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Materials Today: Proceedings 2 (2015) 2852 – 2861

4th International Conference on Materials Processing and Characterization

Optimization of process parameters in drilling of epoxy Si 3N4

composite material
B.M.Umesh Gowdaa,*, H.V.Ravindraa, G.V.Naveen Prakashb, P.Nishantha, G.Ugrasenc
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, PES College of Engineering, Mandya, Karnataka-571 401, INDIA
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering,Vidya Vardhaka College of Engineering, Mysore, Karnataka-570 002, INDIA
c
Department of Mechanical Engineering, BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore, Karnataka-560 019, INDIA

Abstract

Drilling of composite materials is an important and current topic in modern researches on manufacturing processes. Currently,
the use of composite materials has increased in various areas of science and technology due to their special physical and
mechanical properties such as high specific strength, stiffness and fatigue strength. Polymer matrix Composites are widely used
in aerospace and automobile industries and several other structural applications owing to their superior mechanical and physical
properties. Taguchi’s Orthogonal Array based on robust design is one of the important techniques, which is used for optimization
of process parameters of drilling. In this paper, an attempt has been made to optimize the drilling parameters using the Taguchi’s
technique which is based on the robust design. Experiments are carried out on machining the various %volume of Si 3N4 in epoxy
Si3N4 composite materials, using the HSS tool for various cutting conditions and diameter of drill bit. The input process
parameters considered during experiments are viz., %volume of Si 3N4, Speed, Feed, diameter of drill bit and machining time.
The response variables measured for the analysis are surface roughness circularity and cylindricity. Analysis has been carried out
through various steps like calculating degrees of freedom, physical layout and total response layout up to ANOVA table.
© 2014 The Authors. Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
© 2015 Elsevier
Selection Ltd. All rights
and peer-review reserved.
under responsibility of the conference committee members of the 4th International conference on
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the conference committee members of the 4th International conference on Materials
Materials Processing and Characterization.
Processing and Characterization.

Keywords: Taguchi technique; ANOVA; Surafce roughness; Circularity; Cylindricity

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +91-8232-220043; fax: +91-8232-222075.

E-mail address: umeshmel@gmail.com

2214-7853 © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the conference committee members of the 4th International conference on Materials Processing
and Characterization.
doi:10.1016/j.matpr.2015.07.300
 B.M. Umesh Gowda et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 2 (2015) 2852 – 2861 2853

