Surface Roughness Modeling in Precision Turning of Aluminium by Polycrystalline Diamond Tool Using Response Surface Methodology

Diamond, because of its high modulus of elasticity, chemical inertness and exceptionally high hardness, is ideal for obtaining fine surface finish and accuracy. Today’s requirement of high precision parts like magnetic memory device, laser equipment, electrostatic copier, printing machine, etc., made of non-ferrous materials, such as aluminum, copper and resin demands very high surface finish. The Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD) tool is suitable for such precision machining because of its low affinity to these materials and sharp cutting edges. PCD tools also can be used for machining of carbon, ceramics, glass, reinforced plastics, rubbers, plastics and resins, aluminum oxide, etc. In this paper, Response Surface Methodology is used to make a predictive mathematical model of surface roughness for aluminum turned using PCD tool on a CNC turning center. This model can be used for selecting the values of process variables namely work piece rpm, feed and depth of cut to get the desired value of the response i.e. surface finish within the range of experimentation. Keywords—PCD tool, Surface Roughness, Response Surface Methodology, CNC turning center.