Modeling of external cylindrical grinding process using T1 tool steel

The selection of the optimal external cylindrical grinding conditions importantly contributes to increase of productivity and quality of the products. The external cylindrical grinding is a method of finishing machine elements surface with an indeterminate blade shape. External cylindrical grinding can process surfaces that require high gloss and precision, although it can also be used to remove large surplus stock. Therefore, multi objective optimization for the external cylindrical grinding process is a problem with high complexity. In this study, an experimental study was performed to improve the productivity and quality of grinding process. By using the experimental date, the surface roughness, cutting force, and vibrations were modeled. To achieve the minimum value of surface roughness and maximum value of material removal rate, the optimal values of external cylindrical grinding conditions were determined by using the combination of Genetic Algorithms (GAs) and weighting method. The optimum values of surface roughness and material removal rate are 0.510 μm and 5.906 mm2/s, respectively. The obtained optimal values of cutting parameters were a feed rate of 0.3 mm/rev, a workpiece speed of 188.1 rpm, a cutting depth of 0.015 mm, and a workpiece Rockwell hardness of 54.78 HRC. The optimal values of cutting parameters, and workpiece hardness were successfully verified by comparing of experimental and predicted results. The approach method of this study can be applied in industrial machining to improve the productivity and quality of the products in external cylindrical grinding process of the T1 tool stee

Neural network modelling of Abbott-Firestone roughness parameters in honing processes

In present study, three roughness parameters defined in the Abbott-Firestone or bearing area curve, Rk, Rpk and Rvk, were modelled for rough honing processes by means of artificial neural networks (ANN). Input variables were grain size and density of abrasive, pressure of abrasive stones on the workpiece's surface, tangential or rotation speed of the workpiece and linear speed of the honing head. Two strategies were considered, either use of one network for modelling the three parameters at the same time or use of three networks, one for each parameter. Overall best neural network consists of three networks, one for each roughness parameter, with one hidden layer having 25, nine and five neurons for Rk, Rpk and Rvk respectively. However, use of one network for the three roughness parameters would allow addressing an indirect model. In this case, best solution corresponds to two hidden layers having 26 and 11 neurons.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Laser surface texturing of a WC-CoNi cemented carbide grade: surface topography design for honing application

Abrasive effectiveness of composite-like honing stones is related to the intrinsic surface topography resulting from the cubic boron nitride (CBN) grains protruding out of the metallic matrix. Within this framework, Laser Surface Texturing (LST) is implemented for replicating topographic features of a honing stone in a WC-base cemented carbide grade, commonly employed for making tools. In doing so, regular arrays of hexagonal pyramids (similar to CBN grains) are sculpted by a laser micromachining system. Micrometric precision is attained and surface integrity does not get affected by such surface modification. Finally, potential of laser-patterned cemented carbide tools, as alternative to conventional honing stones, is supported by successful material removal and enhanced surface smoothness of a steel workpiece in the abrasive testing.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

The application of Taguchi approach to optimise the processing conditions on bonnet polishing of CoCr

This paper applied the Taguchi approach to investigate the effects of each polishing parameter and obtain the optimal processing conditions for CoCr alloy polishing. The polishing medium was 1µm diamond paste with Microcloth(polishing cloth). Surface finish parameter Sa was chosen as criterion for optimization. The experimental result indicates that the optimal polishing condition for CoCr alloy polishing is 5deg of precess angle, 800 rpm of head speed, 0.2mm of tool offset and 1.5 bar of tool pressure. With this optimal condition, a confirmatory experiment was conducted. The surface roughness Sa reduced from initial 24nm to 7nm and reduction ratio was 72.5% which was very close to the estimated ratio 64%

Design of ultraprecision machine tools with application to manufacturing of miniature and micro components

Currently the underlying necessities for predictability, producibility and productivity remain big issues in ultraprecision machining of miniature/microproducts. The demand on rapid and economic fabrication of miniature/microproducts with complex shapes has also made new challenges for ultraprecision machine tool design. In this paper the design for an ultraprecision machine tool is introduced by describing its key machine elements and machine tool design procedures. The focus is on the review and assessment of the state-of-the-art ultraprecision machining tools. It also illustrates the application promise of miniature/microproducts. The trends on machine tool development, tooling, workpiece material and machining processes are pointed out

Possibilities of 3D machining of materials by abrasive water jets

Machining of materials through classical way, i.e. using conventional tools for turning, drilling, milling, grinding and polishing, has some limits that can be overcome applying an abrasive water jet (AWJ). Therefore, some possibilities of 3D machining by AWJ placed on 6 axes robot have been tested. Programming of traverse speeds and tilting angles of cutting head was based on Hlaváč’s theoretical model. Low pressure pump has been used for tests. Because of very low pumping pressure, a selfdesigned and manufactured special mixing chamber was used in the experiments. The article deals with preliminary results and points at the direction of further research

Experimental study on energy consumption of computer numerical control machine tools

Machining processes are responsible for substantial environmental impacts due to their great energy consumption. Accurately characterizing the energy consumption of machining processes is a starting point to increase manufacturing energy efficiency and reduce their associated environmental impacts. The energy calculation of machining processes depends on the availability of energy supply data of machine tools. However, the energy supply can vary greatly among different types of machine tools so that it is difficult to obtain the energy data theoretically. The aim of this research was to investigate the energy characteristics and obtain the power models of computer numerical control (CNC) machine tools through an experimental study. Four CNC lathes, two CNC milling machines and one machining center were selected for experiments. Power consumption of non-cutting motions and material removal was measured and compared for the selected machine tools. Here, non-cutting motions include standby, cutting fluid spraying, spindle rotation and feeding operations of machine tools. Material removal includes turning and milling. Results show that the power consumption of non-cutting motions and milling is dependent on machine tools while the power consumption of turning is almost independent from the machine tools. The results imply that the energy saving potential of machining processes is tremendous