Parameter Selection Based on Surface Finish in High-Speed End-Milling Using Differential Evolution

Selection of cutting parameters in high-speed machining is one of the most important tasks to achieve the required level of quality. Evolutionary algorithms are often used to obtain the optimal parameters corresponding to a single value of surface finish. In most practical applications, it is necessary to determine the cutting speed, feed, and depth of cut to meet the required surface finish. In the present work, high-speed end-milling has been studied, and an objective function for surface finish is obtained by Response Surface Methodology using results of carefully designed experiments. Testing of differential evolution and genetic algorithms using the classical Himmelblau function reveals that the performance of differential evolution is better. Therefore, differential evolution is used in the present work with a newly proposed objective function, and the machining parameters for the required surface finish are obtained.