Design Space Investigation by RSMs Techniques in Aeronautical Metal Cutting Applications

A FEM model able to predict the cutting interactions between tool and workpiece (cutting forces and cutting edge temperature) for a typical aeronautical engine Nickel-alloy Inconel 718, has been used to perform a reduced number of FEM calculations indicate by a DOE, to evaluate the design space for process parameters. These well-distributed results can be subsequently used to create and evaluate the quality in terms of correct responses behaviour for the metamodels created through different approximation techniques (polynomial and neural network). The metamodels based on the best methodology (in terms of effectiveness of process behaviour prediction) has been used to optimize, through ASA (Adaptive Simulated Annealing) algorithms, the process parameters defined in a CAM part program block. The aim of the authors is to modify the Part Program operation parameters according to the constraints arising from the physical nature of the cutting process obtained by FEA.