ARTICLE IN PRESS

Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing 24 (2008) 835 842

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rcim

An intelligent approach for the prediction of surface roughness in ball-end

machining of polypropylene
Vimal G. Dhokia , Sanjeev Kumar, Parag Vichare, Stephen T. Newman
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK

article info

abstract

Keywords:
Polypropylene
Ball-end machining
Surface roughness
Design of experiments

Manufacturing paradigms over the last 150 years have changed from craft production, to mass
production and now to mass customisation. One further extension of mass customisation is
personalised manufacture, which is the concept of providing bespoke products to the individual
consumer. As a result this has brought about the need for a greater degree of sophistication in
manufacturing practises and the technologies employed. This bespoke form of manufacture of
consumer goods is now being pursued on CNC machining centres as opposed to the alternative of highly
expensive rapid prototyping methods. The problem with this form of manufacture is that the products
are generally free formed objects which require sophisticated setups and machining. Ball-end
machining is a method used to create cusp-type geometry, which is employed on CNC machines to
create sculptured surfaces. The objective of this research is to provide a predictive model using a design
of experiments strategy to obtain optimised machining parameters for a specic surface roughness in
ball-end machining of polypropylene. This paper reports on new manufacturing knowledge to machine
polypropylene using ball-end tooling in order to generate personalised sculptured surface products.
& 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Many consumer products have some sculptured aspect to
them, which are typically generated using ball-end-milling
technology. Sculptured products are often mass produced using
injection moulding techniques from complex die moulds. Sculptured surface milling uses ball-end cutters to produce cusp
geometry which produces free form surfaces for a wide variety
of personalised products. The ability to machine soft materials
such as polypropylene offers distinct advantages for producing
personalised soft consumer products such as orthotic shoe insoles,
using direct machining strategies without the need for expensive
injection moulding technology. However, the major problem with
machining polymers is that there is very little knowledge in terms
of machining parameters. These parameters form a fundamental
basis for any CNC machining operation. There is substantial
research available regarding ball-end machining of metals
whereas knowledge regarding polymer machining is limited.
The authors have realised the importance of personalised
products in a highly consumer driven society which demands
better products. Hence the objective of this study is to establish
knowledge on machining a soft material, which has been used for

 Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 1225 384049; fax: +44 1225 386928.

E-mail address: V.Dhokia@bath.ac.uk (V.G. Dhokia).

0736-5845/$ - see front matter & 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.rcim.2008.03.019

producing personalised consumer products such as orthotic

insoles.
This paper presents initial experimental data and introduces a
predictive model for ball-end machining of polypropylene. The
initial part of the paper provides a literature review of ball-end
machining. The second part establishes a set of criteria for the
design of experiments (DoE). The major part of the paper
describes a method for the predictive model.
A DoE strategy is used to develop the experimental framework,
which is a method employed to minimise the number experiments to conduct whilst also providing a process which interacts
with all of the required variables. Initial ball-end-milling experiments have been conducted and results are obtained. The
objective of this study is to illustrate a DoE strategy and to
optimise the machining parameters in relation to the generated
surface roughness. Though ball-end milling is not new, however,
the ability to use this technology for personalised products
particularly for parts machined out of polypropylene offers new
avenues for research.

2. A review of surface roughness modelling for ball-end

milling
There have been numerous different studies conducted on
intelligence methods for the prediction of surface roughness for

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many engineering applications. A previous study by Dhokia et al.

[1] in the area of soft material machining using a DoE strategy was
produced illustrating a roughness prediction model for slot
milling operations. With the lack of knowledge in the domain of
soft material machining and analysis, this research [1] demonstrated one of the rst attempts at developing and gathering new
knowledge for such materials. This paper extends the research in
this particular area, with the focus on ball-end machining for
sculptured products. The 4 major areas of investigation which
form the basis for the research are materials, processes, DoE and
articial intelligence methods, as illustrated in Fig. 1.
2.1. Ball-end machining and articial intelligence
Ball-end milling is a process of machining which uses ball-end
tooling to produce cusp-type geometry in order to generate 3D
free formed sculptured products. Traditionally this type of
machining predominantly concentrates on metal machining and
has been used in the die, mould and aerospace industries [2,3].
The literature has been classied in Table 1 into a number of
key areas, 2 of which are physical modelling and geometrical
modelling. The following section describes these 2 processes
along with various examples of articial intelligence methods
used for the generation of ball-end machining models.
Physical modelling can be dened as machining force prediction or optimised process parameter selection. Cus et al. [4]
developed an intelligence system using genetic algorithms (GAs)
to optimise ball-end milling, these generalised sculptured products are discussed though material type is not disclosed.
Milfelner et al. [5] also used genetic equations for predicting
cutting forces in ball-end milling and effective optimisation of
cutting parameters.
Imani et al. [6] developed a process simulation model for ballend milling where simplistic examples of sculptured products are
provided. Antoniadis et al. [7] proposed a system for the
prediction of surface topomorphy and roughness in ball-end
milling based on aerospace components and mould manufacture

