13 Common Difference Between Coolant and Lubricant

Hello, friends today we are going to discuss What is difference between coolant and lubricant?

Coolant is used in the cutting operation to keep the cutting tools cool, to cut pieces, and to cut chips, thereby increasing the life of the cutting tool.

While lubricant plays the most important role in machinery it is used to reduced friction between two moving parts thereby increasing the life and efficiency of any machine such as lathe machine, milling machine, etc.

Nowadays, all these machines are fully automated which work on cnc machining.

So without wasting time let's get started to know the difference between coolant and lubricant.

What is Coolant?

The cutting fluid used to cool the tool and workpiece is called a coolant.  

Water-based coolants are most effective due to their high specific heat and thermal conductivity.

Sometimes it is also called a cutting fluid.

What is Lubricant?

The substance which is used to reduce the friction between two moving or sliding parts of the machine is known as a lubricant. 

Oil-based fluids are better lubricants, as they are stable at high temperatures.

Difference Between Coolant and Lubricant

Coolant	Lubricant
The basic purpose of coolant is to remove the cutting heat generated from the cutting zone, and thus to keep the cutting zone temperature low.	The basic purpose of the lubricant is to reduce the coefficient of friction between the cutter and the rake surface of the chip and thus reduce the rate of heat generation.
The coolant acts on the generated heat. It cannot reduce the rate of heat production.	Lubricants can reduce the rate of heat generation, with no effect on the removal of previously generated heat.
The coating has no role as a coolant on the cutting tool.	The coating layer on the cutting tool sometimes acts as a lubricant.
It reduces the heat produced by Cutting tools and work.	It reduces friction between moving parts.
It Contains soluble oil with water.	It does not contain any soluble oil or water.
It increases the life of the tool that's why it is also called the lifeblood for the cutting tool.	It increases the life of moving parts of a machine so it is also called the lifeblood for the machine.
Its flash point is less than the lubricant.	Its flash point is more than the coolant.
Oxidation occurred due to the presence of water.	Oxidation does not occur in lubricant.
It removes chips during Cutting.	It prevents the moving parts from any external materials.
It also helps in cutting.	It serves as protective films.
To act as a good coolant, the cutting fluid must have a high specific heat capacity.	To act as a good lubricant, the cutting fluid must have high lubricity.
Water is considered a good coolant because of its high specific heat capacity but the problem is that water is highly corrosive, so is rarely used as cutting fluid.	Water is not a good lubricant because it has a poor lubricating capacity or low lubricity.
Air, compressed air, water, soluble oil, etc. are used as a coolant that is found in gas and liquid state.	Oil, grease, graphite, etc. are used as lubricants, which are found in a liquid, solid and semi-solid state.

So, here I discussed what is difference between coolant and lubricant.

I hope you guys enjoy this topic apart from this if you have any queries then you can ask me through a comment or direct mail me.

Thank You.