1. Introduction

Drilling is one of the oldest and the most widely used of all machining processes, comprising about one third of
all metal-machining operations. Several factors influence the quality of drilled holes. The most obvious ones are the
cutting conditions (cutting speed and feed rate) and cutting configurations (tool material, diameter, and geometry).
Composite materials are widely used in the diverse applications such as aircraft, automobile, sporting goods, marine
vessels, audio equipment etc., because of its unique properties such as specific strength, fatigue strength, strength to
weight ratio and corrosion resistance. Machining of composite materials requires better understanding of cutting
processes regarding accuracy and efficiency.
Polymer matrix composites (PMCs) are comprised of a variety of short or continuous fibers bound together by an
organic polymer matrix. Unlike a ceramic matrix composite (CMC), in which the reinforcement is used primarily to
improve the fracture toughness, the reinforcement in a PMC provides high strength and stiffness. The PMC is
designed so that the mechanical loads to which the structure is subjected in service are supported by the
reinforcement. The function of the matrix is to bond the fibers together and to transfer loads between them.
The PMC constituents of reinforcement, matrix, hardner. The selection of reinforcement involves silicon nitride
(Si3N4) and matrix involves epoxy resin (LY556), and hardener has epoxy hardner. The material had been prepared
based on the 3 percentages composites 0, 6 and 10. The number indicates the amount of reinforcement added to the
mixture of matrix and hardner.
The properties of the PMC depend on the matrix, the reinforcement, and the interphase. Consequently, there are
many variables to consider when designing a PMC. These include not only the types of matrix and reinforcement but
also relative proportions, the geometry of the reinforcement, and the nature of the interphase. The polymer matrix
composites are extensively used in the pharmaceutical industries and medical appliances. They are significantly used
in the aeronautical industries specifically in landing gears in the aircraft, cockpit of the aircraft. The PMC are
used in the modelling and creating a prototype of the material.
The effect of process parameters such as spindle speed and feed, drill diameter and point angle, and material
thickness on thrust force and torque generated during drilling of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) composite
material using solid carbide drill bit. Full factorial Design of Experiments (DOE) has been adopted and the results
indicate that spindle speed is the main contributing parameter for the variation in the thrust force and drill diameter is
the main contributing factor for variation in torque. The optimum combination of process parameter settings has
been found out using the integration of Taguchi method and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) [1]. The damage
generated associated with drilling GFRP composites were observed, both at the entrance and the exit during the
drilling. Hence it is essential to obtain optimum cutting parameters minimizing delamination at drilling of GFRP
composites. Moreover, the application of Taguchi method and analysis of variance (ANOVA) for minimization of
delamination influenced by drilling parameters and drill point angle. The optimum drilling parameter combination
was obtained by using the analysis of signal-to-noise ratio. They have concluded that feed rate and cutting speed
were the most influential factor on the delamination, respectively. The best results of the delamination were obtained
at lower cutting speeds and feed rates [2]. To improve the quality of the holes drilled, the optimal combination of
drilling parameters is chosen using grey relational analysis. Grey fuzzy optimization of drilling parameters is based
on five different output performance characteristics, namely, thrust force, torque, entry delamination, exit
delamination and eccentricity of the holes. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is used to find the percentage
contribution of the drilling parameters and found that feed rate is the most influential factor in drilling of CFRP
composites. Taguchi’s L27 orthogonal array is used to perform drilling of CFRP composite plates [3]. Taguchi’s L16,
4-level orthogonal array has been used for the experimentation. The drilling parameters such as spindle speed and
feed rate are optimised with consideration of multiple performance characteristics, such as thrust force, workpiece
surface roughness and delamination factor. The analysis of grey relational grade indicates that feed rate is the more
influential parameter than spindle speed. The results indicate that the performance of drilling process can be
improved effectively through this approach [4]. The analysis of delamination behavior as a function of drilling
process parameters at the entrance of the CFRP plates were carried out. The delamination analysis in high speed
drilling is performed by developing an artificial neural network (ANN) model with spindle speed, feed rate and point
2854 B.M. Umesh Gowda et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 2 (2015) 2852 – 2861

angle as the affecting parameters. A multilayer feed forward ANN architecture, trained using Error-Back
Propagation Training Algorithm (EBPTA) is employed for this purpose. Drilling experiments are conducted as per
full factorial design using cemented carbide (grade K20) twist drills that serve as input–output patterns for ANN
training. The simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of the ANN models to analyze the effects of drilling
process parameters on delamination factor. The analysis also demonstrates the advantage of employing higher speed
in controlling the delamination during drilling [5].
The effect of discrete machining parameters on thrust force and torque in drilling composite laminate was
investigated both experimentally and numerically. Drilling-induced delamination, being one of the critical modes of
damage in CFRP, was quantified experimentally from micro-tomography images after appropriate image processing.
The 3D FE model of drilling in CFRP was developed. A unique three-dimensional (3D) finite element model of
drilling in a composite laminate, accounting for complex kinematics at the drill-workpiece interface is developed.
Cohesive zone elements are used to simulate delamination in a composite. Experimental quantification of drilling-
induced damage is performed by means of X-ray micro computed tomography. The developed numerical model is
shown to agree reasonably well with the experiments [6]. Most of the studies on GFRP machining shows that
minimising the thrust force, surface roughness and delamination factor simultaneously is very difficult and is to be
controlled. The experiments are carried our using Taguchi’s L16 orthogonal array. The control factors considered are
spindle speed and feed rate. The grey relational analysis is applied to examine how the drilling parameters influence
the quality targets of thrust force, surface roughness and delamination factor. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) is
used to examine the most significant factor which affects the drilling process in drilling of GFRP composites [7].
The vibration assisted drilling has shown to be the main factor behind force reduction through the progressive
removal of the uncut chip thickness. However, using high modulation amplitudes, compared to the depth of cut,
could result in significant force increase. The thermal performance of the VAD process was shown to be enhanced
by the formation of vortices in the air gap created by the separation between the tool’s flank face and the machined
surface during cutting. The feed was shown to be the main parameter controlling the VAD tool temperature. The
effect of the VAD process parameters on the hole exit delamination and surface roughness were established. The
VAD process capability for eliminating the hole exit delamination and thermal damage has been demonstrated with
the help finite element analysis [8]. A hybrid experimental–numerical methodology was developed and used to
quantify the residual strains induced by two drilling operations (UHSM and CNCMM) of glass-epoxy laminates. In
depth strain relaxation curves corresponding to a well-known applied stress state could be obtained. These
experimental curves were further compared with the numerically simulated ones using FEM. The direct comparison
between the experimental and numerical curves led to the determination of the residual strains induced by drilling.
These strains were greater for the CNCMM drilling, probably due to the stronger thermo-mechanical phenomena
induced by such operation. The proposed methodology can be a powerful tool to improve optimizes the drilling
process. It can be used to test and study different drilling operations (e.g., orbital drilling), drilling parameters,
cooling conditions (e.g., cryogenic cooling) and tool geometries, as a way to reduce the induced drilling strains on
the work material and consequently the residual stresses the drilling simulation had been done with the help of finite
element method [9]. Traditional and non-traditional drilling processes are feasible for making fine holes for
composite materials by carefully selected tool, method and operating conditions. The path towards the delamination-
free drilling of composite material is reviewed. The major scenes are illustrated including the aspects of the
analytical approach, the practical use of special drill bits, pilot hole and back-up plate, and the employment of non-
traditional machining method [10].
Drilled hole surface characteristics during drilling of Al/SiC metal matrix composites have been studied using
high speed steel, carbide tipped, cobalt-titanium coated and nitride coated drill bits. The spindle speed 1300rpm with
0.025mm/rev feed rate is recommended for better surface finish using pure carbide drill bit. But in general drilled
hole surface quality decreases with increase of spindle speed for all other four drills used for experimental
investigation. Carbide tipped drill is unsuitable for drilling of Al/SiC-MMC as carbide tip separated and adhere with
the work-piece material. Comparatively, nitrite coated drill generate better surface finish at high spindle speed e.g. at
1000rpm and 1300rpm for all feed rate. The nitrite coated drill can be replaced in place of pure carbide drill as it is
cheaper than pure carbide drill [11]. An attempt has been made to develop empirical relationships between the
 B.M. Umesh Gowda et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 2 (2015) 2852 – 2861 2855

