Statistical Analysis of Burr Formation in Low-Speed Micro-Milling of Monel-400 (Nickel-Based Alloy)

Abstract

Monel-400 is nickel-based alloy, which due to its high resistance to corrosion, hardness, and its ability to withstand high temperatures etc. through rapid tool wear, which leads to poor surface quality and burr formation. That being said, the demand for micro components in the electronics, aerospace, biomedical, and automotive industries has increased, which has opened a door where there is strong research potential in micromachining. In this research, an experimental investigation has been carried out to examine the effect of different process variables such as feed/tooth (fz), cutting speed (Vc), depth of cut (DOC) and cutting conditions during micro-milling of Monel-400 in order to obtain minimum burr width. Effects of all these process variables on formation of burrs are analyzed using statistical technique of analysis of variance to find key process variables (KPV). Results revealed that feed is the most significant parameter causing burr formation (81.7% contribution ratio), DOC is second significant factor (9.67% contribution ratio) while cutting speed (3.88% contribution ratio) and cutting condition (3.78% contribution ratio) are third and fourth significant parameter respectively. Machining at optimum process variables resulted in minimum burr width. It is evident that in order to reduce burr formation in micro-milling of Monel-400, better results can be attained by low speed machining setup with variation in feed per tooth instead of using high speed machining setup.