Experimental analyses to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness in using heat pipe-embedded drills

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental investigation to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of heat pipe cooling in drilling operations. The basic idea is to insert a heat pipe at the center of the drill tool with the evaporator close to the drill tip and the condenser at the end of the drill. Consequently, the heat generated at the tool–chip interface can be removed by convection heat transfer. Experimental studies were involved in three cases, including solid drill without coolant, solid drill with coolant, and heat pipe drill. Drilling tests were conducted on a CNC machining center with full immersion cutting. The cast iron square block was used as the workpiece, and the high-speed steel was chosen for the drill tool material. Flank wear is considered as the criterion for tool failure, and the wear was measured using a Hisomet II Toolmaker’s microscope. The tests were conducted until the drill was rejected when an average flank wear greater than 0.10 mm was recorded. The results demonstrate that using a heat pipe in the drilling process can effectively perform thermal management comparable to the flooding coolant cooling used pervasively in the manufacturing industry, extending the tool life of the drill.