Tribology International 186 (2023) 108655

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Tribology International
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/triboint

Assessment of additive and subtractive sustainable manufacturing of

Inconel 625
Navneet Khanna a, Parth Raval a, Deep Patel a, b, Ravikumar Prajapati a, Julius Schoop c,
Kishor Kumar Gajrani d, *
a
Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory, Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research and Management (IITRAM), Ahmedabad 380026, India
b
School of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
c
Institute for Sustainable Manufacturing, University of Kentucky, 155 Graham Ave., 40506 Lexington, USA
d
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, Kancheepuram, Chennai 600127, Tamil Nadu, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: This study assesses the sustainable subtractive manufacturing of Wire Arc Additive Manufactured (WAAMed)
Wire arc additive manufacturing Inconel 625 (IN625). Compared to other additive manufacturing techniques, WAAM is economically efficient
Hole quality and has a higher deposition rate. However, post-subtractive manufacturing operations are often required for
Chip morphology
additive manufactured (AMed) parts to make them ready for industrial applications. Drilling trials were con­
Tool wear
Surface roughness
ducted on AMed and wrought IN625 under three environments: dry, flood and cryogenic. Their machinability
Cutting forces was evaluated in terms of cutting forces, torque, power consumption as well as surface roughness. Also, the
surface morphology of drill tools, drilled holes and machined chips were analysed and compared. Results show
that the cryogenic environment enhances tool life and surface integrity for drilling of WAAMed parts, whereas
flood environment emerged as a better cooling/lubricating condition for machining wrought specimens.

difficult to make using traditional methods [7–10]. AM has an advan­

tage over conventional manufacturing techniques in such a way that it
1. Introduction can handle a variety of materials in production. Each layer is cast on top
of the previous layer, with the material employed being continuously
Additive Manufacturing (AM) possesses great potential for replacing heated and cooled, leading to the development of final new net-shape
more traditional manufacturing processes in the upcoming future with pieces without the requirement of further machining [11,12].
revolutionary changes in production chain procedure. AM will play a Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) is a direct energy depo­
vital role in Industry 4.0 allowing manufacturers and industries more sition (DED) based AM process, which utilizes standard welding tech­
freedom of design and material selection for fabricating complex ge­ niques to create metallic components. The higher metal deposition rate
ometries. It also adds the advantage of reduced cost of manufacturing for in WAAM with its ability to produce large components has played a key
digitalization and intelligentization of today’s manufacturing processes role in its growth among other AM technologies. However, it compro­
for a complex-free process [1]. Researchers are now working on the mises components dimensional fidelity, hence post machining opera­
development of a robust and scalable AM technology [2], which is a tions are required to meet practical requirements [13]. In the WAAM
dependable, innovative manufacturing process that uses a layer-by-layer process, welding wire and electric arc serve as the feedstock material
deposition process to generate 3-D components directly using a and heat source, respectively [14]. WAAM employs an arc to fuse wires
computer-aided design (CAD) version. AM technology is reported to and then produces a component layer by layer, resulting in high-quality,
have the ability to save up to 50 % on the cost of machining near-net shape metallic components. Without the need for tools or
difficult-to-cut alloys, which are utilized in various domains such as molds, the component driven by 3-D data is manufactured by the
aerospace [3], aeronautics, and marine engineering [4]. The major deposition of material [15]. An automated robotic arm is typically uti­
purpose of AM is to minimize material wastage [5] and the time it takes lized in a WAAM process to regulate the deposition of material
to fabricate a component [6]. In addition to this, it could also be utilized layer-by-layer to construct a full-dense functioning specimen. It is used
for large-scale fabrication of industrial components with alloys that are

