The tribological effect of cutting fluids in the machining processes to reduce the friction in the cutting zone is still widely unknown. Most test benches and procedures do not represent the contact conditions of machining processes adequately, especially for interrupted contacts. This results in a lack of knowledge of the tribological behavior in machining processes. To close this knowledge gap, a novel experimental test bench to investigate the effects of cutting fluids on the frictional conditions in metal cutting under high-pressure cutting fluid supply was developed and utilized within this work. The results show that there is a difference between the frictional forces in interrupted contact compared to continuous contact. Furthermore, the cutting fluid parameters of supply pressure, volumetric flow rate, and impact point of the cutting fluid jet influence the frictional forces, the intensities of which depend on the workpiece material. In conclusion, the novel test bench allows examining the frictional behavior in interrupted cuts with an unprecedented precision, which contributes to a knowledge-based design of the cutting fluid supply for cutting tools.

The geared turbofan technology is one essential way to reduce the fuel consumption, the environmental footprint, and the noise pollution of civil aircrafts. An added gearbox between the fan and the low-pressure compressor that reduces the fan speed, which allows higher bypass ratios, achieves the mentioned benefits of geared turbofans. To withstand the high mechanical loads, large double helical gears are used. Gear hobbing and gear grinding require large tool maneuvering spaces. This leads to a larger required space between the single gears of the double helical gear. As a result, the gears are larger and heavier, which lead to a reduced economy of the aircraft. The tool maneuvering space of five-axis milling with solid carbide end mills is much smaller. This enables the design of smaller, lighter, and more efficient aircraft engines. However, manufacturing these gears in tolerances better than IT5 is very challenging on five-axis milling machine tools. This paper presents investigations about finish machining of hardened gears on five-axis machine tools. In the investigations performed, varying tool substrates and tool coatings have been investigated together with tool travel paths in order to reduce the tool wear, which is key to achieve the demanded tolerances. Finally, the five-axis milled gears were compared to conventionally manufactured gears on test benches to enable statements regarding the expectable service lives of the manufactured gears.