Optimization of Process Parameters for Minimum Out-of-Roundness of Cylindrical Grinding of Heat Treated AISI 4140 Steel

Abstract

In this present work, the effect of input parameters viz. grinding wheel speed, work-piece speed, abrasive grain size, depth of cut, concentration of cutting fluid, and number of passes has been found on the out-of-roundness of cylindrical grinded AISI 4140 steel. Out-of-roundness is of great importance in case of shafts, axles, pistons, piston pins, crankshafts, roller bearings as out of roundness in these components can lead to excessive noise, vibrations, component failure, etc. so there is need to optimize the input parameters to have minimum out of roundness error. Three levels of each variable have been selected except wheel speed. Two levels of wheel speed have been taken. Heat treated AISI 4140 steel is selected as the work-piece material. The experiment is designed by using Taguchi’s L18 orthogonal array. The effect of all the input parameters on the output responses have been analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The result reveals that abrasive grain size is the most significant to influence out-of-roundness, followed by work speed and number of passes. The optimum set of input parameters for minimizing the out-of-roundness has also been found.