Inconel 718 is hard to cut material due to its high hardness, high strength at elevated temperatures, low thermal diffusivity and affinity to react with tool materials. The high temperature during machining results in aggressive tool wear and poor hole quality. Therefore, the application of metal cutting fluids (MCF) as a lubricating and cooling agent is very significant in the drilling of nickel-based superalloys such as Inconel 718. The present study embraces these issues by evaluating the performance of non-edible vegetable oils such as castor and neem oil under minimal quantity lubrication (MQL) conditions towards the tool wear and surface roughness. The drilling experiments were carried out using coated (TiAlN) carbide drill with diameter of 6 mm at different cutting speeds of 10 and 20 m/min and a constant feed of 0.015 mm/rev. The results of this study showed that castor oil significantly outperformed the neem oil in drilling performance regarding tool wear and surface roughness.
