Taguchi Optimization of Surface Roughness and Material Removal Rate in CNC Milling of Polypropylene + 5wt.% Quarry Dust Composites

Abstract

The Taguchi optimization technique was utilized to determine the optimal milling parameters that can be used in end face CNC milling operation of polypropylene+5wt.% quarry dust using high-speed steel (HSS) tool. Three milling input parameters i.e. the feed rate (f), the cutting speed of the spindle (N) and the depth of cut (dc) were optimized while considering the surface roughness (Ra) of the machined composite material and the material removal rate (MRR) during machining as the responses of the experimental design. From the results, the cutting speed (100 rpm) and the feed rate (120 mm/min) were the most important control parameters which greatly influence the surface roughness at 41.4% and 28.8% contribution respectively. In the case of the material removal rate, the depth of cut (0.8 mm) was the dominating factor at 98% contribution.