Optimal Cutting Condition for Face Milling Operation

In the present work a simple solution technique based on one dimensional golden section method has been used for finding out optimal cutting conditions for single pass face milling operation. The production cost per piece function is minimized under practical constraints of surface finish, cutting power, cutting force and limits of speed and feed per tooth. The common practice is to use some nonlinear programming method to find out solution to single pass problems. Geometric programming (GP) based methods have been preferred because the objective function is posynomial and constraints are monomials. Instead a very simple straight forward strategy has been adopted for minimization of production cost per piece for single pass. The production cost function is generally written in terms of speed, feed (V-S) variables. This function can be converted to tool life, feed (T-S) function. It may be observed that a given tool life minimum production cost is obtained using largest allowable feed under the constraints. A reasonable lower and upper limits of tool life and golden section method once taken initially is applied for search over the tool life.