubrication and ductile characteristic of
workpiece material. The chipping, which is a reason for the high
thrust force, is the dominant wear type in cryogenic conditions as
shown in Fig. 15b. This can be attributed to very low cutting tem-
peratures under cryogenic conditions. The best tool performance
is observed under wet conditions. The wear types occurred under
this cutting condition are given in Fig. 15c. Premature failures are
observed due to excessive chippings and fractures formed with
the effect of higher forces and torques under dry and cryogenic
conditions whereas there are regular flank wear, small amount of
BUE, and chisel edge wears on the twist drills under wet conditions
(Fig. 15c).
Fig. 16 indicates the tool life performances under different con-
ditions. According to test results, uncoated drills fail after 4 and
6 holes, whereas TiAlN coated drills are subjected to catastrophic
failure (CF) after 6 holes and 20 holes under dry and cryogenic
conditions, respectively. On the other hand, the drills under wet
conditions show superior tool wear performance in comparison
to dry and cryogenic conditions. GW, the desired wear mode,
is observed under wet conditions without being any CF. After
fifty holes, according to flank wear measurements, flank wears of
Fig. 17. Tool wear types on (a) uncoated, (b) TiAlN coated twist drills after fifty holes under wet conditions.
0.21 mm and 0.16 mm form on uncoated and TiAlN coated drills,
respectively. Although tool life performances are quite inadequate
when compared to wet conditions, cryogenic conditions improve
the tool life with respect to dry conditions. TiAlN coated carbide
drills significantly outperform in all machining conditions when
compared with uncoated ones, due to their high hot hardness, low
thermal conductivity, good wear resistance and low friction coeffi-
cient. In addition, formation of micro-thin amorphous oxide layer
(Al2 O3 ) takes place with the reaction between TiAlN and oxygen in
the surrounding air during machining and provides thermal insu-
lation for the cutting tool. Besides, Al2 O3 layer behaves like a solid
lubricant and decrease the friction between the workpiece and cut-
ting tool. Therefore, the tool life improves [42,43].
Fig. 17 shows the SEM images of used uncoated and TiAlN coated
carbide drills after fifty holes under wet condition, respectively.
Gradual flank wear and adhesions are observed for both cutting
tools.
4. Conclusions
In this study, the effects of different cutting conditions, cutting
parameters, and coating material on the thrust force, torque, cut-
ting temperature, hole quality, surface integrity of the hole, tool
wear, and tool life have been experimentally investigated. The find-
ings of this research work are as follows:
• A significant reduction in cutting temperature by spraying LN2
is provided and this improves the hole quality in terms of lower
burr formation (3.6%–27.3% at the enrance and 14.9%–54.3% at
the exit of the hole) and roundness error (19.5%–69.6%), when
compared to dry and wet conditions. In addition, under cryogenic
conditions, a dramatic decrease in the plastic deformation thick-
ness (a decrease from 10 to 22 ␮m), and microhardness values (a
decrease up to 61 HV) are achieved.
• Higher thrust force values (%2.6–%10) are obtained under cryo-
genic condition due to increase in hardness and strength of
the workpiece material under extremely low temperatures. This
results in excessive tool wear and a reduction in the tool life.
• SEM analysis shows that the dominant wear type is chipping
under cryogenic conditions. This can be attributed to brittle
 N. Uçak, A. Çiçek / Journal of Manufacturing Processes 31 (2018) 662–673
characteristics of workpiece and tool materials at very low tem-
peratures.
• Cutting temperature measurements and performance evaluation
tests confirm that in dry conditions, absence of cooling and lubri-
cation led to high temperatures (max. 210 ◦ C) in cutting zone,
high torque values (max. 1 Nm) due to BUE, severe tool wear,
significant reduction in tool life, excessive burr formation (max.
201.25 ␮m), dimensional (max. 0.32 ␮m) and roundness errors
(max. 8 ␮m), poor surface roughness (max. 3.7 ␮m), and increase
in plastically deformation zone beneath the hole surface (max.
22 ␮m) and microhardness values (max. 61 HV).
• In wet conditions, better surface roughness (29.5%–56.49%) val-
ues, lower thrust force (%2.7–% 9.2), and torque (up to 34.2%)
values, better tool wear and tool life, and more stable machining
are observed when compared to dry and cryogenic conditions.
• Coating material enhances the tool life significantly in compar-
ison to uncoated drills due to superior mechanical and physical
properties of TiAlN coating material.
As a conclusion, although cryogenic cooling provides more
accurate hole diameter and lower roundness error values, burr for-
mation, plastic deformation, and microhardness values beneath the
hole surface, it is not a favorable cutting condition in drilling of
Inconel 718 with solid carbide drills in terms of tool life owing to
rapid tool wear. It can be said that it is possible to obtain better
hole quality under cryogenic conditions, however, there is a need
for further investigations to prolong cutting tool life.
Acknowledgment
This work was financially supported by AYBU, Department of
Scientific Research Projects [grant number 3578].
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