Abstract
Machining of brittle materials in ductile mode requires the fulfilment of certain conditions. High speed machining can generate ductile regime at increased material removal rate and at the same time tool wear rate is also increased. The selection of machining parameters to produce desired surface finish at high material removal rate per tool life is a challenging task. In this research the cutting speed was varied from 188 m/min to 314 m/min to perform end milling of soda lime glass. Feed per edge and depth of cut in the ranges 0.45 to1.25 mu m/tooth and 20 to 56.21 mu m, respectively was identified to produce ductile regime. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to specify the relationships among measured responses (surface roughness, material removal rate per tool life) and input factors such as cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut. The results of flank wear give significant effect on tool life beside the time duration for machining and the combinations of parameters. Optimization results showed that at cutting speed 314 m/min, feed per tooth 0.64 mu m and depth of cut 46.93 mu m, material removal per tool life can be achieved up to 3.6 mm(3) per tool while keeping surface roughness at the value of 0.52 mu m.