Taguchi design method: A parametric investigation and optimization of surface roughness of St 52-3 mild steel in a vertical knee-type milling operation

This study presents the application of the Taguchi design method for optimizing the surface roughness of St 52-3 mild steel in a vertical knee-type milling operation. Spindle speed (SS), depth of cut (DoC), and feed rate (FR) were considered as input parameters to evaluate the surface roughness response values using nine experimental specimens measured using the TR100 roughness tester. In the Taguchi method, an L9 orthogonal array, supported with Minitab 18 analysis, was arranged based on a 3-level design and column array. Signal-to-noise ratio analysis, analysis of variance, regression analysis, and conformity test were the four Taguchi-based analytical tools used to validate the simulated effectiveness, thereby reinforcing a stable machining operation. The overall results consequently reveal that the parameter with the greatest effect is SS, followed by DoC and FR. They highlight their established theoretical sensitivity in the milling operation by contributing 50.89%, 34.95%, and 11.98% to the surface roughness optimization respectively.