Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2008) 38:229–237
DOI 10.1007/s00170-007-1103-z
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Machining parameters optimization on the die casting
process of magnesium alloy using the grey-based
fuzzy algorithm
Ko-Ta Chiang & Nun-Ming Liu & Chih-Chung Chou
Received: 23 January 2007 / Accepted: 18 May 2007 / Published online: 14 June 2007
# Springer-Verlag London Limited 2007
Abstract The present investigation focuses on finding the
optimal machining parameters’ setting for the die casting
process of magnesium alloy using the grey-based fuzzy al-
gorithm. This proposed algorithm, coupling the grey rela-
tional analysis with the fuzzy logic, obtains a grey-fuzzy
reasoning grade to evaluate the multiple performance charac-
teristics according to the grey relational coefficient of each
performance characteristic. One of the real case studies per-
formed in the die casting process, thin-walled cover compo-
nents of liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, verifies that the
proposed optimum procedure is feasible and effective. The
casting density, warpage and flow mark of finished product
are adopted to evaluate the machiniablity performances.
Various die casting parameters, such as the die temperature,
the pressure of injection, the plunger velocity (first and second
stage) and the filling time are explored in the experiment. The
table of orthogonal array is used in the experimental design.
The response table, response graph and analysis of variance
(ANOVA) are used to find the optimal setting and the
influence of machining parameters on the multiple perfor-
mance characteristics. Under the circumstances of the optimal
machining parameters, the confirmation tests indicate the
effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Experimental results
have shown that the required performance characteristics in
the die casting process have great improvements by using this
proposed algorithm.
K.-T. Chiang (*) : N.-M. Liu : C.-C. Chou
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Hsiuping Institute of Technology,
No. 11, Gungye Rd., Dali City, Taichung,
Taiwan 41280, Republic of China
e-mail: kota@mail.hit.edu.tw
Keywords Grey relational analysis . Fuzzy . Optimization .
Magnesium alloy . Die casting process
1 Introduction
The magnesium alloys are widely used to produce the thin-
walled components with large surface areas because of their
high strength, low weight, high thermal conductivity and
excellent electromagnetic shielding characteristics. There-
fore, the magnesium alloys are increasingly being applied
in the production of a wide variety of components, such as
the personal computer (PC) parts, personal data assistant
(PDA), telecommunication equipment and general consum-
er components with complicated forms in computer, com-
munication and consumer electronic (3C) products [1–3].
The high-precision size and quality of appearance for pro-
ducing those components mentioned above are the most
significant goal in the manufacturing process. As the
application of magnesium alloys are increasing, it becomes
necessary to develop corresponding manufacturing process-
es capable of presenting a high quality product. Among the
present manufacturing processes, the die casting process is
successfully used to produce the components of magnesium
alloys due to the excellent advantages, such as low cost,
high productivity and stable quality. But the influences of
various machining parameters on the quality of finished
products are greatly complicated in the die casting process.
The principal machining parameters of die casting process
including the die temperature, metal velocity at the gate and
the applied casting pressure affect the mechanical properties
of die casting products [4, 5]. Moreover, the die tempera-
ture, the filling time and the cooling rate associated with the
die casting process determine a complex set of potential
defects within the finished products. Especially, the surface
230
defects of finished products such as thermal crack, surface
oxidization, warpage and flow mark need to repair by the
complex procedure of surface grinding and mend patch. It
will consume a large amount of cost and time. Therefore,
the selection of appropriate machining parameters for
fabricating a high-quality die casting magnesium alloy
products is becoming one of primary challenges in the
technology of the die casting process [6–11]. The setting of
appropriate machining parameters for any machined prod-
ucts with considerations of multiple performance character-
istics is greatly difficult and complicated, and relies on a
huge amount of experimental operations.
The grey relational system based on the grey system theory
[12, 13] has been proven to be useful for deal with poor,
incomplete and uncertain information to gain the relationship
of data among these information. It makes use of grey
relational generating and calculates the grey relational
coefficient to handle the uncertain systematic problem under
the status of only partial known information. The grey
relational coefficient can express the relationship between an
objective sequence (a collection of measurements or actual
experimental results) and a reference sequence (desired
experimental results or target value) in the grey system. A
grey relational grade is obtained from the average of the grey
relational coefficient to provide an optimal constitution ma-
chining parameters in which the manufacture simultaneously
requests multiple performance characteristics [14, 15].
The theory of fuzzy logic originated by Zadeh [16] is an
effectively mathematical model of resolving problems which
contain the uncertain and huge information. The fuzzy logic
analysis including the max-min fuzzy inference and centroid
defuzzification method [17] adopts the fuzziness of human
concepts to deal with multiple performance characteristics.
Therefore the fuzzy logic can also be applied to establish the
optimal setting of machining parameters with considerations
of multiple performance characteristics. In this study, a grey-
fuzzy reasoning grade to handle the grey relational coeffi-
cient of multiple performance characteristics has been
developed according to the fuzzy logic. The grey-based fuzzy
algorithm, integrating grey relational analysis and fuzzy logic,
has successfully used in the manufacturing of electrical
discharge machining (EDM) process [18, 19], turning process
[20], electricity management system [21] and water quality
management of a river system [22]. In the procedure of grey-
fuzzy logic analysis, the optimization of complicated
multiple performance characteristics can be converted into
the optimization of a single grey-fuzzy reasoning grade.
The main objective of this study is to employ the grey
relational analysis and fuzzy logic to establish the optimal
setting of machining parameters for the die casting process of
thin-walled magnesium alloy parts. The machining parame-
ters of die casting process in the present study include the die
temperature, the pressure of injection, the plunger velocity
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2008) 38:229–237
(first and second stage) and the filling time. The casting
density, warpage and flow mark of finished products are
considered as the performance evaluation and explored in the
experiment. One of the real case studies performed in the die
casting process, thin-walled cover components of liquid
crystal display (LCD) panel, verifies that the proposed
optimum procedure is feasible and effective. Furthermore,
the response table, response graph and analysis of variance
(ANOVA) are used to find the optimal levels and the effect of
machining parameters on the performance characteristics.
2 The integrated algorithm of grey relational analysis
and fuzzy logic
2.1 Grey relational analysis
The grey represents the primitive data having poor, incom-
plete and uncertain information, and the incomplete relation-
ship of information among these data is called the gray
relation. Grey relational analysis uses the quantitative analysis
to describe the degree of relationship between an objective
sequence (a collection of measurements or experimental
results) and a reference sequence (target value) in the grey
system. The measurement of relationship between two above
sequences can be expressed as the grey relational coefficient.
In the grey system, the set of sequence Xi is expressed in the
following:
Xi ¼ ½Xi ð1Þ; Xi ð2Þ;