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: g.kishor@iiitdm.ac.in (K.K. Gajrani).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.triboint.2023.108655
Received 19 May 2023; Received in revised form 25 May 2023; Accepted 29 May 2023
Available online 31 May 2023
0301-679X/© 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
N. Khanna et al. Tribology International 186 (2023) 108655

cryogenic environment followed by its life cycle assessment. The authors

Nomenclature discovered that cryogenic turning yielded better results in terms of en­
ergy efficiency, sustainability and product quality in contrast to tradi­
AM Additive Manufacturing. tional turning [32]. Shah et al. [33] assessed the machining responses
AMed Additive Manufactured. while drilling IN718 under cryogenic LN2 and LCO2 conditions. The
DED Direct Energy Deposition. authors found that LCO2 outperformed LN2 and reduces more cutting
GMAW Gas Metal Arc Welding. force, power consumption and surface roughness of machined work­
IN625 Inconel 625. pieces. They also discovered that by employing LCO2, tool life was
IN718 Inconel 718. increased by almost 3 times in contrast to LN2 condition. The increased
MQL Minimum Quantity Lubrication. tool life for LCO2 was attributed to the higher penetrability of LCO2. The
LMD Laser Metal Deposition. results proved to be a decisive parameter in selecting LCO2 as a cryo­
WAAMed Wire Arc Additive Manufactured. genic coolant for this study.
WAAM Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing. The machinability of AMed IN718 manufactured via selective laser
SLM Selective Laser Melting. melting (SLM) was investigated in terms of surface topography, micro­
SEM Scanning Electron Microscope. structure, hole quality and microhardness after drilling [34]. The dril­
ling process considerably improved the surface quality of the AMed
IN718. Increased feed rate caused a work hardening effect, which
increased subsurface and surface microhardness substantially. Rahim
to fabricate components made of stainless steel, titanium, aluminum, et al. [35] investigated the outcomes of varied drilling variables on the
steel, and nickel alloys for the marine, aerospace, and oil and gas in­ surface quality of IN718 specimens. They found the plastic distortion of
dustries [16]. For the above-mentioned reasons, the WAAM process is grains under chip removed surface along the direction of cutting. Higher
convenient for building components made of nickel-based superalloys cutting speed and feed resulted in sub-surface plastic deformation. Less
such as Inconel 625 (IN625) and Inconel 718 (IN718). deformation was noticed at lower cutting speed and feed. Alonso et al.
The growing demand for nickel superalloys in the aerospace, auto­ [36] examined mechanical properties and their correlation with
motive, defense, and biomedical sectors is pushing the need for more machining responses during milling experiments on IN718, which was
environmentally friendly methods of manufacturing these materials produced by WAAM technique. They found that WAAMed specimen
[17–19]. The nickel alloy IN625 possesses high creep, rupture and exhibited superior properties in contrast to cast IN718 alloy. They also
tensile strength, corrosion resistance, fatigue and high thermal strength noticed that augmentation in the cutting speed brought down the cut­
[20]. Despite these outstanding qualities, its low machinability has ting forces. The authors suggested that, this phenomenon might have
limited its industrial application potential. When it comes to machining happened because of ease in plastic deformation due to elevated cutting
heat-resistant alloys, traditional machining processes are less effective. temperature at chip-tool interface. Ostra et al. [37] studied chip
For alloys having high strength at elevated temperature, the produc­ morphology along with cutting forces while milling AMed IN718 pro­
tivity and long-term viability of traditional machining methods are duced through laser metal deposition (LMD) process under flood cooling
debatable. Manufacturing sectors are taking smart machining tech­ environment. They found that the part fabricated through LMD has
