Investigate the Effect of Cutting Parameters on Surface Roughness When Milling X12m Steel

Abstract

In this paper, an experimental study on the effect of cutting parameters on surface roughness was conducted when milling X12M steel. The cutting tool used in this study is a face milling cutter. The material that is used to make the insert is the hard alloy T15K6. The cutting parameters covered in this study include the cutting speed, the feed rate and depth of cut. The experiments are performed in the form of a rotating center composite design. The analysis shows that for both Ra and Rz: (1) the feed rate has the greatest influence on the surface roughness while the depth of cut, the cutting speed has a negligible effect on the surface roughness. (2) only the interaction between the feed rate and the depth of the cut has a significant effect on both Ra and Rz while the interaction between the cutting speed and the feed rate, the interaction between the cutting speed and the depth of cut have a negligible effect on surface roughness. A regression equation showing the relationship between Ra, Rz, and cutting parameters has also been built in this study.