Fig. 1. Major research areas of concern for studying the behaviour of surface
roughness.

with a prediction system developed. Ip et al. [8] reported work on

a sculptured surface approach using fuzzy models. The work is
concerned with optimisation techniques but little research is
conducted on ball-end machining or the material used. Kim et al.
[9] suggested a model using Z-map for the determination of the
cutting forces of sculptured surface machining. The study also
showed the orientation of the cutting tool and the action variation
along the cutting edge. Kim and Chu [10] also developed an
empirical cutting force model based on Z-map, which is a 3D
surface expressed by the height of the surface on the XY lattice
and Feng and Su [11] described a mechanistic cutting force model,
focusing on 3 axis ball-end machining. Mounayri et al. [12]
developed a neural network model for the optimisation of ballend milling. A particle swarm optimisation technique was also
employed to optimise feed, axial and radial depths of cut. Siller et
al. [13] conducted research on cycle time prediction for sculptured
surface nishing. The complexities of sculptured surfaces are
discussed and a mechanistic model is proposed for determining
cycle times for high speed machining of sculptured surfaces using
high feed rates.
Geometrical modelling differs from physical modelling in that
it is primarily based on solid modelling and specic features,
which in this case is cusp geometry. Unlike standard end-milling
operations, ball-end machining leaves a distinctive machined
pattern. Sriyotha et al. [3] presented research on geometrical
modelling of ball-end milling using a Z-map, where a mathematical model is developed. The same applications are again
highlighted, which include mould machining. Baptista and Simoes
[14] documented 3 and 5 axes machining of sculptured surfaces
evaluating tool geometry and machining methodology. A regression analysis model was also developed to provide the process
parameters. Liu et al. [15] demonstrate research on surface nish
visualisation in high speed ball-end milling, where models are
generated to demonstrate the different ute geometry.

2.2. Materials
The vast majority of ball-end machining and surface roughness
prediction work has been carried out on machining for metals. Cus
et al. [4] conducted experimental work on the ck45 material and
discusses mould and aerospace applications. Imani et al. [6] used
steel 1018 for development of the experimental model. Feng and
Su [11] carried out experimental ball-end machining on cold
rolled 1018 steel. Sriyotha et al. [3] used samples of case hardened
steel and aluminium [3]. Baptista and Simoes [14] conducted ballend-milling experiments on aluminium alloy 7000 series, similar
to that used for high end moulds. Liu et al.s [15] paper discusses
the use of P20 hard tool steel in prediction of surface machining
effects from a ball-end-milling cutter.
Since the advent of high speed 5 axis CNC capabilities the
use of ball-end machining strategies has become more prevalent.
The combination of 5 axis capabilities and ball-end tooling
technology allows for much more sophisticated and complex
geometry to be machined. Mould technology is the predominant
method for forming polymer-based products. The concept of
removing the moulding phase from the forming process and
directly machining polymers using ball-end machining is a new
concept, which has the potential to revolutionise the method in
which consumer products are manufactured. A typical example
part is an orthotic insole which can be directly machined onto
polypropylene.
In order to develop a knowledge base of data for manufacture
with such materials, intelligent experimental methods had to be
designed and conducted.

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Table 1
A classication of the literature on surface roughness modelling of ball end milling

PSO: particle swarm optimisation; BPN: back propagation network; RA: regression analysis; GA/GP: genetic algorithm/programming; DoE: design of experiments; NN:
neural network; Z-Map: 3D surface expressed by height of the surface on XY lattice; RSM: rough set methodology.

