Study of Cutting forces and surface roughness in turning of Ti-6Al-4V under flood cooling based on Taguchi method

Titanium and its alloys are used extensively in aerospace industry because of their excellent combination of high specific strength which is maintained at even elevated temperature, their fracture resistant characteristics, and their exceptional resistance to corrosion. They are also being used increasingly in other industrial and commercial applications, ranging from petroleum refining to pulp and paper and nuclear waste storage to food processing. The Ti-6Al-4V comprises about 45% to 60% of total titanium production. In this experimental study, the effect and optimization of machining parameters on surface roughness and cutting forces in a turning of Ti-6Al-4V alloy under flood cooling was investigated by using the Taguchi method. The studies were conducted under different process parameters, (viz. cutting speeds, feed rates, and depths of cut) under flood cooling by vegetable oil based water miscible metal cutting fluid. It was found that feed rate is the most significant parameter for lowering surface roughness where as depth of cut has the maximum effect on higher cutting forces. The ANOVA also confirms that contribution of cutting speed is minor in case of cutting force generation where as inverse effect of cutting speed on surface roughness is observed.