Application of Taguchi Method to Optimize the Surface Roughness During Face Milling of Rolled Steel (AISI 1040)

Surface roughness has a significant role in the life cycle of mechanical components. Numerous secondary finishing operations are performed to achieve the desired roughness value. The aim of this study is to obtain better surface finish by optimizing the input parameters at primary stage of face milling operation. Effect of machining parameters (cutting velocity, feed rate, and depth of cut) and machining strategies (rolling direction, cutter offset, soaking time) are taken into consideration. Taguchi’s L27 orthogonal array is used for the design of experiments (DOE). Face milling of rolled steel (AISI 1040) is performed on vertical milling centre (HURCO-VM10) using titanium nitride (TiN)-coated carbide inserts. Surface roughness (SR) is evaluated in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Analysis of means (ANOM) is applied on SNR to find the optimal levels of each input parameter. Moreover, significance level and percentage contribution of parameters is calculated using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Feed rate followed by cutting velocity is found the major contributors. Confirmation test is carried out to evaluate the amount of improvement and validation of predicted model. Improvement of 8.41 dB in SR is observed.