drilling parameters such as fiber orientation angle, tool feed rate, rotational speed and tool diameter with respect to
delamination in drilling of GFR–polyester composites. The empirical relationship has been developed by using
response surface methodology. The four important input variables considered, spindle speed, tool feed rate, drill
diameter and fiber orientation angle. The influences of all machining parameters on delamination factor have been
analyzed based on the developed mathematical model. The developed model can be effectively used to predict the
delamination in drilling of GFRP composites within the factors and their limits are studied. The results indicated that
the delamination factor increases with the increase of feed rate. The delamination factor decreases slightly with the
increase of spindle speed. The experimental results indicate that proper selection of cutting parameters improves the
performance in drilling. The adequacy of the model is checked by using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
technique. Tool feed rate is the most influential parameter which influences the delamination factor in drilling
composite materials followed by drill diameter. By increasing the number of factors and levels, the results maybe
improved further [12]. Experimental investigation of a full factorial design performed on thin CFRP laminates using
K20 carbide drill by varying the drilling parameters such as spindle speed and feed rate to determine optimum
cutting conditions. They analyzed delamination while drilling CFRP at high spindle speeds using artificial neural
network (ANN) and concluded that spindle speed, feed rate and point angle of the drill affect the delamination of the
drilled hole. They have proposed that a combination of high spindle speed, low feed rate and low point angle would
minimize damages that occur due to delamination. The hole quality parameters analyzed include hole diameter,
circularity, peel-up delamination and push-out delamination. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out for
hole quality parameters and their contribution rates were determined. Genetic Algorithm (GA) methodology was
used in the multiple objective optimization to find the optimum cutting conditions for defect free drilling. Tool life
of the K20 carbide drill was predicted at optimized cutting speed and feed [13]. Experiments were carried out as per
the Taguchi experimental design, L9 orthogonal array was used to study the influence of various combinations of
process parameters on hole quality. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was conducted to determine the significance
of each process parameter on drilling. The results indicate that feed rate is the most significant factor influencing the
thrust force followed by speed, chisel edge width and point angle; cutting speed is the most significant factor
affecting the torque, speed and the circularity of the hole followed by feed, chisel edge width and point angle [14].
The machining parameters in drilling of Ti6Al4V alloy using Taguchi method and stated that spindle speed of
1000rpm and feed rate of 0.13mm/rev produce acceptable hole diameter deviation . The dominant wear mechanism
on the WC drill for the higher drilling speeds are edge micro-chipping and abrasive wear by the hard fractured
graphite fibers and carbide grains. Drilling CFRP-metal stacks poses several challenges due to the different
machining properties of two or more distinct materials. The ideal tooling solution for metal is not the most efficient
or cost effective for CFRP and vice versa [15].
Acoustic Emission (AE) signal characteristics at different stages as the drilling operation processed. To determine
the partition function of individual sources contributing to the AE energy release by isolating them from the rest is a
formidable task. On the contrary, it would be simpler and practical to monitor if certain identifiable characteristics
that distinguishes the different states of drilling mechanisms can be extracted from the time and frequency domain of
the AE-composite signal. Experimental observations and specimens of epoxy resin (Araldite) and GFRP laminate
show AE signal features in time and frequency domain which distinguish different stages as the twist drill tool
performs its action from entry to exit by employing the artificial neural network [16]. An attempt has been made to
examine the effect of drilling parameter on Aluminum Matrix Composites (AMCs) and Hybrid Aluminum Matrix
Composites (HAMCs) materials of 6070 Al alloy. The response parameters considered are MRR (mm 3/min),
oversize (mm) and surface roughness (μm). The mathematical models have been proposed for modeling analysis of
the effect of drilling parameter on the performance through response surface methodology (RSM). A central
composite design FCC(α=1) involving three process parameters viz. speed (rpm), feed (mm/rev) and point angle
(degree) with three level each has been employed to establish a mathematical model between the process parameters
and responses. The separable influence of individual process parameter and their interaction are investigated by
using ANOVA. The result of ANOVA indicates that the AMCs have good machinability as compared with HAMCs
[17]. The optimal drilling parameters setting based on minimum of the thrust forces, torque, surface roughness,
damage factor and thereby attaining defect free drilling of GFRP composites using TiAlN coated solid Carbide drill
2856 B.M. Umesh Gowda et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 2 (2015) 2852 – 2861

