Optimal Cutting Parameters to Reduce Power Consumption in Face Milling of a Cast Iron Alloy for Environmental Sustainability

In the perspective of energy saving, the power consumption in the process of CNC (Computer numerical control) machining is closely related to the environmental issues. Therefore, it is especially important to optimize the cutting parameters to reduce the power consumption. In this paper, the power consumption which is determined by the cutting parameters in the face milling process of a cast iron alloy is researched. First, characteristics of machine tool power consumption were studied and the relationship between power consumption and cutting forces was described qualitatively. Secondly, a power consumption monitoring system was built to monitor and record the power consumption in real time during a face milling process. Secondly, according to central composite design (CCD), a total of 27 experiments were carried out to reveal the relationship between the power consumption and process parameters. Finally, the milling parameters were optimized by means of response surface methodology (RSM). The results indicate that the power consumption of P M and P Y can be saved by 38.55 and 28.23 % under the cutting condition of optimized parameters, and the surface quality is insured simultaneously.