Prediction and optimization of surface roughness in milling of medium density fiberboard (MDF) based on Taguchi orthogonal array experiments

The main objective of this paper was to develop a mathematical model to predict the surface roughness and to determine the optimal cutting conditions during milling of medium density fiberboard. The milling experiments were carried out as per Taguchi orthogonal array with feed rate and cutting speed as the controlling parameters. A second-order surface roughness model has been developed using the methodology of response surface analysis. The paper presents the details of analysis of variance to validate the developed model. The Taguchi optimization results show that the surface roughness can be optimized with lower feed rate and higher cutting speed values.