MACHINING OF FILLED POLYMERS USING SINGLE-EDGE TOOLS

The importance and industrial applications of filled polymers is repor ted. In recent years cast nylon with various fillers has been extensiv ely used in industry, where machining is carried out as a secondary pr ocess to achieve necessary surface finish and shape. There is a pressi ng need to develop various cutting techniques to enhance the machining performance features for these polymers. An understanding of the effe ct of major process variables on forces, power, and surface finish hel p practicing engineers in selection of cutting tools and machine tools for efficient manufacturing. In this paper, the qualitative and quant itative effects of major process variables such as tool, cut geometry, and cutting speeds are studied for cast nylon with two different fill ers, namely MoS2 and vulcanized vegetable oil (VVO). The data processi ng is carried out by a suite of statistical routines.