Multi-objective optimization of parameters for milling using evolutionary algorithms and artificial neural networks

Model-based design of manufacturing processes have been gaining popularity since the advent of machine learning algorithms such as evolutionary algorithms and artificial neural networks (ANN). The problem of selecting the best machining parameters can be cast an optimization problem given a cost function and by utilizing an input-output connectionist framework using as ANNs. In this paper, we present a comparison of various evolutionary algorithms for parameter optimization of an end-milling operation based on a well-known cost function from literature. We propose a modification to the cost function for milling and include an additional objective of minimizing surface roughness and by using NSGA-II, a multiobjective optimization algorithm. We also present comparison of several population-based evolutionary search algorithms such as variants of particle swarm optimization, differential evolution and NSGA-II.