Estimation and control of surface quality and traverse speed in abrasive water jet machining of AISI 1030 steel using different work-piece thicknesses by RSM

Abrasive water jet machining (AWJM) is an unconventional cutting method used in different industrial applications. The motive of this paper is to investigate the effect of traverse speed on surface roughness for a particular workpiece thickness. Three different plates of AISI 1030 steel as work-piece with thicknesses 4 mm, 6 mm and 8 mm are used to evaluate surface quality of cutting. Three response models for respective thicknesses are generated and checked on the basis of their prediction ability. It showed 8.71%, 8.11% and 7.83% error for surface roughness for three different thicknesses, respectively. Post validation, desired surface roughness values are placed in the response models for prediction of respective traverse speeds for three different thicknesses and represented in a graphical manner. This paper will help the AWJ machining operator to find out the precise cutting speed for achieving desired surface roughness.