Investigation of the effects of alumina nanoparticles on spur gear surface roughness and hob tool wear in hobbing process

Hobbing process is one of the machining methods in manufacturing spur gears. In machining processes, selecting a suitable lubricant is one of the significant factors in enhancing machining productivity and improving the characteristics of manufactured workpieces. This study has used the nanolubricant including alumina nanoparticles dispersed in mineral-based oil 25W-50 in hobbing process. Then, hobbing process using the lubricant including both nanoparticles, and none has been done utilizing with the similar hob tools. Two spur gears with DIN1.7131 material have been manufactured using each of two lubricants. Then, the hob tool wear and surface roughness values of manufactured spur gears were investigated. Comparing the results show that using lubricant including alumina nanoparticles in hobbing process causes an expressive decrease in the hob tool crater and flank wear. Also, arithmetic surface roughness value in spur gears manufactured with nanolubricant has decreased.