LAUSR

ABSTRACT In this paper, the thread turning of aluminum 7075 aerospace alloy is studied using microtextured carbide cutting inserts. The main target of this research work is to optimize the parameters of microtextured tools using response surface methodology (RSM) in the thread turning process. To achieve this, microtextures were fabricated by laser micromachining on the rake surface of tools. The factors studied are width or diameter (w), depth (d), distance (p), and shape (T) of microtextures. In this study, cutting force (F) was considered as the output response of the design of experiment (DOE). Depths of cut for different threading passes are selected according to Sandvik thread machining recommendations. Also, cutting speed was considered constant and equal to 52 m/min. Experimental results were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA), and significant factors were identified. Based on ANOVA results, quadratic models were developed using the Box-Behnken design tool, and optimal microtexture factors were obtained. According to our findings, the optimal level of width, depth, and distance of microtextures are 93.4 µm, 15 µm, and 50 µm, respectively, and the microhole textured tool is more efficient than microgrooved and traditional tools in the thread turning process.