2.3. Design of experiments

DoE strategies are commonly used to reduce the number of
experiments and to show the different interactions between the
various experimental parameters. There are a number of methods
of DoE, which include fractional factorial array, orthogonal array
and Taguchi methodology. A DoE strategy was used in previous
research on slot milling of polypropylene, where a fractional
factorial DoE was used to demonstrate the interaction between
feed, speed and depth of cut and minimise the number of
experiments required [1]. Baptista and Simoes [14] describes the
use of a DoE strategy to develop the experimental strategy for 3
and 5 axis sculptured surface machining.

2.4. Critique summary-case for the research

The review shows how ball-end machining is used to produce
free form geometry, where the primary objective of many of these
papers is in producing intelligence methods for creating optimised
solutions. In addition, the review shows there is limited research
on the use of DoE strategies for ball-end milling.
The research conducted on ball-end milling is primarily
focused
upon
optimisation
of
machining
parameters

[3,4,11,12,15]. There is relatively little research on the materials

used and applications. It is also recognised that the majority of the
ball-end milling has been undertaken for machining of aerospace
components [16]. Though, with the move towards mass customisation and personalised products, there is a need for machining
softer materials. There are signicant advantages of machining
polypropylene for personalised products as opposed to injection
moulding and rapid prototyping techniques. With ball-endmilling strategies there is the ability to change designs instantaneously, eradicate moulding cost and signicantly reduce manufacturing lead times. Thus this research has focused on a number
of machining experiments for ball-end manufacture of polypropylene sculptured products.
The following table provides a tabulated view of the key
research areas as shown in Fig. 1. The table compares some of the
major papers identied and also illustrates the lack of research in
polymer machining and the use of DoE.

3. A framework for ball-end machining experiments

The framework for ball-end machining experiments is subdivided into different stages, and relies on the DoE strategy, where
the variables, feed, speed and depth of cut are used to form a

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cohesive experimental strategy. The test part is machined using a

5 axis DMU Evolution CNC machining centre. The machined part
surface roughness (RA max) is measured using a laser prolometer, with the results being logged for analysis. Using the
results, the machining parameters have been optimised for
improved ball-end milling of polypropylene. The framework
illustrated in Fig. 2 consists of the following stages: Materials
input (polypropylene), the design phase which uses the DoE
strategy that denes the part, generation of machining code (G&M
code), machining of the part according to the DoE, measurement
of the sculptured features using a laser prolometer, collection of
the results, interpretation of the results and optimisation of the
parameters.

framework for developing new knowledge on ball-end machining

of polypropylene illustrating various inputs, outputs, control
factors together with the activities required. The major activities
represented in the IDEF0 diagram are the DoE, design of the test
piece, machining of the test piece and interpretation of the results.
The input is polypropylene, with the control factors being
machining parameters and the tooling. The mechanisms, namely
software and hardware are Unigraphics and 5 axis CNC machining
with the output providing new knowledge on ball-end machining
of polypropylene.

3.1. Generation of the framework for the experiments

The test piece was designed in Unigraphics and consisted of 48

sculptured pockets determined by the DoE and is illustrated in
Fig. 4. This form of pocket was used as this represented a simple
sculptured feature to machine using a ball-end cutting tool which
was repeatable and measurable. Each pocket was 70 mm  50 mm
in dimension and was machined according to the data taken from
the DoE. The material was clamped directly to the machine as
shown in Fig. 5.

The major activities of the framework are depicted in the IDEF0

model in Fig. 3. This shows a structured representation of the
activities for ball-end machining of polypropylene with the output
being the extraction of new knowledge in terms of accurate
machining parameters for improved surface nish. The functionality of this IDEF0 representation is to provide a clear process

3.2. Test piece

Fig. 2. Framework for ball-nose machining experiments.

Fig. 3. IDEF0 representation of the framework for ball-end machining experiments.

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Fig. 4. Test part designed in Unigraphics.

each provide an L16 array design strategy. The nal number of

full factorial minimised experiments were as follows:
L16+L16+L16 L48. Therefore the optimised number of experiments or data required is 48.
4.2. Surface roughness measurement

Fig. 5. Machining set up.

4. Design of experiments
A DoE strategy was applied in this machining experimentation
scenario as there were a large combination of experiments and also
because it can lead to an understanding of the relationship between
the different parameters [17]. In this case there are 3 variables,
namely speed, feed, and depth of cut, with each variable having a
range of data. An Orthogonal Array design methodology was chosen
as it provides the simplest means with which to minimise the
number of experiments. The variable data ranges were as follows:
feed: (25005500) mm/min, speed: (30008000) rpm, depth of cut:
(14) mm. These variable data ranges were gathered from previous
machining knowledge on polypropylene machining.

