Determination of optimal cutting parameters is one of the most important elements in any process planning of metal parts. In this paper, a new optimization technique, firefly algorithm, is used for determining the machining parameters in a multipass turning operation model. The objective considered is minimization of production cost under a set of machining constraints. The optimization is carried out using firefly algorithm. An application example is presented and solved to illustrate the effectiveness of the presented algorithm.

Today major metal cutting companies in industrial countries, looking to gain time and reduce manufacturing costs while respecting the environment. There are many phenomena which affect the quality and production costs of the product, including cutting efforts, cutting temperature, residual stresses, etc. A better understanding of these phenomena will reduce production costs and maximize productivity. The aim of this work is to analyze the effect of machining conditions (cutting speed, feed speed and cutting depth) on cutting temperature and residual stresses, during the milling operations using the response surface method. A good accuracy between predicted and measured values of the cutting temperature was found, the cutting speed and the depth of cut are parameters whose effect is most sensitive to the residual stresses and the cutting temperature.However, little influence has been registered in the case of an increase of the feed rate. The percentage of error is 4.57%, indicating that the numerical approach can accurately predict the cutting temperature of the AISI 1045.