niques into consideration to enhance the machinability of superalloys in mechanical properties alike the forged specimen. LMD specimens
the realm of modern solutions [21]. Government policies are also exhibited lesser prolongation at fracture in contrast to forged specimens.
encouraging manufacturers to use sustainable machining procedures In addition to this, they observed that chips obtained while machining of
rather than traditional non-sustainable machining. The phrase "sus­ parts produced through LMD were shorter in contrast to forged parts.
tainability" refers to the importance of focusing on long-term survival, This can be attributed to increased prolongation at fracture of forged
environmental conservation, and reduced utilization of finite natural specimen in contrast to LMD one.
assets [22,23]. Attaining or strengthening sustainability in the Machined surface topographies were explored by Yildirim et al. [38],
manufacturing sector could be extremely beneficial to long-term growth who studied the machining of IN625 alloy at different machining pa­
as the manufacturing sector accounts for more than 15.6% of global rameters and under various cooling and lubricating environments. The
GDP. While preserving product quality, sustainable manufacturing must surface topography evolved with increments of cutting speed up to 75
strive for enhancements in asset and energy efficiency, reducing envi­ m/min. However, as the cutting speed increased, the space between
ronmental effects and to enhance operator safety and health [24,25]. peaks and valleys grew longer. This phenomenon was accredited to high
The examination of AMed Ni-based superalloys is center of attention temperatures and tool wear, causing the surface topography to deteri­
for many research institutes and industries, due to their greater stability orate. The effect of various lubrication methods on chip morphology was
at elevated temperatures, excellent weldability, oxidation resistance, also investigated. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of chips
and high corrosion resistance. IN625 is a nickel-based superalloy, which produced under MQL, cryogenic, and CryoMQL cooling conditions were
is extensively used in manufacturing industries, especially in aerospace, analysed. The authors found that the cryoMQL technique emerged as an
nuclear, gas turbine, steam power plants, etc. However, the machining effective cooling and lubrication strategy concerning surface roughness
of IN625 is a challenging task due to its properties like, poor thermal and topography and also better tool life was obtained for the cryoMQL
conductivity, adhesion and welding tendency to the cutting tool, and condition in contrast to the other two lubrication conditions.
formation of build-up-edges (BUE) [26,27]. In addition to this, the From the literature, it was found that most of the studies have been
machining of AMed components varies from their wrought part due to performed on the machining of wrought IN625 alloy and few studies
several factors such as microstructure, hardness, etc. [28–30]. have been found focusing on the machining of WAAMed IN625 alloy. In
In a traditional LN2 cryogenic machining procedure, the tool is this study, IN625 plate is fabricated by WAAM technique. Then
chilled in proximity to the cryogenic medium. The extremely cold fluid machining of both plates (WAAMed and as received wrought, see Fig. 1)
acts as a heat sink, chilling the tool mostly via convection, which is is conducted under different cooling/lubricating environments: dry,
facilitated by temperature gradients. On the contrary, CO2 coolants are flood and cryogenic. Thereafter, surface morphology of the machined
delivered at room temperature, hence their cooling performance is tool, hole surface and chips are analyzed to understand machining
dictated by the Joule–Thomson effect rather than the cryogenic tem­ behavior of WAAMed plate and its responses are compared with as
perature at the time of delivery [31], resulting in a new cooling mode received wrought IN625 plate. Subsequently, surface morphology of
and machining process. worn out tools, hole surface and chips are co-related with machining
Pusavec et al. analyzed the machining of IN718 while turning under parameters and cooling/lubricating environments.

