Rapid assessment of steel machinability through spark analysis and data-mining techniques

Goran Munđar (Author), Miha Kovačič (Author), Miran Brezočnik (Author), Krzysztof Stępień (Author), Uroš Župerl (Author)

Abstract

The machinability of steel is a crucial factor in manufacturing, influencing tool life, cutting forces, surface finish, and production costs. Traditional machinability assessments are labor-intensive and costly. This study presents a novel methodology to rapidly determine steel machinability using spark testing and convolutional neural networks (CNNs). We evaluated 45 steel samples, including various low-alloy and high-alloy steels, with most samples being calcium steels known for their superior machinability. Grinding experiments were conducted using a CNC machine with a ceramic grinding wheel under controlled conditions to ensure a constant cutting force. Spark images captured during grinding were analyzed using CNN models with the ResNet18 architecture to predict V15 values, which were measured using the standard ISO 3685 test. Our results demonstrate that the created prediction models achieved a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 12.88%. While some samples exhibited high MAPE values, the method overall provided accurate machinability predictions. Compared to the standard ISO test, which takes several hours to complete, our method is significantly faster, taking only a few minutes. This study highlights the potential for a cost-effective and time-efficient alternative testing method, thereby supporting improved manufacturing processes.

Keywords

obdelovalnost jekla;testiranje isker;podatkovno rudarjenje;strojni vid;konvolucijske nevronske mreže;steel machinability;spark testing;data mining;machine vision;convolutional neural networks;

Data

Language:	English
Year of publishing:	2024
Typology:	1.01 - Original Scientific Article
Organization:	UM FS - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Publisher:	MDPI
UDC:	621.7:004.8
COBISS:	207322883
ISSN:	2075-4701
Views:	9
Downloads:	4
Average score:	0 (0 votes)
Metadata:

Other data

Secondary language:	Slovenian
Secondary keywords:	obdelovalnost jekla;testiranje isker;podatkovno rudarjenje;strojni vid;konvolucijske nevronske mreže;
Type (COBISS):	Article
Pages:	19 str.
Volume:	ǂVol. ǂ14
Issue:	ǂiss. ǂ8, [article no.] 955
Chronology:	Aug. 2024
DOI:	10.3390/met14080955
ID:	25011514