OPTIMIZATION OF SURFACE ROUGHNESS AND TOOL FLANK WEAR IN TURNING OF AISI 304 AUSTENITIC STAINLESS STEEL WITH CVD COATED TOOL

AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel is a popularly used grade in the various fields of manufacturing because of its high ductility, high durability and excellent corrosion resistance. High work hardening, low heat conductivity and high built up edge (BUE) formation made this as difficult-to-machine material. Poor surface quality and rapid tool wear are the common problems encountered while machining it. In the present work, an attempt has been made to explore the influence of machining parameters on the performance measures, surface roughness and flank wear in turning of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel with a two layer Chemical vapour deposition(CVD) coated tool. In order to achieve this, Taguchi approach has been employed. The results revealed that the cutting speed most significantly, influences both surface roughness and flank wear. In addition to this the optimal setting of process parameters and optimal ranges of performance measures are predicted.