As a successful solution applied to electrical discharge machining (EDM), powder-mixed electrical discharge machining (PMEDM) has been proposed as an upgrade of the EDM process. The optimization of the process parameters of PMEDM is essential and pressing. In this study, Taguchi methods and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to find the main parameters affecting surface roughness in the EDM process with SiC powder-mixed-dielectric of hardened 90CrSi steel. The PMEDM parameters selected were the powder concentration, the pulse-on-time, the pulse-off-time, the pulse current, and the server voltage. It was found that SiC powder exhibits positive effects on reducing surface roughness. The roughness obtained with the optimum powder concentration of 4 g/L was reduced by 30.02% compared to that when processed by conventional EDM. Furthermore, the pulse-off-time was found to be the most influential factor that gave an important effect on surface roughness followed by the powder concentration. The EDM condition including a powder concentration of 4 g/L, a pulse-on-time of 6 µs, a pulse-off-time of 21 µs, a pulse current of 8 A, and a server voltage of 4 V resulted in the best surface roughness.

Cutting regime parameters play an important role in determining the efficiency of the grinding process and the quality of the ground parts. In this study, the influences of the cutting parameters, including the cutting depth (a_e), the feed rate (F_e) and the wheel speed (R_PM) on the grinding time when grinding tablet shape punches by a cubic boron nitride (CBN) wheel on a CNC (Computerized Numerical Control) milling machine are investigated. The Taguchi technique based on orthogonal array and analysis of variance (ANOVA) was then applied to design the number of experiments and evaluate the influence of cutting depth, feed rate and wheel speed on the grinding time. The results show that among the three cutting parameters, the most influential parameter on the grinding time is the cutting depth. The second influential parameter on the grinding time is the feed rate. The least influential parameter on grinding time is the wheel speed. In addition, the optimal condition of cutting parameters obtained for grinding tablet shape punches by cubic boron nitride wheels on a CNC milling machine are a cutting depth of 0.03 mm, wheel speed of 5000 rpm and feed rate of 3500 mm/min. This optimum cutting parameters ensure the least grinding time.

This paper provides a novel application of a multi-criterion decision-making (MCDM) method to the multi-objective optimization problem of designing a two-stage helical gearbox. This study’s goal is to identify the ideal primary design elements that increase gearbox efficiency while reducing the gearbox cross-section area. In this work, three primary design parameters were selected for investigation: the gear ratio of the first stage and the coefficients of wheel face width (CWFW) of the first and second stages. The multi-objective optimization problem was further split into two phases: phase 1 solved the single-objective optimization problem of minimizing the gap between the variable levels, and phase 2 solved the multi-objective optimization issue of identifying the ideal key design factors. Moreover, the multi-objective optimization problem was handled by the SAW method as an MCDM approach, and the weight criteria were computed using the entropy approach. This study’s significant characteristics are as follows: First, a multi-objective optimization problem was successfully solved using the MCDM approach (SAW technique) for the first time. Second, the power losses in idle motion were investigated in this work in order to determine the efficiency of a two-stage helical gearbox. From this study’s findings, the ideal values for three major design parameters can be determined for the design of a two-stage helical gearbox.

This paper shows an optimization study on calculating the optimum replaced wheel diameter in internal grinding of stainless steel. In this work, the effects of the input factors, including the initial diameter, the grinding wheel width, the ratio between the length and the diameter of the work-pieces, the dressing depth of cut, the wheel life and the radial grinding wheel wear per dress on the optimum replaced grinding wheel diameter were considered. Also, the effects of cost components, including the cost of the grinding machine and the wheel cost were examined. Moreover, to estimate the influences of these parameters on the optimum replaced diameter, a simulation experiment was given and conducted by programming. From the results of the study, a regression equation was proposed to calculate the optimum replaced diameter.

This study is aimed at determining optimum partial gear ratios to minimize the cost of a three-stage helical gearbox. In this work, eleven input parameters were investigated to find their influence on the optimum gear ratios of the second and the third stages ( $u_2$ and $u_3$ ). To reach the goal, a simulation experiment was designed and implemented by a cost optimization program. The results revealed that in addition to the input parameters, their interactions also have important effects in which the total ratio gearbox ratio ( $u_t$ ) and the cost of shaft ( $C_s$ ) have the most impact on $u_2$ and $u_3$ responses, respectively. Moreover, the proposed models of the two responses are highly consistent to the experimental results. The proposed regression equations can be applied to solve optimization cost problems.