Digraph and matrix methods for the machinability evaluation of work materials

Abstract

This paper presents a methodology to evaluate the machinability of work materials for a given machining operation using digraph and matrix methods. A universal machinability index is proposed that evaluates and ranks work materials for a given machining operation. The index is obtained from a universal machinability junction, obtained from the universal machinability attributes digraph. The digraph is developed considering machinability attributes and their relative importances for the operation considered. Coefficients of similarity and dissimilarity and the identification sets are also proposed. These are also obtained from the universal machinability function and are useful for easy storage and retrieval of the data. Two examples are included to illustrate the approach.