Abstract
The present work studied the performance of a carbide tool with a chemical composition of (65% W, 14 % Ti, 9 % Co and 12 % C). Turning tests were conducted on a workpiece of mild steel (AISI 1020) using four spindle speeds (80, 315, 500 and 800 rpm), two feed rates (0.2 and 0.5 mm/rev) and two depth of cut (0.5 and 0.7 mm). Taguchi method is a statistical approach to optimize the process parameters and improve the quality of components that are manufactured. The objective of this study is using Taguchi method to optimize the machining conditions of a turning operation such as spindle speed; feed rate and depth of cut. Orthogonal array, signal-to-noise ratio, and analysis of variance were employed using Mtb14 software to study the performance characteristics on turning operation represented by the tool life. Accordingly, a suitable mixed orthogonal array L16 (3×4) was selected. The tool life was measured basing on a maximum flank wear width of 0.3 mm.Optimum parameter values were obtained and confirmation experiments were carried out. The analysis results showed that the parameter design of the Taguchi method provides a simple, systematic, and efficient methodology for optimizing the process parameters. Only 6.4 % error was recorded. The regression analysis was applied using Datafit ver.9 software. The results of the analysis showed that the non-linear quadratic polynomial appears to be more suitable to represent the relation of the spindle speed, feed rate and depth of cut with the tool's wear life.
