The main purpose of this study was to construct an investigation of optimal cutting parameters for minimizing production cost on the rough machining of high speed milling operation. A machining model is constructed based on a polynomial network. The polynomial network can learn the relationships between cutting parameters (cutting speed, feed per tooth, and axial depth of cut) and tool life through a self-organizing technique. Once the material removal volume for machined parts and various time and cost components of the high speed milling operations are given, an optimization algorithm using a simulated annealing method is then applied to the polynomial network for determining optimal cutting parameters. The optimal cutting parameters are subjected to an objective function of minimum production cost with the feasible range of cutting parameters.