4.1. Orthogonal array design

Fig. 6 ad show the DoE strategy. Fig. 6a illustrates the number
of data points for a depth of cut of 1 mm for the different feed and
speed ranges. Each node indicates a pocket to be machined. The
parameters for that particular pocket are given on the X- and
Y-axis. Fig. 6b and c repeat this process but the depth of cut alters
each time. Fig. 6b is representing data at a depth of cut of 2.5 mm
and Fig. 6c represents data at a depth of cut of 4 mm. Fig. 6ac,

Measuring surface roughness of the polypropylene sculptured

features is performed using a laser prolometer, which is a noncontact method for measuring surface roughness. A Proscan 2000
prolometer [18] was used to measure a series of surface
roughness parameters. The laser measures each individual
sculptured feature according to a predened method. For each
feature the laser measures an area within the feature, which is
dened in the Proscan software. The movement mechanism of the
prolometer is also done using the system software. The movement in X- and Y-axis can also be adjusted.
Fig. 7 illustrates a view of the laser prolometers operations,
with the sample size being 3 mm in the X direction and 3 mm in
the Y direction. An illustration of the prolometer path is also
shown, in this case with step sizes of 0.015 mm together with a
graphical representation of the sampled area. Unlike traditional
methods of surface roughness measurement, such as with the
Taylor-Hobson Talysurf, [19] a laser prolometer provides a noncontact method with which to accurately measure surface
roughness.

5. Optimised surface roughness model for ball-end machining

To obtain an optimised surface roughness model for ball-end
machining of polypropylene, the authors have utilised a simple GA
[20] to optimise the machining parameters and attain an
optimised surface roughness model.
GAs are mainly based on biological genetics and selection
which is primarily Darwins theory of survival of the ttest [21].
These algorithms begin with a set of randomly generated initial
solutions known as chromosomes and the entire set of these
chromosomes form a population. A GA is a probabilistic search
algorithm which simulates the evolution process by applying
genetic operators over the initial set of solutions, i.e. population.
In the search process, the population is evaluated according to the
desired objective function and only the satisfactory population are

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Fig. 6. A representation of the DoE strategy: (a) array 1, depth of cut 1 mm, (b) array 2, depth of cut 2.5 mm, (c) array 2, depth of cut 4 mm, and (d) complete array for the
design of experiments.

Fig. 7. Illustration of sample size measurement and graphical representation.

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used for the reproduction that generates the new offspring. These
new offspring replace the unt population and this cycle of
evaluation-selection-reproduction is continued until a satisfactory solution is achieved [22]. One of the important steps in GAbased optimisation is the objective function, which is dened in
Section 5.1.
5.1. Objective function for the surface roughness model
The main objective of the surface roughness model is to
establish a relationship between surface roughness and the
process parameters such as feed, speed and depth of cut for the
ballnose machining of polypropylene. For this a universally
accepted empirical relationship [23], which relates surface roughness (Ra) proportionally to depth of cut and feed and inversely
proportionally to speed is used and presented as follows:
Ra

K  F a  Db
Sc

841

The surface roughness model parameters are obtained from GA

experiments. The termination criterion is set as the maximum
generations and the algorithm terminates as it reaches the
maximum generation which is obtained as 149. The initial
population for the experiments is considered as 50. Crossover
rate and mutation rate are 2 important parameters in the
optimisation and it is observed from extensive experiments that
low mutation rate and high crossover rates result in improved
convergence of the results. The convergence trend of the results
with the number of generations is shown in Fig. 9.
The optimised surface roughness model is tested over a
validation data set. The predicted Ra using optimised roughness

Procedure GA
begin
k = 0;
initialise(k);
evaluate P(t);
while (gen<= Max_gen)
begin
K = K + 1;
evaluate P(k-1);
select P(k) from P(k-1)
crossover on P(k)
mutation on P(k)
evaluate P(t);
end
end.

(1)

where K, a, b, c are constants to be optimised using GA and F, D

and S are feed, depth of cut and spindle speed.
The main objective of applying a GA for this optimisation is to
minimise the error value between the calculated surface roughness, i.e. Rai and experimental surface roughness, i.e. RaiF and
obtain the constants for the surface roughness predictive model.
The error function, i.e. the objective function for this problem is
presented as follows:
X
Objectivefunction
jRai  RF
(2)
ai j
in

where n is the number of the experiments.

