EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON PARAMETERS OPTIMIZATION IN CNC PLASMA ARC CUTTING (AISI 206 STEEL) USING TAGUCHI APPROACH

Abstract

AbstractToday CNC plasma arc machines are used to cut metal plates in industry. This technique use propane (C2H2) and oxygen (O2) gases for heating steel plats (760° C to 871° C), and it is able to cut metal plates at specific areas. Only straight path of the oxygen jet is affected during metal cutting process. This machine has high accuracy level, high finishing, and ability of machining any hard materials. Thus to produce intricate shape increases its demand in the market. Taguchi and Analysis of Variances (ANOVA) approach were used in CNC flame cutting process parameters optimization for AISI 206 steel. Taguchi and Analysis of Variances (ANOVA) approach are used in CNC flame cutting process parameters optimization for AISI 206 steel. The present research paper deals with the optimization of selected process parameters such as kerf and penetration by using inputs as Nozzle speed, Gas pressure, and Plate thickness. The experiments are conducted by using Taguchi L9 orthogonal array method and analysis was done by Minitab 17 software. Taguchi method, Signal to Noise (S/N) ratio between the input parameters and output responses are also predicted in this paper. Optimization results have been determined with the help of main effect plot and ANOVA table. ANOVA results presented that the pressure of gases and speed of nozzle are significant parameters for minimizing Kerf as well as for maximizing Penetration. KeywordsAISI 206 steel, Kerf & Penetration optimization, ANOVA & Taguchi analysis, Machinability