This study investigates the effects of tool geometry and cutting parameters on cutting forces in milling Al 7075 alloy, which is frequently preferred in the aerospace and automotive industries due to its high strength-to-weight ratio. Three-flute carbide end mills were specially manufactured with varying combinations of clearance angle (8°, 10°, 12°) and rake angle (14°, 18°, 22°). The experimental process used a Taguchi L9 orthogonal array with clearance angle, rake angle, and cutting speed (70, 85, 100 m/min) as control factors. Variance analysis (ANOVA) showed that cutting speed had the largest contribution ratio (40%) to cutting forces, with results serving as exploratory trend indicators. Signal-to-Noise (S/N) analysis identified 8° clearance angle, 18° rake angle, and 100 m/min cutting speed as the optimum combination for minimum cutting force. The lowest resultant cutting force measured was 469.72 N. The findings indicate that combining a small rake angle with a high cutting speed reduces cutting resistance and improves machining efficiency.
Boz et al. (Wed,) studied this question.