Investigation of Surface Roughness of Titanium Alloy (Ti6Al4V) during Turning Operation Using the Response Surface Methodology

Abstract

Surface finish is a quality index and there are concerns about the machinability of titanium alloy to the required finish. In this study, the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed to investigate the magnitude of the surface roughness during the turning operation of Ti6Al4V. Three process parameters were considered namely; the feed rate (0.25-0.5 mm/rev), depth of cut (0.3-0.75 mm) and the cutting speed (20-100 m/min). Taking the surface roughness as the response of the designed experiment, the results obtained indicated that the optimum range of the process which produced the least surface roughness (0.114 μm) were feed rate (0.25 mm/rev), depth of cut (0.75 mm) and cutting speed (100 m/min). In addition, the statistical analysis of the results obtained produced a predictive model for the computation of the surface roughness during Ti6Al4V turning operation. The outcome of this study may be helpful for the determination of the feasible range of process parameters during the turning operation of Ti6Al4V.