An Equilibrium Decision-Making Approach for Cutting Parameters of a Novel Five-Axis Hybrid Kinematic Machining Unit

Abstract

To fully disclose the machining potential of a newly developed five-axis hybrid kinematic machining unit (HKMU), an equilibrium decision-making approach for cutting parameters is proposed. With this proposition, a response surface method-based surrogate model is developed to describe the mapping relationships between three design objectives and five cutting parameters. A multi-objective optimization model is further established to find feasible Pareto solutions to cutting parameters. Based on this, the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and engineering decision preferences are adopted to make the final decision of cutting parameters. To illustrate the application of the proposed approach, a case study is carried out on face milling of an exemplary HKMU. The equilibrium decisions of three customized machining schemes lead to the machining duration, the cutting force, and the surface roughness reduction by 44%, 43%, and 9%, respectively. This result supports that the proposed equilibrium decision-making approach is able to find the best-compromised solutions for cutting parameters of the HKMU. It is expected that with minor modifications, the proposed approach can be applied to other multi-axis machining devices for finding accurate yet efficient cutting parameter solutions.