Study and Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Progressive Feed Rate on Surface Roughness in CNC End Milling Process Using RSM

Abstract

The objective of this research work is to investigate the influence of cutting parameters on the average surface roughness (Ra) in an end milling process. Feed rate (f), Spindle speed (s) and Depth of cut (d) are the cutting parameters considered as significant factors. A case study on the progressive feed (PF) and conventional constant feed (CF) machining characteristics of Aluminum alloy BS L168-T6511 using end milling is considered. Taguchi's design of experiments (DoE) technique is applied for various combinations of cutting factors and average surface roughness was measured using Mitutoyo surftest SJ-301 surface roughness tester. The experimental results of Ra are analyzed by response surface methodology (RSM). The predicted values using the developed regression mathematical model are compared against experimental results and were found in close agreement. ANOVA technique was applied to further analyze the data for checking the model adequacy and to predict the influence of each parameter on output response Ra. Main effect plots, Interaction plots, 3D surface plots, and Contour plots are established. The investigation reveals that output response (Ra) is predominantly affected by feed rate and progressive feed machining (PFM) yields better surface finish than the conventional constant feed machining (CFM) for the end milling.