Machining is the process of removal of excess material from the given
workpiece to finish it to the required dimensions required as per use. Various
metals and alloys are machined with the help of cutting tools like HSS,
carbides etc. Majority of the industry manufactured products require
machining at some stage ranging from relatively rough or nonprecision work
such as cleaning of sprues, risers and gates to high precision work involving
tolerances of 0.0001 inch and high surface finish.
Machining operations on lathes involve rotating of workpieces and feeding
of cutting tool against it in a specified manner with correct feed. This process
involves constant rubbing of tool and workpiece which generates a large
amount of heat. This heat is usually carried away by the coolant or it is
dissipated in the atmosphere.
With every passing day, the need for sustainable living on Earth is
increasing greatly. For this we need to start extracting and recovering the lost
energy. The following paper shows how electricity can be generated from the
lost heat produced during machining operation on lathe by using
thermocouples.