The Optimization of Cutting Parameters Using Taguchi Method in Milling of Tempered Aluminum 5754 Alloy

Aluminum alloys have been widely used in plastic injection molds in the automotive and aerospace industries due to their high strength and weight ratio, and good corrosion and fatigue resistance. In this study, 5754-H111 tempered aluminum alloy piece with 80x80x30 mm dimensions was machined with face milling operation using coated and uncoated inserts. The effects of cutting parameters on surface roughness during face milling were investigated. In the experiments, different inserts (uncoated, Al2O3-TiCN-TiN coated, TiAlN Nano coated), cutting speeds (250, 350, 550 m/min), feed rates (0.1, 0.2, 0.35 mm/tooth) and cutting depths (1, 1.5, 2 mm) — each having three conditions — were used with the Taguchi L27 orthogonal array. The values obtained at the end of the experiments were evaluated using signal-to-noise ratio (S/N), variance analysis (ANOVA), three-dimensional graphs, and regression analyses. The minimum surface roughness was obtained using the uncoated insert at 1 mm cutting depth, 350 m/min cutting speed and 0.35 mm/tooth feed rate. The surface roughness values for these cutting conditions were found as 0.26 μm in the calculations and measured as 0.29 μm in the verification experiments