Abstract

The study investigated the effects cutting fluids on tool wearing on high speed steel (HSS) using mild steel workpiece for teaching machining operation. Two specific objectives guided the study, two corresponding research questions were poised and two null hypotheses were formulated. The theoretical frame work for the study was hinged on experiential learning theory as propounded by Rogers (1969). The growing demand for biodegradable materials has opened an avenue for using vegetable oils such as neem seed oil, castor oil and water melon seed oil as an alternative to conventional cutting fluids. In this study, some aspects of the turning process on mild steel using HSS cutting tool at variety of spindle speed, feed rate and constant depth of cut were observed using neem seed oil, soluble oil and straight oil in comparison. The data collected from the study was analyzed using mean and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The decision rule was that, the smaller the mean value obtained the more effective the cutting fluid and the higher the mean value, the less effective the cutting fluid. The hypotheses were tested at α=0.05 significance level using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings of the study revealed that soluble oil is more effective in reducing tool wearing than neem oil and straight oil at variety of feed rates and spindle speeds during machining operation. Also there is no significant difference in the mean readings of tool wearing when using neem oil, soluble oil, and straight oil as cutting fluid. It was therefore recommended that machinists should be encouraged to use soluble oil which has greater advantage over neem and straight oils in machining operations.

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