Prediction of Surface Roughness in High Speed Machining of Inconel 718

Surface finish and dimensional accuracy is one of the most important requirements in machining process. Inconel 718 has been widely used in the aerospace industries. High speed machining (HSM) is capable of producing parts that require little or no grinding/lapping operations within the required machining tolerances. In this study small diameter tools are used to achieve high rpm to facilitate the application of low values of feed and depths of cut to investigate better surface finish in high speed machining of Inconel 718. This paper describes mathematically the effect of cutting parameters on Surface roughness in high speed end milling of Inconel 718. The mathematical model for the surface roughness has been developed in terms of cutting speed, feed rate, and axial depth of cut using design of experiments and the response surface methodology (RSM). Central composite design was employed in developing the surface roughness models in relation to primary cutting parameters. Machining were performed using CNC Vertical Machining Center (VMC) with a HES510 high speed machining attachment in which using a 4mm solid carbide fluted flat end mill tool. Wyko NT1100 optical profiler was used to measure the definite machined surface for obtaining the surface roughness data. The predicted results are in good agreement with the experimental one and hence the model can be efficiently used to predict the surface roughness value with in the specified cutting conditions limit.