Fig. 8. A pseudo-code for genetic algorithm.

5.2. GA-based optimisation methodology

The encoding scheme is important in the GA as it represents
the problem specic characteristics. The real coding is adopted as
an encoding scheme for representing the parameters of the
surface roughness model. The initial population is generated
randomly as it is believed that a more diverse population initiates
a more effective search. The chromosomes are evaluated in each
generation according to the objective function shown in Eq. (2).
A subset population is stochastically selected based on bestworst
selection scheme [24]. The crossover is applied over the selected
chromosomes where 2 parent strings are recombined to generate
2 new offspring. In this approach, single-point crossover is
applied. Mutation which induces diversity into the population of
design alternatives is also applied where new offspring is
generated by randomly varying the composition of the string of
chromosomes. The stopping criteria is also set for the algorithm
depending on the number of generations, if the maximum number
of the generations exceed the number of generations then the GA
terminates and produces optimised results. A pseudocode for the
optimisation methodology is presented in Fig. 8.

Table 2
Optimised parameters obtained from GA experimentation
Optimised parameters

Number of generations
Termination criteria
Cross over rate
Mutation rate

0.66

0.34

0.45

0.04

149
Number of generations exceeded
0.8
0.05

5.3. Application of GA-based optimisation

The experimental results are used for the optimisation of the
surface roughness model using the GA. The codes for the GA are
written in Matlab 7.0 which follows the logic of the pseudocode
shown in Fig. 8. The important parameters which are varied
for investigating the behaviour of the surface roughness model
to minimise the error, are size of the population, crossover
rate, mutation rate and number of generations. The optimised
parameters obtained from the GA experimentation are shown in
Table 2.

Fig. 9. Convergence trend of the objective function with the number of

generations.

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Table 3
Prediction of Ra of validation data set using optimised model
Feed

Speed

DoC

Measured Ra

Predicted Ra

% Deviation

2500
3500
4500
4500
5500
5500
2500
2500
3500
4500
4500
5500
3500
3500
4500
5500

4666.67
4666.67
4666.67
6333.34
4666.67
6333.34
4666.67
6333.34
4666.67
3000
4666.67
3000
3000
6333.34
3000
6333.34

1
1
1
1
1
1
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
2.5
4
4
4
4

6.3
8.4
7.9
8
8.9
7.2
8.2
9.9
10.6
14.3
13.3
11.6
13.2
13.6
15.9
17.4

6.76
7.59
8.28
8.17
8.88
8.76
10.23
10.09
11.50
12.80
12.55
13.72
14.52
14.03
15.84
16.41

7.3
9.64
4.81
2.09
0.22
21.66
24.75
1.91
8.49
10.48
5.63
18.27
10.00
3.16
0.37
5.68

model is compared with the measured Ra and their deviations are

reported in Table 3. The validation experiments are performed in
the same machining environment as the training experiments.
The mean deviation of Ra obtained by optimised surface roughness model over the validation dataset is obtained as 8.43%.

6. Conclusions and future research

The authors have realised the need for personalised products
in satisfying the ever-growing needs of the consumer. The novelty
of this research lies in the extraction of knowledge in terms of
machining parameters for achieving better surface nish whilst
ball-end machining polypropylene. The experimental results
indicated that selecting low speeds, feed and depths of cut result
in reduced surface roughness, whereas the surface roughness is
increased if feeds, speed and depths are higher.
This research illustrates one of the rst attempts at machining
soft materials using ball-end-milling methods and predicting
their subsequent surface roughness. There is becoming a need for
investigating the machining of various types of soft materials and
their surface characteristics which in turn can be useful in
developing more cost effective personalised products. The authors
have shown the use of GA to formulate an optimised surface
roughness prediction model for ball-end machining of polypropylene. This prediction model is tested on the validation
experimental set and the deviation of the prediction result with
the measured results is estimated as an average of 8.43% which is
small and shows the efcacy of the prediction model.

Acknowledgements
The work reported in this paper has been supported by a
number of grants for Engineering and Physical Sciences Research

Council (EPSRC), involving a large number of industrial collaborators. In particular, current research is being undertaken as part of
the EPSRC Innovative design and Manufacturing Research Centre
at the University of Bath (reference GR/R67507/01). The authors
gratefully express their thanks for the advice and support of all
concerned.
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