Taguchi Optimization of Process Factors for Drilling Aluminium Alloy (LM5)

LM5 aluminium alloy is appropriate for metal castings for maritime, processing of foods, and aesthetic purposes due to its great endurance against rusting. This study’s primary goal is to improve the drilling process variables to fulfil the needs of naval industries like naval construction, offshore structures, and undersea vehicles. Drilling is one of the crucial processes to cut holes in LM5 aluminium alloy, which is utilized in marine applications. The indentation serves as the location to begin drilling the hole. In this experimental study, Taguchi L9 orthogonal array design of experiments is used to examine the drilling performance of stir-cast LM5 aluminium alloy. The impacts of cutting speed, feed rate, and drill bit type on surface roughness, burr height, and thrust force were assessed using Taguchi’s Signal to Noise ratio (S/N) analysis. To ascertain the statistical significance of the factors affecting drilling performance, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used. Drilling experiments were performed in a vertical machining centre (VMC) with a dynamometer for recording Thrust Force. Burr height was determined via a vision measuring system and surface roughness utilizing a surface roughness tester. This study intends to assess the impact of process variables, such as Feed Rate (FR), Spindle Speed (SS), and Drill Material (DM), on responses like Thrust Force (TF), Surface Roughness (SR), and Burr Height (BH). The S/N (signal-to-noise) ratio and ANOVA (analysis of variance) were used to identify the optimal variable setting and its impact on TF, SR, and BH for the drilled alloy. The first level of FR (A1), level three of SS (B3), and level three of DM (C3) provided the lowest values of TF, SR and BH, according to the S/N ratio results. According to ANOVA, FR contributes the most to TF (79.68%), followed by SS (15.26%) and DM (3.99%). SS (38.11%) contributes the most to SR, followed by FR (36.37%) and DM (21.83%). SS has the greatest impact on BH (53.97%), followed by FR (35.97%). The optimum values of responses obtained demonstrate that the developed model can provide correct estimates of the TF, SR, and BH in LM5 alloy drilling.