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N. Khanna et al. Tribology International 186 (2023) 108655

min and voltage:17.2 V. The computer control system commands the

motion of the welding torch as per the CNC program fed into the soft­
ware. Argon gas was supplied at the weld zone in order to keep the
process free from contaminations. The parts were manufactured on
15 mm-thick stainless-steel plate.

2.2. Machining experiments

Machining experiments were performed on a 3-Axis VMC (Mac-

Power made- V 544), under three different environments, i.e., dry, flood
and cryogenic conditions. The drilling tests were performed using
Fig. 1. (a) Additive manufactured and (b) wrought specimens Kyocera-KC05 coated solid carbide twist drill having a 5 mm diameter.
before machining. Cutting speed of 25 m/min, feed 0.04 mm/ rev and spindle speed of
1590 rpm was chosen based on the trial experiments and literature re­
view. Owing to limited resources, and following industry practice for
2. Experimental methodology
high-value components, the tool wear criteria was taken as 0.2 mm flank
wear, or 27 holes, whichever occurs first. In cryogenic machining, LCO2
The experiments performed in this research work consist of three
was used as cryogenic coolant. As CO2 can remain in liquid form at
phases; firstly, fabrication of IN625 plate via WAAM process, secondly,
ambient temperature, it was stored at 60 bar pressure in a cylinder. A
performing machining operations in different conditions and finally,
siphon tube was kept inside the cylinder, which was used to direct LCO2
analysis of machining responses, both in-situ and using sophisticated
towards the cutting zone. The main purpose of siphon tube is to restrain
post-machining characterization techniques.
the expansion of LCO2 inside the cylinder. A thermoplastic pipe of
120 bar pressure capacity was utilized to supply LCO2 from the cylinder
2.1. Fabrication of part via WAAM process to the cutting zone through a 2 mm dia nozzle. For Flood machining,
YBI-made oil-based lubricant Belcool EZ-500 was supplied with a flow
Two IN625, 10-layered specimens were prepared by GMAW-based rate of 25 L/min with the help of an external motor.
WAAM technique. The chemical composition of both specimens
(WAAMed and wrought) is presented in Table 1. The setup for fabri­ 2.3. Analysis of machining responses
cating WAAMed workpieces along with its crucial components is illus­
trated in Fig. 2. The setup for the WAAM process comprises the following During the machining, a Kistler 4-component dynamometer (Type-
major components: 9272) was used to measure cutting forces and torque. Fluke 3-phase
energy and power quality analyser was used to measure the power
• MIG power source: Through the PRO-MIG 530 (power source) the consumption. A Surtronic S-128 contact-type surface roughness tester
input parameters such as wire-feed rate, voltage, current and type of was used to measure the surface roughness. To evaluate the value of
material are set. It is the component of the WAAM setup through surface roughness, the plate was fixed in a vice. Thereafter, the rough­
which the power is provided to the welding torch. ness values were measured by aligning the hole’s axis to the direction of
• Computer control system: The motion of welding torch across the motion of the stylus. For each hole, the surface roughness was measured
cartesian coordinate system is regulated by computer control system. at three different places, and the average values are reported. Mitutoyo
The path which has to be followed by the welding torch is fed into the make Tool Maker’s microscope was used to measure tool flank wear. The
computer (Win-mill software) using G-code and M- code flank wear was measured after every three drilled holes in order to
• Wire feeding mechanism: This system regulates the feed rate of the obtain a precise approximation of the number of drilled holes prior to
wire. the tool wear criteria. A JEOL-make JSM-6390 scanning electron mi­
• Welding torch and shielding gas: The welding torch is the primary croscope (SEM) was used to analyse the hole surface, worn-out tool and
component and is used to carry out the WAAM process. The shielding chips. The images were taken at the magnifications 50X, 100X, 200X and
gas (Argon) is provided to protect the process from environmental 500X.
contamination.
3. Results and discussions
The specimens were prepared using feed wire having diameter of
1.2 mm. The parameters for manufacturing the specimens via WAAM 3.1. Cutting forces and torque
are as follows: wire feed rate: 3.8 m/min, torch travel speed: 240 mm/
Cutting force is one of the decisive factors affecting a given material’s
Table 1 machinability response. The energy required for shearing, chip forma­
Chemical composition of WAAMed and Wrought Inconel 625. tion, dynamic stability, etc., can be determined using the values of
cutting forces. The stability of the machining system plays an important
Elements WAAMed IN625 (% wt.) Wrought IN625 (%wt.)
role in determining the hole quality. For instance, higher values of
C 0.004–0.028 0.008 cutting force will lead to an increment in the vibration of the system,
Mn 0.012–0.075 0.139
Si 0.176–0.184 0.187
which will deteriorate the hole quality and may lead to premature tool
Ni 64.86–67.52 60.76 wear.
Al 0.11–0.139 0.071 Fig. 3 represents the average value of cutting forces obtained while
Ti 0.2–0.239 0.227 drilling WAAMed IN625 and as received wrought IN625 under dry,
P 0.001 0.001
flood and cryogenic environments. It is observed from the Fig. 3 that
S 0.001–0.014 0.019
Cr 22.229–22.31 22.475 forces obtained while machining WAAMed plate are higher in contrast
Mo 8.221–9.26 8.265 to the as received wrought plate. From the analysis of the obtained
Fe 0.131–0.618 4.26 values, it was found that 44.36 %, 21.27 % and 11.95 % higher cutting
Co 0.073–0.084 0.069 force values were obtained while drilling WAAMed IN625 plate under
Cb+Ta 3.54–3.641 3.29
dry, flood and cryogenic environments, respectively. The higher forces

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Fig. 2. Flow diagram depicting experimental methodology.

while drilling WAAMed IN625 plate should be because of the difference drilling the WAAMed plate 2.06 % and 8.82 % higher cutting forces were
in hardness (257 BHN for WAAMed plate and 231.67 BHN for Wrought found in flood machining in contrast to dry and cryogenic machining,
plate) values [39] or it may be due to a difference in thermal respectively. Also, during drilling of wrought IN625 plate flood
conductivity. machining conditions showed 27.53 % and 1.02 % greater values of
From Fig. 3, it is observed the cutting forces are highest for both cutting force in contrast to dry and cryogenic conditions. The augmen­
WAAMed and wrought IN625 under flood machining condition. In tation in the cutting force values during flood machining is because of

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of WAAMed specimens shows the opposite trend in contrast to wrought

specimens. This might be attributed to the difference in thermal con­
ductivities of both materials.