bits, according to the L16 orthogonal array experiments. The unified aim of this work is to determine an optimal
machining environment based on the concept of the ‘Degree of Similarity Measure’ between each alternative and the
ideal solution using alternative gradient and magnitude; TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to
Ideal Solution) and Deng’s solution. Optimal parametric combination obtained from TOPSIS and Deng’s similarity
methods have been found similar to each other. Experimental approach illustrates the feasibility and effectiveness of
these proposed methodologies for optimizing the drilling parameters to achieve better quality holes in GFRP
composites [18]. Drilling tests were carried out on GFRP composites with conventional HSS (18-4-1) drill bit and
then by modifying the drill geometry (web or chisel edge) i.e. web thinning in order to show the effect of drill
geometry in general and web (chisel edge) in particular on the performance of the drilling of GFRP composite. It is
observed that the fiber orientations and drill geometry plays a vital role on the cut quality and delamination [19]. To
investigate the relative significance of the drilling parameters such as point angle, clearance angle, speed, feed rate
and drill diameter on the thrust force and torque using Taguchi-Grey relational analysis. Drilling operations have
been conducted over a wide a range of cutting condition. Spindle speed varied in the range 600rpm to 1000rpm in 3
steps, Feed rate varied from 0.3 to 0.6mm/rev., in 3 steps. High-Speed Steel (HSS) drills of 3 different diameters
(8mm, 10mm and 12mm) and different point angles have been used for drilling of 27 through holes on 10mm depth
with variable combination of soluble oil mixing with pure water on Aluminum 6061 alloy. A drill tool dynamo meter
was used to record the thrust force and torque. In grey relational analysis can be used to represent the grade of
correlation between two sequences so that the distance of two factors can be measured discretely. In the case where
experiments are ambiguous or when the experimental method cannot be carried out exactly, grey analysis helps to
compensate for the shortcoming in statistical regression. Grey relation analysis is an effective means of analyzing the
relationship between sequences with less data and can analyze many factors that can overcome the disadvantages of
statistical method [20].

