Proceedings of the 2011 International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, January 22 – 24, 2011 Development of Mathematical Cost Model for Room Temperature End-milling of AISI D2 Tool Steel Mohamed Elhadie 1 , A. N. Mustafizul Karim 1 , A. K. M. Nurul Amin 1 Department of Manufacturing and Materials Engineering International Islamic University Malaysia, Gombak, Kuala Lumpur 53100, Malaysia M. A. Lajis 2 Faculty of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, Johor Bahru 86400, Malaysia Abstract In this research paper, reliable mathematical model for estimating the cost of room temperature end-milling of AISI D2 tool steel using TiAlN coated carbide tool inserts is developed. Initially, the different components of machining cost were identified, followed by establishment of equations to determine their values. Then, the required experimental and non-experimental data were collected and the bottom-up approach was adopted for evaluating the cost of machining corresponding to each of fifteen experimental runs. The Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to develop the model in which the cost of machining is given as a function of the machining parameters; cutting speed, feed per tooth, and depth of cut, and expressed in RM per cm 3 . ANOVA output was utilized to check the adequacy of the developed model. The developed model was found to be statistically adequate and this was confirmed by the small prediction errors made by the model. Keywords: machining cost, cost modeling, room temperature end-milling, RSM, AISI D2 tool steel. 1.0 Introduction Advances in machine tool and cutting tools have allowed machining of hardened steels to become more spread in manufacturing processes, and to become a realistic replacement for many grinding operations [1]. With the advancement of technology, the problems of cost estimation, cost analysis and cost control have assumed great dominance in economic and engineering decisions. These factors are highly critical for the continued success of a manufacturing enterprise [2]. Cost estimates have several significant uses such as: to provide information to be used in establishing the selling prices [3] Development of reliable cost models to estimate the cost of room temperature machining of AISI D2 tool steel at different levels of machining parameters; cutting speed, feed, and depth of cut, is a useful endeavor. Having cost models enables determining which cost elements contribute most to the cost; i.e. it can identify cost drivers. With cost model it is possible to determine the conditions that minimize cost (cost optimization). In this research paper, the bottom-up and parametric cost estimation techniques were merged to develop a rather new technique that is free from the limitations of the parent techniques and inherits their advantages. The bottom-up and parametric cost estimation techniques are the most common in practice. They are the two main techniques from which several other techniques branch out [4]. The cost models found in the literature that can be used for estimating the cost of a machining run are generally less use-friendly, and do not combine between accuracy and user-friendliness. These problems, through merging the bottom-up and parametric techniques, and modeling the cost of machining as a function of a small number of parameters for which data can be obtained rather easily, are efficiently solved. 331