3.2. Power consumption

It is also an important parameter in machining particularly from the

sustainability point of view. The industries should evaluate their power
consumption in order to minimize their dependence on non-renewable
energy sources [42].
Power consumption for machining WAAMed and wrought specimens
under dry, flood and cryogenic environments is illustrated in Fig. 5.
Machining in flood environments shows high power consumption in
contrast to dry and cryogenic environments. In the flood machining
environment, an extra motor is required to pump and maintain the
circulation of flood coolant during machining, which increases the
consumption of power. As a result of this, more power is consumed
during flood machining. Cryogenic environment has reported the min­
Fig. 3. Variation in cutting forces for WAAMed and wrought IN625 under three imum power consumption with respect to flood and dry condition, it can
different machining environments. be attributed to less cutting forces due to sufficient cooling at the cutting
zone. Machining of WAAMed part consumed 34.86 %, 37.41 % and 4.21
the additional force due to the downward flow of the coolant. Here, the % more power in contrast to machining of wrought specimens under
downward motion of the coolant impedes the upward motion of the dry, flood and cryogenic environments, respectively. The increment in
chips. As a consequence of this, the evacuation of chips is hampered. The power consumption for machining WAAMed specimens may be due to
dragging of these clogged chips over the machined hole leads to the higher values of cutting force and the residual stresses developed while
augmentation of cutting force. [31,40]. manufacturing parts made by WAAM [7].
Fig. 4 shows the obtained values of drilling torque during machining
of WAAMed and as received (wrought) specimens under dry, flood and
3.3. Tool wear analysis
cryogenic environments. It is observed from Fig. 4 that higher drilling
torque is observed while drilling the WAAMed specimen in contrast to
Tool wear is one of the important factors in determining the hole
the as-received wrought IN625. About 84.84 %, 33.85 % and 18.24 %
quality, power consumption, cutting forces, etc., especially while
lesser torque are obtained while drilling wrought specimens in contrast
machining nickle-based superalloys. Therefore, it is prime focus of re­
to WAAMed parts under dry, flood and cryogenic environments,
searchers for many years. The type of tool wear depends on numerous
respectively. Table 1 shows that the WAAMed parts contain a higher
factors like cooling and lubrication conditions, drilling parameters,
concentration of Ni. The high percentage of Ni in the WAAMed part
types of wear mechanisms etc. Studies have reported that tool wear is
leads to a higher concentration of Ɣ” precipitates (Ni3Nb precipitates).
typically not a consequence of a single wear mechanism (e.g., abrasion)
Ɣ” precipitates are primarily responsible for the strain hardening effect
but rather a complex combination of various wear mechanisms (e.g.,
in Inconel alloys. The increased concentration of Ɣ” may be the reason
adhesion, chipping, attrition, etc.). Researchers and tool designers are
for increased torque and cutting forces while drilling WAAMed spec­
constantly striving to reduce the wear mechanisms and eliminate un­
imen [41].
desirable wear modes, such as chipping for achieving predictable and
From the above discussion, it can be inferred that the machining of
controlled progressive tool wear [43–46].
WAAMed parts resulted in higher cutting forces owing to differences in
Fig. 6 represents the SEM images of cutting tools in different cutting
hardness as well as due to higher concentrations of Ni in WAAMed
conditions. In dry condition (Fig. 6a-b), the primary tool wear types
specimens. In addition to this, the variation in torque during machining
were adhesion and abrasion for both WAAMed and wrought specimens.

Fig. 4. Variation of drilling torque for WAAMed and wrought IN625 under Fig. 5. Variation in power consumption for drilling of WAAMed and wrought
three different machining environments. IN625 under three different machining environments.

