Simultaneous manufacturing shape optimization for minimum cost of milling using interior point method

Abstract

This paper presents an integrated manufacturing shape optimization method and explores the tradeoff between mass and machining cost with the application of the end-milling that used to machine a topological die. The aim is to make a simultaneous optimization method between product manufacturing and its topological shape to close the gap between theoretical work and practical needs. This innovative method depends on some manufacturing functional issues and shape constraints. The objective function is minimizing the total cost of process including the material and machining cost. The initial shape of the part is constructed by using B-splines and hole generation-based topological concept; the design variables are x- and y-coordinates of the control points that represent the B-splines. The cutting parameters of the milling process such as the cutting speed, the feed per flute, and the tool diameter are also optimized. The simultaneous manufacturing shape optimization problem will be achieved by interfacing between MATLAB2011a and ANSYS15 programs using interior point method (IPM) as a mathematical optimization solver. The comparison between the initial total cost and its optimal results for studied cases is presented, and the influence of the required batch size on the final shape is discussed. It is found that the reduction percentage in the cost function can receive 69% for small batch size (batch 50 pieces) and 54.18% for large batch size (batch 5000 pieces). The result from this simultaneous optimization is that the batch size of the required product influences the topological shape of the product.