Abstract
This study investigates experimentally and statistically the influences of the Machining Parameters (MPs) and environments on the surface roughness (Ra) of Polyamide 6 (PA6) during the turning operation. The experiments were conducted using a lathe machine, carbide cutting tool, and roughness tester. The statistical approach was implemented using Taguchi Experiment Design (TED) and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The parameters and their values were: cutting velocity (VC) of 125, 200, and 250 m/min; feed rate (FR) of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.15 mm/rev; and cutting depth (DC) of 2, 4, and 6 mm. The environments used were: dry (D), compressed air (A), and air-water mixture (A+W). The research aimed to improve the cutting surface quality of PA6 based on the R criterion. The results revealed that the FR is the most influential factor on R compared to other factors. The effect percentages on R were 61%, 15%, 13%, and 11% for FR, Machining Environments (MEs), DC, and VC, respectively. The optimum combination has been achieved based on an FR of 0.05 mm/rev, air with water, a DC of 2 mm, and a VC of 125 m/min, providing a minimum total average surface roughness (Ra) of 1.2 μm for PA6. The study demonstrates that an optimum combination can enhance the cutting surface quality, reduce the machining costs, and provide a pathway for producing high-performance PA6 components.