Milling Performance of Selective Laser Melted Ti6Al4V: A Taguchi Approach for Surface Roughness Optimization

Titanium alloy Ti6Al4V fabricated using Selective Laser Melting (SLM) has gained significant atten-tion in biomedical and aerospace applications due to its superior mechanical properties and design flexibility. However, its machining characteristics, particularly in milling, remain challenging due to the material's hardness and thermal conductivity. This study investigates the milling performance of SLM-manufactured Ti6Al4V by optimizing surface roughness using the Taguchi method. An L9 or-thogonal array was employed, considering spindle speed, feed rate, and depth of cut as control factors. Surface roughness measurements were analyzed using Signal-to-Noise (S/N) ratios, and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results indicate that spindle speed significantly affects surface roughness, con-tributing over 83.67% of the total variation. The optimized milling parameters resulted in a notable improvement in surface quality, highlighting the effectiveness of the Taguchi method in achieving better machinability for additively manufactured titanium alloys. This study offers useful insights to improve the milling process of SLM-made Ti6Al4V, helping boost performance in industrial use.