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Fig. 6. Surface morphology of tool surface after drilling holes for WAAMed and wrought IN625 under three different machining environments (a) Dry_AM, (b)
Dry_wrought, (c) Flood_AM, (d) Flood_wrought, and (e) Cryogenic_AM.

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N. Khanna et al. Tribology International 186 (2023) 108655

Fig. 7. Tool performance with respect to number of holes drilled for WAAMed Fig. 9. Variation in machined workpiece surface roughness for WAAMed and
and wrought IN625 under three different machining environments. wrought IN625 under three different machining environments.

Catastrophic failure of tool was observed after drilling 5 holes in the adhesion noticed in flood machining was much lower compared to
wrought specimens. It could be because of lower thermal conductivity of dry condition. Anisotropy was observed in terms of cutting force during
wrought plate in contrast to WAAMed specimens, which facilitates the machining WAAMed part. During the experiments, it was observed that
rise in temperature at cutting zone and promotes the adhesion and tool- tool coating was completely peeled off after 21st hole while machining
chip welding. In dry drilling of wrought specimens, despite getting lower WAAMed plate. The removal of tool coating [43] combined with the
forces and torque in contrast to WAAMed specimens, the catastrophic anisotropy of the material should be the cause of chisel failure while
failure of the tool might have happened because of low thermal con­ machining WAAMed plate. The evaluation of SEM images and surface
ductivity due to which the temperature at the cutting zone might exceed roughness indicates that the machining of wrought specimens under
the strain hardening temperature and ultimately results in thermal flood environment yields better results in terms of tool life and surface
softening. The thermal softening phenomenon promotes the smearing of integrity.
material on the hole surface, which deteriorates the hole quality and can Chipping and abrasion were observed as primary mode of tool wear
be noticed in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9. While, in WAAMed specimens, gradual in case of machining WAAMed plates in cryogenic condition (Fig. 6e).
tool wear was observed in contrast to sudden failure of tool in case of Embrittlement of tool and workpiece at low temperature [47] along with
wrought specimens. Lack of lubrication and cooling in dry condition high cutting force in cryogenic condition could be potential causes of
results in high temperature at the tool-workpiece interface combined chipping, which results in abrasive wear. Rapid tool wear was observed
with the high chemical affinity of IN625 promotes the adhesion of chips in cryogenic machining in contrast to flood machining. It is hypothe­
to tools flank face [21]. sized that while the cryogenic condition can effectively reduce the
Chipping and adhesion were the dominant wear types observed temperature in the cutting zone, it likely failed to provide adequate
during flood machining (Fig. 6(c), (d)). Due to good lubrication effect, lubrication for smooth chip evacuation. During machining of wrought

Fig. 8. Surface morphology of drilled holes for WAAMed and wrought IN625 under three different machining environments.

