Additive Solutions for Subtractive Problems in Cutting Tool - Next Generation Machining Processes for Advanced Alloys.

制造业是所有工业化国家的基础部门。然而，所使用的传统技术在社会、经济或环境方面不再可行。该行业的主要分支之一是机械加工，并拥有两种最大的消耗品;切削工具，例如钻头和切削液（喷射在切削工具上的油，水和化学添加剂的混合物）。 在使用时，切削工具变得非常热，并受到高压。这导致它们很快磨损并变得不可用。为了延长刀具的使用寿命，切削液在加工过程中直接喷在刀具上，降低温度并润滑刀具表面。然而，切削液不环保，不可持续，具有相关的健康风险，在某些应用中不可用，例如核或医疗，并且占部件/产品总制造成本的15-20%。在过去的20年里，已经有替代的尝试来热稳定切削刀具。对于非常小的固定工具，工具保持器中的散热器已经被用于间接冷却工具，并且流体已经穿过在工具内部成环的通道并通过工具保持器返回。对于较大的旋转刀具，这些方法并不可行。为了降低某些旋转刀具的温度，切削液已经从刀具保持器通过中心孔输送到刀具的端部。然而，这种方法仍然需要使用有害的切削液。该项目的目的是降低切削刀具的温度，以延长刀具寿命并消除切削液需求。这将随后减少材料浪费量和切削液的有害副作用。为了实现这一目标，将研究以下目标：1）增材制造方法。增材制造逐层构建三维物体，并能够开发高度复杂的内部结构，否则在物理上是不可能的。这将允许内部冷却通道和流动路径的最佳设计。2)最佳设计将通过应用计算流体动力学和热分析，3）旋转圆筒中流动路径的研究，4）优化算法的应用以及5）在专门开发的钻机上对增材制造原型工具进行实验测试来找到。

The manufacturing industry is a fundamental sector of all industrialised countries. However, the traditional techniques utilised are no longer viable in a social, economic or environmental capacity. One of the major branches of this industry is machining and has two of the largest consumables; cutting tools e.g. drill bits and cutting fluids (a mixture of oil, water and chemical additives that are sprayed at the cutting tool). When in use, cutting tools get very hot and are subjected to high pressures. This causes them to wear down very quickly and become unusable. To prolong the life of the tools, cutting fluids are sprayed directly at them during machining, reducing the temperature and lubricating the surface of the cutting tool. However, cutting fluids are not environmentally friendly, not sustainable, have associated health risks, are unusable in certain applications e.g. nuclear or medical and account for 15-20% of the total manufacturing cost of a component/ product. There have been alternative attempts to thermally stabilise cutting tools over the last 20 years. For very small, stationary tools, a radiator in the tool holder has been utilised to indirectly cool the tool and fluid has been passed through a channel that loops inside the tool and back out through the tool holder. These are not feasible methods for larger, rotating tools. In order to reduce the temperature of some rotating tools, cutting fluids have been delivered from the tool holder, to the end of the tool, through a central hole. However, this method still requires the use of harmful cutting fluids. The aim of this project is to reduce the temperature in cutting tools in pursuance of a longer tool life and removal of the cutting fluid requirement. This will subsequently reduce the amount of material waste and detrimental side effects of cutting fluids.In order to achieve this the following objectives will be investigated: 1) additive manufacturing methods. Additive manufacturing builds a three-dimensional object, layer by layer and enables the development of highly complex internal structures that would otherwise be physically impossible. This will allow for the optimum design of internal cooling channels and flow paths. 2) The optimum design will be found through the application of computational fluid dynamics and thermal analysis, 3) the investigation of flow paths in rotating cylinders, 4) application of optimisation algorithms and, 5) experimental testing of the additively manufactured prototype tools on a specially developed rig.