Experimental Investigation on the Influence of Cutting Parameters on Surface Quality obtained in SPDT of PMMA

Manufacturing of an optical lenses demand a specialized technology and thus needs sophisticated precision manufacturing process. PMMA is one of the most used optical polymer for manufacturing of optical lenses, the shaping of which into the required precision and accuracy is a challenging task. The focus of the present paper is to understand the effect of machining parameters on the surface characteristics especially flatness obtained in single point diamond turning (SPDT). The experiments were conducted according to Taguchi L9 design. The machining parameters chosen are feed rate, spindle speed, depth of cut and cutting environment. Analysis of results reveals that the spindle speed is more influential on the surface flatness generated by the SPDT. All the flatness measurements were done by the non contact type of measurement. It is observed that the minimum PV value produced is 0.837 µm.