Optimising of machining parameters of plastic material using Taguchi method

Abstract

This paper applies Taguchi optimisation method to determine the best machining parameters for pocket milling process of polypropylene using a CNC milling machine where the surface roughness is considered and high speed steel inserts are used as cutting tool. Three machining parameters; speed, feed rate and depth of cut are investigated at three levels; low, medium and high for each parameter (Taguchi orthogonal arrays). The setting of machining parameters was determined using Taguchi Method and the signal-to-noise ratio is assessed to define the optimal levels and to predict the effect of surface roughness with assigned parameters based on nine different experiments. The final experimental outcomes presented to validate the optimal parameters recommended by manufacturer are accurate.

Keywords:

• Inserts
• milling process
• signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio
• surface roughness
• Taguchi optimisation method

Acknowledgement

The authors thank Universiti Kuala Lumpur for contributing Short Term Research Grant for this work. Not forgotten are the anonymous reviewers for their sensitive observations.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.