MQL Tool Holder Mixing Chamber for Consistent Mist Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) tool holders face inefficiencies due to oil deposition on inner walls, which reduces lubricant mist delivery efficiency and increases cycle time, as the high air-to-oil ratio mist struggles to maintain the desired ratio effectively.
Innovation Solution
A tool holder design with a mixing chamber and separate gas and oil passageways within the tool holder body, where oil and air are mixed immediately before reaching the cutting tool, reducing the distance the air-oil mist needs to travel and minimizing oil deposition, utilizing a lance and mixing head with adjustable position and one-way valve to ensure efficient lubricant delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If MQL tool holder uses long passageway for lubricant delivery, then oil can be delivered to cutting tool, but oil deposits on inner wall reducing efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The tool holder is divided into distinct functional zones: a mixing chamber for immediate air-oil mixing, a lance for directed mist delivery, and a gas passageway for air supply. This segmentation allows the lubricant to be delivered efficiently through a shortened, optimized path while preventing wall deposition by controlling mist formation and direction.
Solution Approach 2:
Air and oil are pre-mixed in the mixing chamber before entering the lance, creating a controlled aerosol mist. This preliminary mixing action ensures proper atomization and distribution before the lubricant travels through the delivery path, preventing oil from adhering to walls and maintaining consistent delivery efficiency.
2Quantity of substance
If MQL tool holder allows mist to travel long distance, then lubricant can reach cutting tool, but air-to-oil ratio becomes inconsistent
Solution Approach 1:
The gas passageway and oil passageway are merged at the mixing chamber where air and oil combine to form a unified aerosol mist. This merging occurs immediately before the lance delivery point, ensuring the air-to-oil ratio is established and maintained consistently throughout the short delivery path to the cutting tool.
Solution Approach 2:
The mixing chamber acts as an intermediary between the separate air and oil supply systems. It provides a controlled environment where air and oil are properly proportioned and mixed before delivery, ensuring consistent air-to-oil ratio regardless of the delivery distance through the lance.
3Ease of operation
If MQL system uses high air-to-oil ratio mist, then lubrication is provided, but oil deposition on walls increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system controls the physical parameters of mist delivery by optimizing the mixing chamber design and lance configuration. This ensures the aerosol mist maintains proper velocity and distribution characteristics, allowing high air-to-oil ratio lubrication while preventing oil from settling on walls and reducing waste.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotating tool holder creates periodic delivery of the aerosol mist to the cutting tool. This periodic action, combined with the shortened delivery path, ensures continuous lubrication while minimizing the time oil is exposed to wall surfaces, thereby reducing deposition and waste.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design enhances the efficiency of MQL machining by reducing cycle time and minimizing waste oil, ensuring a consistent air-to-oil ratio reaches the cutting tool, thereby improving machining performance.
Implementation Method 1
minimum quantity lubrication ("MQL") machining uses lubrication supplied to the cutting edges of a tool through a lean air-oil mist (i.e., an aerosol)
Implementation Method 2
one of the lance and the mixing head includes a valve configured to permit flow of oil in the lance in a first direction toward the mixing chamber and inhibit flow in an opposite direction
Data Source
AI summary
A tool holder for a minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) device includes a tool holder body, a mixing chamber, a gas passageway, and an oil passageway. The tool holder body is configured for rotation about an axis. The tool holder body has a proximal end configured to be coupled to a spindle of the MQL device and a distal end configured to support a cutting tool for rotation about the axis. The mixing chamber is disposed within the tool holder body. The gas passageway is within the tool holder body and in fluid communication with the mixing chamber. The oil passageway is within the tool holder body and in fluid communication with the mixing chamber. The oil passageway is separate from the gas passageway and configured to receive a liquid lubricant from an oil conduit of the spindle.