Investigation of the Machining Parameters and the Environment of Polyamide 6 on Surface Roughness Using Experimental and Statistical Methods
Received: 6 July 2025 | Revised: 1 August 2025 and 25 August 2025 | Accepted: 30 August 2025 | Online: 8 December 2025
Corresponding author: Moneer H. Tolephih
Abstract
This study investigates experimentally and statistically the influences of the Machining Parameters (MPs) and environments on the surface roughness (Ra) of Polyamide 6 (PA6) during the turning operation. The experiments were conducted using a lathe machine, carbide cutting tool, and roughness tester. The statistical approach was implemented using Taguchi Experiment Design (TED) and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The parameters and their values were: cutting velocity (VC) of 125, 200, and 250 m/min; feed rate (FR) of 0.05, 0.1, and 0.15 mm/rev; and cutting depth (DC) of 2, 4, and 6 mm. The environments used were: dry (D), compressed air (A), and air-water mixture (A+W). The research aimed to improve the cutting surface quality of PA6 based on the R criterion. The results revealed that the FR is the most influential factor on R compared to other factors. The effect percentages on R were 61%, 15%, 13%, and 11% for FR, Machining Environments (MEs), DC, and VC, respectively. The optimum combination has been achieved based on an FR of 0.05 mm/rev, air with water, a DC of 2 mm, and a VC of 125 m/min, providing a minimum total average surface roughness (Ra) of 1.2 μm for PA6. The study demonstrates that an optimum combination can enhance the cutting surface quality, reduce the machining costs, and provide a pathway for producing high-performance PA6 components.
Keywords:
Polyamide 6, cutting velocity, feed rate, cutting depth, machining environment, surface roughness, Taguchi design, ANOVADownloads
References
E. Moshkbid, D. E. Cree, L. Bradford, and W. Zhang, "Biodegradable Alternatives to Plastic in Medical Equipment: Current State, Challenges, and the Future," Journal of Composites Science, vol. 8, no. 9, Sept. 2024, Art. no. 342. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs8090342
A. Patti and D. Acierno, "Towards the Sustainability of the Plastic Industry through Biopolymers: Properties and Potential Applications to the Textiles World," Polymers, vol. 14, no. 4, Feb. 2022, Art. no. 692. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14040692
H. Fu et al., "Overview of Injection Molding Technology for Processing Polymers and Their Composites," ES Materials & Manufacturing, vol. 8, pp. 3–23, 2020.
G. Pelin, M. Sonmez, and C.-E. Pelin, "The Use of Additive Manufacturing Techniques in the Development of Polymeric Molds: A Review," Polymers, vol. 16, no. 8, Apr. 2024, Art. no. 1055. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16081055
X. Li et al., "Enhanced Thermal Properties of Polyamide 6, 6 Composite/Aluminum Hybrid via Injection Joining Strategy," International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, vol. 116, July 2020, Art. no. 104696. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icheatmasstransfer.2020.104696
A. Belkhiri, "Controlling Glass/Matrix Interfacial Interactions Applied to In Situ Anionic PA6 Synthesis for Composite Manufacturing," Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Polytechnic Institute of Toulouse, Toulouse, France, 2022.
R. Kumar, S. K. Mishra, and S. Jayapalan, "Experimental Analysis on the Microstructural, Mechanical, Thermal and Tribological Properties of Graphene Nanoplatelets and Molybdenum Disulfide Filled Polyamide‐6,6 Novel Hybrid Composite," Polymer Composites, vol. 46, no. 5, pp. 4703–4728, Apr. 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/pc.29270
R. Bertolini, A. Ghiotti, and S. Bruschi, "Machinability of Polyamide 6 Under Cryogenic Cooling Conditions," Procedia Manufacturing, vol. 48, pp. 419–427, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2020.05.064
M. Ovhal and P. Bharti, "Investigation of Optimization Machining Parameter for POM (Polyoxymethylene) while using TNMG Insert by Taguchi, ANOVA," SSRN Electronic Journal, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4664300
H. Ying et al., "Investigation of the Effect of the Cut Parameter on the Machining Performance of PTFE Cutting," Journal of Manufacturing Processes, vol. 103, pp. 144–155, Oct. 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmapro.2023.08.041
M. Aruna, "Optimization of Cutting Parameters in Machining Polyoxymethylene Using RSM," IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, vol. 893, no. 1, July 2020, Art. no. 012005. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/893/1/012005
A. I. Alateyah, Y. El-Taybany, S. El-Sanabary, W. H. El-Garaihy, and H. Kouta, "Experimental Investigation and Optimization of Turning Polymers Using RSM, GA, Hybrid FFD-GA, and MOGA Methods," Polymers, vol. 14, no. 17, Aug. 2022, Art. no. 3585. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14173585
M. Bozdemir, "Prediction of Surface Roughness considering Cutting Parameters and Humidity Condition in End Milling of Polyamide Materials," Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience, vol. 2018, pp. 1–7, June 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/5850432
M. Abas et al., "Experimental Investigation and Statistical Evaluation of Optimized Cutting Process Parameters and Cutting Conditions to Minimize Cutting Forces and Shape Deviations in Al6026-T9," Materials, vol. 13, no. 19, Sept. 2020, Art. no. 4327. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13194327
P. Quitiaquez, J. Cocha, W. Quitiaquez, and X. Vaca, "Investigation of Geometric Parameters with HSS Tools in Machining Polyamide 6 using Taguchi Method," Materials Today: Proceedings, vol. 49, pp. 181–187, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.08.002
P. Sidiq, R. M. Abdalrahman, and S. Rostam, "Optimizing the Simultaneous Cutting-Edge Angles, Included Angle and Nose Radius for Low Cutting Force in Turning Polyamide PA66," Results in Materials, vol. 7, Sept. 2020, Art. no. 100100. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rinma.2020.100100
M. A. Salman et al., "Effect of Nozzle Diameter and Raster Angle on the Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Nylon/ Carbon Fibers," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 21410–21417, Apr. 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.48084/etasr.9979
W. H. A. Shaheen, M. Salman, R. A. Alaloosi, M. H. Tolephih, W. S. Abd Al-Sahb, and O. I. Abdullah, "Investigation of Effective Parameters on Oxygen Free High Conductivity Copper Deformation Based on Cutting Molds Design and Numerical Approach," Advances in Science and Technology Research Journal, vol. 19, no. 7, pp. 480–495, July 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12913/22998624/204303
E. Parodi, "Structure Properties Relations for Polyamide 6," Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Eindhoven, Netherlands, 2017.
C. Hamzaçebi, "Taguchi Method as a Robust Design Tool," in Quality Control - Intelligent Manufacturing, Robust Design and Charts, P. Li, P. António Rodrigues Pereira, and H. Navas, Eds., IntechOpen, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.94908
J. Antony, Designof Experiments for Engineers and Scientists, 3rd ed. Edinburgh, Scotland, UK: Elsevier, 2023.
E. A. Ayyıldız, M. Ayyıldız, and F. Kara, "Optimization of Surface Roughness in Drilling Medium‐Density Fiberboard with a Parallel Robot," Advances in Materials Science and Engineering, vol. 2021, no. 1, Jan. 2021, Art. no. 6658968. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6658968
I. Sztankovics, "Study on the Roughness Parameters Describing Surface Functionality in Bore Honing," Multidiszciplináris Tudományok, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 135–143, Dec. 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.35925/j.multi.2023.2.12
Downloads
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Wael H. A. Shaheen, Marwan Salman, Moneer H. Tolephih, Thamir Alsharifi, Wassan S. Abd Al-Sahb, Oday I. Abdullah

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) after its publication in ETASR with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
