| Plastics are manufactured from petroleum resources that are not renewable and not biodegradable. To conserve the environmental impact of plastic products and enhance their biodegradability, many plastic products utilize low-cost, bio-based materials as fillers. Fillers are inert materials added to plastics to reduce the cost of the final product by reducing the use of polymer resin. Ideally, the filler is added in a concentration by weight so as to maintain the mechanical and physical properties of the resin. With the rapid growth in the fuel ethanol industry in recent years, considerable research is being devoted for the productive utilization of processing co-products like distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS). As DDGS residues contain high fiber levels, it is viable as a biofiller in plastics to produce a novel biomaterial.;In this project, DDGS was blended with phenolic resin at two different levels by weight and then compression molded. The major objective is to find the optimum machining conditions of the specimens. The research presents a study on the machinability of these specimens using a carbide tool. Controlled machining experiments were performed on the workpiece. A statistical technique, using orthogonal arrays and analysis of variance, was employed to investigate the influence of cutting parameters on specific cutting pressure and surface roughness.;The mathematical models for surface roughness were being developed in terms of speed and feed, at constant depth of cut, and by response surface methodology. Response surface contours were constructed in speed and feed planes using MINITAB. From these contours it is possible to select a combination of cutting speed and feed that reduces the surface roughness. As the depth of cut was kept constant for all the machining conditions, dimensional consistency was verified by constructing another set of contour plots. Results from both the contours were compared and the optimum range of the machining conditions was obtained. |
