An experimental study on effect of process variables on surface roughness, tool vibrations and elastic spring back in milling of AISI 316 stainless steel

Abstract

In this paper, effect of process variables like cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut has been studied. The multi variable responses like surface roughness, tool vibrations and elastic spring back effect on CNC end milling operation of AISI 316 Stainless Steel is analyzed. The AISI 316 Stainless Steel is taken as a sample for our work. The experiments are performed on a 3 axis CNC vertical milling machine with two flute tungsten carbide end mills at high rotational spindle speeds and optimized the process parameters. The elastic spring back is referred to as the change in shape of the work piece after removing the tool. The surface roughness is measured by diamond point stylus and vibrations are measured by Laser Doppler Vibrometer (LDV). The elastic spring back is calculated as the difference between any two corresponding points in metal cutting and the value is measured by using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Based on the experimental data from the specified instruments, the process variables have been optimized. This paper shows the influence of process parameters on the spring back on surface roughness and vibrations. In online tool condition monitoring, the optimized process parameters would give better tool life, maintain good machining time and gives higher machining efficiency.