2. Experimental Work

The experimental work consists of drilling various % vol. of Si 3N4 in epoxy silicon nitride composite using High-
Speed Steel drill bit. The machining was carried out in an automatic drilling machine tool. The control factors were
chosen based on review of literature, experience and some preliminary investigations. Different settings of
controllable factors such as % volume of Si3N4, Cutting speed, Feed rate, Diameter of drill bit and Machining time
were used in the experiments as shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Control factors and their levels

Level
Control factors
I II III Unit
A %vol. of Si3N4 0 6 10 %
B Speed 360 490 680 rpm
C Feed 0.095 0.19 0.285 mm/rev
D Dia. of drill bit 6 8 10 mm
E Machining Time 30 60 90 sec

3. Results and discussion

Experiments were carried out for various cutting speed, feed rate, drill diameter and various % volume of Si 3N4.
Surface roughness (Ra, Rt & Rz), circularity and cylindricity were measured. Process Parameters are optimized with
consideration of multiple performance characteristics, such as workpiece surface roughness, circularity and
cylindricity. The verification experiments are conducted using the optimized process parameters and compared with
the results obtained from the initial set of readings.
 B.M. Umesh Gowda et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 2 (2015) 2852 – 2861 2857

Data obtained after measuring the response variables like surface roughness (Ra, Rt & Rz), Circularity and
cylindricity for Epoxy-Si3N4 composite material are tabulated in Table 2.

Table 2. Machining performances using L27 orthogonal array

%Vol. Speed Feed Circularity Cylindricity
Dia. of drill Machining Ra Rt (Rz)
Run of Rate
(rpm) bit (mm) time (sec) (μm) (μm) (μm) (mm) (mm)
Si3N4 (mm/rev)
1 0 360 0.095 6 30 2.36 20.353 16.992 0.073 0.013
2 0 360 0.190 8 60 2.372 20.634 17.078 0.075 0.014
3 0 360 0.285 10 90 2.38 20.736 17.136 0.077 0.015
4 0 490 0.095 8 60 2.527 21.984 18.194 0.084 0.017
5 0 490 0.190 10 90 2.54 22.098 18.288 0.086 0.018
6 0 490 0.285 6 30 2.547 22.158 18.338 0.087 0.019
7 0 680 0.095 10 90 3.161 27.500 22.759 0.116 0.028
8 0 680 0.190 6 30 3.179 27.657 22.888 0.118 0.029
9 0 680 0.285 8 60 3.193 27.779 22.989 0.119 0.03
10 6 360 0.095 8 90 3.323 28.910 23.925 0.128 0.036
11 6 360 0.190 10 30 3.342 29.075 24.062 0.129 0.037
12 6 360 0.285 6 60 3.354 29.175 24.148 0.13 0.04
13 6 490 0.095 10 30 3.384 29.440 24.364 0.132 0.05
14 6 490 0.190 6 60 3.399 29.571 24.472 0.133 0.054
15 6 490 0.285 8 90 3.417 29.727 24.602 0.134 0.057
16 6 680 0.095 6 60 3.636 31.633 26.179 0.137 0.071
17 6 680 0.190 8 90 3.659 31.833 26.344 0.139 0.077
18 6 680 0.285 10 30 3.671 31.937 26.431 0.146 0.078
19 10 360 0.095 10 60 3.792 32.990 27.302 0.148 0.086
20 10 360 0.190 6 90 3.815 33.190 27.468 0.151 0.089
21 10 360 0.285 8 30 3.828 33.303 27.561 0.154 0.09
22 10 490 0.095 6 90 3.857 33.555 27.770 0.157 0.133
23 10 490 0.190 8 30 3.874 33.703 27.892 0.158 0.143
24 10 490 0.285 10 60 3.89 33.843 28.008 0.161 0.153
26 10 680 0.190 10 60 3.91 34.017 28.152 0.169 0.192
27 10 680 0.285 6 90 3.925 34.147 28.260 0.171 0.196

3.1. Observations on Ra, Rt and Rz

From the Fig. 1, Fig. 2 and Fig. 3, the main effect plots for Epoxy resin-Si3N4 composite material that, the factor
%Vol. of Si3N4 has largest effect on the Surface Roughness (Ra, Rt & Rz) as the response variable. The optimum
level for a factor is the level that gives the highest value of η in the experimental region. Fig. 1, Fig. 2 and Fig. 3
shows that, the surface roughness (Ra, Rt & Rz) of the material decreases with the increase in %vol. of Si 3N4 from
0% to 10% and it decreases with the increases in the speed from 360 to 680rpm. The surface roughness (Ra, Rt &
Rz) rapidly increased with the increase in feed rate from 0.095 to 0.285mm/rev and it has very less impact on
diameter of drill bit. As the machining time increases the surface roughness (Ra, Rt & Rz) value also increases.
2858 B.M. Umesh Gowda et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 2 (2015) 2852 – 2861

The purpose of conducting ANOVA is to determine the relative magnitude of the effect of each factor on the
objective function η and to estimate the error variance. The largeness of a factor effect relative to the error variance
can be judged from the F column. The larger the F value, the larger the factor effect is compared to the error
variance. Referring to the ANOVA, the factor %Vol. of Si3N4 has more effect on the response variable for Ra, Rt &
Rz followed by the speed. This can also be seen from the main effect plot shown in the Fig. 1, Fig. 2 and Fig. 3.
Based on this, the value of F in the ANOVA, the rank to the each factor or the magnitude is given.

