Experimental Investigation of Process Parameters While Milling of AA8011 Using MCDM/MADM Method-TOPSIS

Abstract

This paper presents in-depth and comprehensive approach for optimizing the machining parameters in milling of wrought alloy AA8011 using a MCDM/MADM method called TOPSIS. The present work is carried out in three phases; in the first phase the orthogonal array L27 design is prepared using Minitab software by considering various milling parameters such as speed, feed and depth of cut at three different levels. In the second phase, milling operations are  performed on the work piece using a carbide end mill cutter of size 20 mm as per Taguchi design and the responses such as Volume of material removal rate (VMRR) and Surface roughness (R_a) are measured. In the third phase the experimental response data are analyzed using TOPSIS method. The TOPSIS results are used for identifying the optimal combination of cutting parameters which maximizes the volume of material removal rate and minimizes the surface roughness simultaneously.