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plate, catastrophic failure of tool was observed in cryogenic and dry during the drilling of as received wrought plate. The SEM image also
conditions after 21 and 5 holes respectively. These results are compa­ supports this phenomenon. Higher values of surface roughness were
rable to the ones previously obtained by Uçak et al. [47]. observed for the WAAMed part in other two cooling environments in
In drilling of wrought specimens, better tool life was observed under contrast to dry drilling. As mentioned earlier, the cutting forces were
flood machining in comparison to dry and cryogenic conditions. Similar higher during the machining of WAAMed IN625. The higher values of
results were observed by Uçak et al. [47] for drilling of IN718. While for cutting force lead to increased vibration which in turn leads to a poor
machining of WAAMed specimen, cryogenic condition proved to be surface finish of WAAMed IN625 plate.
more efficient than other two concerning surface roughness, chip
breakability and tool life. Overall from the above discussion and Fig. 7 it 3.5. Chip morphology
can be inferred that better tool life was achieved in cryogenic environ­
ment for WAAMed part. While flood coolant emerged as a better option Chip morphology is inherently related to the cutting mechanics and
for machining of wrought parts. In contrast to the other two cutting thus typically correlates with the surface integrity of the machined
environments (flood and cryogenic), dry machining caused the surface. Various factors affect the chip morphology and chip shape, such
WAAMed and wrought IN625 parts to experience relatively fast tool as tool and workpiece material, machining parameters, cooling and
wear to reach the pre-defined tool wear criteria (0.2 mm). lubrication strategy, etc. Generally, in the drilling process, chips are not
generated uniformly along the cutting edge as chips are subjected to
3.4. Hole quality flow out from the spiral flute while leaving the cutting edge. This results
in changing their direction and suffering further deformation by tool
Hole quality, particularly surface morphology, is a key aspect of edge and workpiece [50]. Serration of chips is the fundamental chip
surface integrity, comprising important factors of both surface rough­ formation mechanism, especially in materials like Ti and Ni-based alloys
ness and surface defects (e.g., laps, tears, folds, adhesions) on the and it is observed due to localized shearing (i.e., thermal softening) [50].
machined surface. Surface roughness describes the irregularities, which SEM micrographs of the chips produced under dry, wet and cryogenic
are obtained after the interaction of tool and material microstructure conditions for both WAAMed and wrought specimens are shown in
while machining. Surface defects are infinitesimal damages to machined Fig. 10. It is evident from Fig. 10 (a-f), that large serrations were ob­
surfaces that deteriorate hole/surface quality. Tool wear and chip tained in dry conditions in contrast to flood and cryogenic conditions for
morphology of the machining process are prominent factors affecting both the workpieces. In dry condition, due to the low thermal conduc­
the hole quality. In this section, various surface defects are discussed tivity workpiece and absence of cooling/lubrication, heat accumulated
with reference to its roughness values. in the cutting zone cannot be dissipated effectively.
The morphology of hole surface is analysed for all three cutting This accumulated heat promotes the adhesion of chips under high
conditions (dry, flood, LCO2) for both WAAMed and wrought specimens. pressure. During machining, welds between the chip and tools are
From Fig. 8, it is noticed that the main surface defects found during broken, which results in the chipping of the tool resulting in rapid tool
machining of these plates are metal debris, smeared material and wear under dry condition [51]. Lamellae structure has been found under
grooves. The fragmentation of chips and chipping of tool edge at higher dry drilling of wrought material which can be seen from Fig. 10 (a), due
cutting temperature leads to formation of metal debris [43]. Due to the to thermal softening of material at higher temperatures, whereas it is not
absence of cooling and lubrication in dry machining, temperature at found for WAAMed specimens. This supports our hypothesis that the
cutting zone increases significantly in contrast to flood and cryogenic thermal conductivity of as received (wrought) part might be lower than
machining, which facilitates the formation of metal debris (Fig. 8a-b). WAAMed specimens. Lower values of cutting forces observed during dry
Excessive plastic deformation due to the dragging of chips results in drilling of wrought specimens also corroborate the phenomenon of
smeared material surface defects. Dragging of chips between the tool thermal softening. Different values of thermal conductivity and hardness
edge and hole surface or plowing of chips adhered to tool material at elevated temperatures of wrought and WAAMed material might have
causes the formation of grooves on the hole surface [48,49]. In cryo­ attributed to this phenomenon.
genic and flood environments, abrasion wear mechanism is noticed from Lower friction in flood and cryogenic machining resulted in the
SEM images of the tools (Fig. 6). The abrasive wear promotes the for­ formation of narrow gaps in the chips in contrast to chips obtained under
mation of grooves on the hole surface which degrades the hole quality. dry machining [50]. Chips with relatively smooth surfaces and shorter
In addition to this, clogging of chips in flood machining obstructs direct lengths were observed during cryogenic machining. This could be
contact of tool with the machined surface. Due to this, chips are rubbed because of lower material plasticity at such low temperatures, which
with machined surface and it promotes the formation of grooves on the reduces the ductility of the material and also the bending capacity of
hole surface (Fig. 8c-d) [37]. The flood machining results in the for­ chip material [51]. With reduced serration, WAAMed plates produced
mation of chips with narrow serrations, which enhances the surface superior surface finish in dry and cryogenic machining by 900 % and
quality. Cryogenic LCO2 reduces the chattering marks on the machined 16.67 %, respectively. Whereas 70.65n% better surface finish was
surface (Fig. 8e-f), which is due to the unwanted vibrations caused by observed in wrought part as compared to WAAMed part for flood con­
the inherent natural frequency of the cutting tool during the drilling dition. The chips trapped in the hole due to downward motion of cool­
operation. ant/lubricant rub against the hole surface, which decreases the surface
Fig. 9 describes the surface roughness (Rz) values of hole samples roughness in flood machining [40].
after machining of WAAMed and wrought parts for all three cooling/ From the analysis of chips, it can be inferred that the serrated chips
lubrication conditions. It can be noted from Fig. 9, low surface rough­ were obtained for all the cooling/lubrication conditions; while the de­
ness was observed for WAAMed specimens in comparison to wrought gree of serrations varied accordingly. The chips obtained during flood
specimens under dry drilling conditions. While dry machining of as machining have shown narrow serration in contrast to dry condition but
received wrought plate, the chip adhesion on the tool was observed from the chips were in irregular shapes because of the force generated by the
the second hole, which results in the formation of smeared material on downward flow of flood coolant. Out of all the three conditions,
the hole surface that ultimately reduces the surface quality. In contrast enhanced chip breakability was observed during cryogenic drilling for
to this, during the dry drilling of WAAMed specimens, the adhesion was both WAAMed and as received wrought IN625 plate. While continuous
noticed after drilling 12th hole. Moreover, the chips obtained during dry and large serrated chips were obtained during dry drilling of wrought
machining of as received wrought plate were long and continuous in part, which affects its hole quality adversely.
contrast to WAAMed IN625. It might be because of the dragging of this
adhered chip along the hole surface that leads to a poor surface finish

