Optimization of Surface Roughness by Using Different Cutting Tools for Aluminum Alloy 6063

Abstract

This research outlines an experimental study to determine the optimum parameter of cutting tool for the best surface roughness (Ra) of Aluminum Alloy (AA) 6063. For the experiment in this research, cutting parameters such as cutting speed, depth of cut and feed rate are used to identify the effect of both cutting tools which are tungsten carbide and cermet towards the surface roughness (Ra) of material AA6063. The machining operation involved to cut the material is turning process by using Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Lathe machine. The experimental design was designed by Full Factorial. The experiment that had been conducted by the researcher is 33 with 2 replications. The total number of the experiments that had been run is 54 runs for each cutting tool. Thus, the total number of experiments for both cutting tools is 108 runs. ANOVA analysis had been analyzed to identify the significant factor that affect the Ra result. The significant factors that affect the Ra result of AA6063 are feed rate and cutting speed. The researcher used main effect plot to determine the factor that most influenced the surface roughness of AA6063, the optimum condition of surface roughness and the optimum parameter of cutting tool. The factor that most influenced the surface roughness of AA6063 is feed rate. The optimum condition of surface roughness is at the feed rate of 0.05 mm/rev, cutting speed of 600 rpm and depth of cut of 0.10 mm. While the optimum parameter of cutting tool is cermet insert with the lowest value of surface roughness (Ra) result which is 0.650 μm.