Main Effects Plot for SN ratios Main Effects Plot for SN ratios
Data Means Data Means
%vol of si3n4 speed feed %vol of si3n4 speed feed
-27
-9
-28
-10
-29
Mean of SN ratios

Mean of SN ratios
-11 -30

-12 -31
0 6 10 360 490 680 0.095 0.190 0.285 0 6 10 360 490 680 0.095 0.190 0.285
drill dia machining time drill dia machining time
-27
-9
-28
-10
-29

-11 -30

-12 -31
6 8 10 30 60 90 6 8 10 30 60 90

Signal-to-noise: Smaller is better Signal-to-noise: Smaller is better

Fig. 1. Main effects plot for Surface Roughness (Ra) Fig. 2. Main effects plot for Surface Roughness (Rt)

Main Effects Plot for SN ratios

Data Means
%vol of si3n4 speed feed

-26

-27
Mean of SN ratios

-28

-29
0 6 10 360 490 680 0.095 0.190 0.285
drill dia machining time

-26

-27

-28

-29
6 8 10 30 60 90

Signal-to-noise: Smaller is better

Fig. 3. Main effects plot for Surface Roughness (Rz)

3.2. Observations on circularity and cylindricity

From the Fig. 4 the main effect plots for Epoxy resin-Si3N4 composite material that, the factor %Vol. of Si3N4
has largest effect on the circularity as the response variable. The optimum level for a factor is the level that gives the
highest value of η in the experimental region.
From the above Fig. 4 it is clear that, the deviation of the Circularity decreases with the increase in % vol. of
Si3N4 from 0% to 6%, further it will increases with the increasing of % vol. of Si 3N4 from 6% to 10% and it
 B.M. Umesh Gowda et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 2 (2015) 2852 – 2861 2859

decreases with the increase in the speed from 360 to 680rpm and increases with the increase in the feed rate from
0.095 to 0.285mm/rev. The deviation of the circularity increases slightly with increase in the dia. of drill bit from 6
to 8 mm then deviation will increase rapidly with increase in the dia. of drill bit from 8 to 10mm. As the machining
time increases the deviation of circularity value also increases.
Referring the ANOVA, the factor %Vol. of Si3N4 has more effect on the response variable for circularity
followed by the feed rate. This can also be seen from the main effect plot shown in the Fig. 4. Based on this, the
value of F in the ANOVA, the rank to the each factor or the magnitude is given.

Main Effects Plot for SN ratios Main Effects Plot for SN ratios
Data Means Data Means
%vol of si3n4 speed feed %vol of si3n4 speed feed
35
20
30

25
18
Mean of SN ratios

Mean of SN ratios
20

16
15
0 6 10 360 490 680 0.095 0.190 0.285 0 6 10 360 490 680 0.095 0.190 0.285
drill dia machinig time drill dia maching time
35
20
30

25
18

20
16
15
6 8 10 30 60 90 6 8 10 30 60 90

Signal-to-noise: Smaller is better Signal-to-noise: Smaller is better

Fig. 4. Main effects plot for Circularity Fig. 5. Main effects plot for Cylindricity

From the Fig. 5 the main effect plots for Epoxy resin-Si3N4 composite material that, the factor %Vol. of Si3N4 has
largest effect on the cylindricity as the response variable. The optimum level for a factor is the level that gives the
highest value of η in the experimental region. From the above Fig. 5 it is clear that, the deviation of the Cylindricity
decreases with the increase in % vol. of Si3N4 from 0% to 6%, further it will increases with the increasing of %vol.
of Si3N4 from 6% to 10% and it decreases with the increase in the speed from 360 to 680rpm. The deviation of the
cylindricity of the material decreases with the increase in the feed rate from 0.095 to 0.285mm/rev and it increases
with the increase in dia. of drill bit from 6 to 10mm. As the machining time increases the deviation of cylindricity
value also increases.
Referring the ANOVA, the factor %Vol. of Si3N4 has more effect on the response variable for cylindricity
followed by the spindle speed. This can also be seen from the main effects plot as shown in the Fig. 5. Based on this,
the value of F in the ANOVA, the rank to the each factor or the magnitude is given.

