Minimization of Surface Roughness and Machining Deformation in Milling of Al Alloy Thin-Walled Parts

Abstract

This study focused on investigating the surface roughness in the feed direction (R-a-Fd), surface roughness in the transverse direction (R-a-Td), and thin-walled parts deformation (TWD) during milling of Al alloy 5083. The response surface method (RSM) was used to conduct experiments and establish the models ofR(a)-Fd,R-a-Td, and TWD under various cutting parameters. The significance of cutting parameters onR(a)-Fd,R-a-Td, and TWD was analyzed by analysis of variance. It was observed that theR(a)-FdandR(a)-Tdare mainly influenced by the spindle speed, depth of cut, transverse size and feed rate, while the TWD is mainly influenced by the depth of cut. A comparison of RSM-optimum function and artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm optimum programming was conducted to obtain the best cutting conditions leading to minimumR(a)-Fd,R-a-Tdand TWD simultaneously. From the presented results, ABC algorithm was able to obtain the better cutting strategy. Finally, the performance of the proposed cutting strategy was verified by confirmation experiments.