Optimization of cutting parameters for surface roughness in ball end milling of aluminium epoxy using Taguchi method

Abstract

During machining operation, surface roughness is an essential responses which affects the performance of the machined component during sevices. Process planner or experienced machinist and technical books are traditional methods that have been used to select the machining parameters. In a machining operation, several parameters may influence the quality of the machined part in terms of dimensional accuracy and surface roughness. In this study, experimental trials were conducted to investigate the optimum cutting parameters when ball end milling aluminium reinforced epoxy. The cutting parameters that were considered in this study are feed rate (300, 400 and 500) mm/rev, cutting speed (2500, 3000 and 3500 RPM), and depth of cut (0.15, 0.20 and mm). Taguchi Parameter Design method was used to perform the optimization study on the surface roughness of the machined surface. Based on the result of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), it was found cutting speed was the most significant parameter that influenced the surface roughness with the highest percentage contribution of 75.96 %, followed by feed rate with 15.47 % and lastly the depth of cut with 8.57 % contribution.