3.3. Verification experiment

Conducting a verification experiment is to verify that the optimum conditions suggested by the matrix experiment
do indeed give the projected improvement. If the observed S/N ratios under the optimum conditions are close to their
respective predictions, then one can conclude that the additive model on which the matrix experiment was based is a
good approximation of the reality. Then, adopt the recommended optimum conditions for the process or product, as
the case may be. In the drilling process case study, parameters are optimized and are tabulated in the previous
sections. The confirmation run was conducted taking these optimized parameters for the Epoxy resin-Si3N4
composite materials considered in the case study. The results obtained from the confirmation runs are tabulated in
the below Table 3.
Form the Table 3 one can observe that, the optimized parameters have considerable effect on the response
variables surface roughness (Ra, Rt & Rz), circularity and cylindricity for Epoxy resin-Si3N4 composite material.
2860 B.M. Umesh Gowda et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 2 (2015) 2852 – 2861

The surface roughness (Ra) was 2.36μm for initial settings of parameters and the value has been reduced to 2.30μm
after setting parameters to optimized values. Similarly, the surface roughness (Rt & Rz) was 20.353μm and
16.992μm for initial settings of parameters and after setting parameters to optimized values, the value has been
reduced to 20.309μm and 16.841μm respectively. Similarly circularity is improved from 0.073mm to 0.065mm and
cylindricity is also improved from 0.013mm to 0.009mm.

Table 3. Results of verification experiment

Initial Parameter Readings Optimized Parameter Readings
Parameters Ra Rt Rz Cir. Cyl. Ra Rt Rz Cir. Cyl.
(μm) (μm) (μm) (mm) (mm) (μm) (μm) (μm) (mm) (mm)
% vol. of Si3N4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Speed (rpm) 360 360 360 360 360 360 360 360 360 360
Feed (mm/rev) 0.095 0.095 0.095 0.095 0.095 0.190 0.190 0.190 0.095 0.285
Dia. of DB (mm) 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 8 8
Machining time
30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30
(sec)
Response
2.36 20.353 16.992 0.073 0.013 2.30 20.309 16.841 0.065 0.009
obtained

4. Conclusion

The present study was concerned with drilling of various % volume of Si 3N4 in epoxy silicon nitride material. The
machine used to conduct the experiment was automatic drilling machine tool. The experiments were performed
based on L27 orthogonal array. The input parameters were % volume of Si 3N4 (0, 6, 10), Cutting Speed (360, 490,
680rpm), Feed rate (0.095, 0.19, 0.285mm/rev), Diameter of drill bit (6, 8, 10mm) and Machining time (30, 60,
90sec), and the response variables were Surface roughness, Circularity and Cylindricity. After the experiment
conducted, response variables were tabulated and analysis was conducted. Single objective optimization was
performed based on Taguchi’s Technique. After the process parameters are optimized, ANOVA was performed to
determine the relative magnitude of the each factor on objective functions.
The following are the important conclusions drawn from the present work.
¾ Relatively lower cutting speed (360rpm) and lower Feed rate (0.095mm/rev) are required to obtain good
surface finish.
¾ Epoxy resin-Si3N4 composite material has to be drilled with low cutting speed (360rpm) and low Feed
rate (0.095mm/rev) to sustain circularity deviation within the limits.
¾ Epoxy resin-Si3N4 composite material has to be drilled with low cutting speed (360rpm) and high Feed
rate (0.285mm/rev) to minimize the cylindricity deviation.
¾ The factor %Vol. of Si3N4 has the largest effect on surface roughness, circularity and cylindricity.
After the confirmation experiment, it was concluded that, the optimized parameters have shown good results, so
these parameters can be used to achieve good surface finish, circularity and cylindricity than before.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank R&DE(E), DRDO, Pune, for their financial assistance and encourage of CARS project
for “Monitoring the status of the Drilled Hole in Composite Materials Using Multisensory Approach” to carrying
out this research work.
 B.M. Umesh Gowda et al. / Materials Today: Proceedings 2 (2015) 2852 – 2861 2861

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