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N. Khanna et al. Tribology International 186 (2023) 108655

Fig. 10. Surface morphology of chips obtained during machining of WAAMed and wrought IN625 under three different machining environments (Column 1 and 2
shows the back surface of the chips. Column 3 and 4 shows the front surface of chips): (a) Dry_wrought, (b) Dry_AM, (c) Flood_wrought, (d) Flood_AM, (e) Cry­
ogenic_wrought and (f) Cryogenic_AM.

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N. Khanna et al. Tribology International 186 (2023) 108655

4. Conclusions Acknowledgment

This work evaluates and compares the subtractive sustainable The authors are thankful to SERB-DST, Government of India, for
machinability characteristics of additive manufactured Inconel 625 providing the funding (ECR/2016/000735) to develop Cryogenic
under three different lubricating environments in terms of cutting Machining Facility at IITRAM. The authors are grateful to Dr. Vishvesh
forces, tool wear, chip morphology and hole quality. Based on the results Badheka, Head of Department, Mechanical Engineering, Pandit Deen­
obtained, the following conclusions can be inferred: dayal Energy University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India for providing the
necessary support to fabricate the WAAM specimens. The authors also
• In the machining of both WAAMed and wrought material conditions; like to acknowledge IIITDM Kancheepuram for its scanning electron
abrasion, adhesion, and chipping were the main tool wear mecha­ microscopic facility.
nisms. In dry machining, in contrast to flood and cryogenic condi­
tions for both WAAMed and wrought samples, the lack of lubrication
Statement of originality
and cooling led to an increase in temperature at the cutting zone,
which resulted in rapid tool wear. However, regardless of the state of
As the corresponding author, I Kishor Kumar Gajrani, hereby confirm
the material, enhanced cooling by flood and cryogenic machining led
on behalf of all authors that:
to longer tool lives.
1) The paper has not been published previously, it is not under
• As a result of low-temperature embrittlement, significantly shorter
consideration for publication elsewhere, and if accepted it will not be
chips were obtained in cryogenic machining, while dry and wet
published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other lan­
conditions resulted in longer/stringy chips. The impact of a high-
guage, without the written consent of the publisher.
pressure jet in cryogenic machining enhances the breakability of
2) The paper does not contain material that has been published
chips but it also impedes chip removal.
previously, by the current authors or by others, of which the source is
• Chips with narrow serrations were observed for the WAAMed spec­
not explicitly cited in the paper.
imens, which was hypothesized to be due to a difference in thermal
conductivity or hardness between the WAAMed and the wrought
part. References
• Metal debris, grooves and smeared material were prominent surface
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