Investigation for optimal parametric combination for achieving better surface finish during turning of Al/SiC-MMC

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental investigation of the influence of cutting conditions on surface finish during turning of Al/SiC-MMC. In this study, the Taguchi method, a powerful tool for experiment design,is used to optimise cutting parameters for effective turning of Al/SiC-MMC using a fixed rhombic tooling system. An orthogonal L 27 (3 13 ) array is used for 3 3 factorial design and analysis of variance (ANOVA) is employed to investigate the influence of cutting speed, feed and depth of cut on the surface roughness height R a and R t respectively. The influence of the interaction of cutting speed/feed on the surface roughness height R a and R t and the effect of cutting speed on cutting speed/ feed two factor cell total interaction for surface roughness height R a and R t are analysed through various graphical representations. Taking significant cutting parameters into consideration and using multiple linearregression, mathematical models relating to surface roughness height R a and R t are established to investigate the influence of cutting parameters during turning of Al/ SiC-MMC. Confirmation test results established the fact that the mathematical models are appropriate for effectively representing machining performance criteria, e.g. surface roughness heights during turning of Al/SiC-MMC.

Parametric design optimization of hard turning of AISI 4340 steel (69 HRC)

“…Taguchi method was applied to develop an L 16 99.16% whereas other parameters do not carry appreciable contribution in influencing the machined surface roughness.…”

“…They used three factors, namely, feed rate, cutting speed, and depth of cut, with three different values for each factor, called levels. Researchers have used the Taguchi parameter design method for the purpose of optimizing turning parameters for minimizing surface roughness and to obtain dimensional accuracy and long life of the cutting tool [13][14][15][16][17] and some success has been reached [18][19][20][21][22]. Across these studies, it was Tamizharasan et al [23] who presented a rather skeptical finding that the depth of cut and the feed rate have negligible and little respective effect on the surface finish, which presents an opportunity for a reassessment of this finding.…”

Modeling of machining of composite materials: A review

“…There are some contradictory reports on the effect of cutting speed on cutting forces. During machining of MMCs at low cutting speeds a built-up edge (BUE) has been observed by many researchers [31,100,101]. Due to the BUE the cutting force at low cutting speeds is lower than the cutting force observed at higher cutting speeds.…”

A review of optimization techniques in metal cutting processes

“…Shaji & Radhakrisnan (2003) apply Taguchi method in surface grinding process, and show the impact of graphite application to reduce heat generation in grinding zones. Manna and Bhattacharyya (2004) use Taguchi method for determining significant cutting parameter setting to achieve better surface finish during turning operation of aluminium and silicon carbide-based metal matrix composites.…”