; Xi ðk Þ; i 2 I; k 2 N ð1Þ
where Xi (k),i ≠ 0 is the objective sequence and X0 (k) is the
reference sequence. In the procedure of grey relational
analysis, the raw sequences are first normalized in the range
between 0 and 1 due to the different measurement units and
scales. This process is called the grey relational generating.
The normalized results reveal the situation of better perfor-
mance in the grey relational analysis. The large value of
normalized results can express the better performance, and the
best-normalized results will be equal to one. The normalized
type depends on the characteristics of raw sequence including
the larger-the-better, smaller-the-better and nominal-the-better
characteristic. Consequently, the type of normalized results
can be expressed as following for the larger-the-better
characteristic:
Xi ðk Þ  minXi ðk Þ
8k
Xi ðk Þ ¼ ð2Þ
maxXi ðk Þ  minXi ðk Þ
8k 8k
for the smaller-the-better characteristic
max Xi ðk Þ  Xi ðk Þ
8k
Xi ðk Þ ¼ ð3Þ
max Xi ðk Þ  min Xi ðk Þ
8k 8k
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2008) 38:229–237
and for the nominal-the-better characteristic
jXi ðk Þ  Xob ðk Þj
Xi ðk Þ ¼ 1 
max Xi ðk Þ  min Xi ðk Þ
8k 8k
where max Xi ðk Þ and min Xi ðk Þ is the largest and smallest value
8k 8k
of Xi (k), respectively, and Xob (k) is the target of Xi(k). The
grey relational coefficient ξi (k) for Xi (k) to X0 (k) is
calculated as following
Δ min þβΔ max
ξ i ðk Þ ¼
Δo;i ðk Þ þ βΔ max



where Δ0;i ðk Þ ¼
X0 ðk Þ  Xi ðk Þ
is the absolute
 difference
of two comparative sequence, Δ min ¼ min min
X ðk Þ X  ðk Þj


i2I k
0 i
and Δ max ¼ max max
X ðk Þ  X 
ð k Þ
are the minimum
i2I k
0
i

maximum value of Δ0;i ðk Þ ¼
X0 ðk Þ  Xi ðk Þ
respectively,
and β is the distinguishing coefficient which is adjusted
according to the systematic actual status and defined in the
range between 0 and 1. Here the value of β will be set to 0.5
and this value is used to apply in most situations. The grey
relational coefficient is applied to display the relationship
between the optimal (best=1) and actual normalized results.
The higher value of grey relational coefficient ξi(k) repre-
sents that the corresponding experimental result is closer to
the optimal (best) normalized value for the single response.
2.2 Fuzzy logics
In fact, the grey relational coefficient ξi(k) for each corres-
ponding sequence contains some degree of uncertainty and
vagueness in the definition of response characteristic, in-
cluding the larger-the-better, the smaller-the-better and the
nominal-the-better characteristics. A fuzzy reasoning for the
multi-response characteristics based on fuzzy logic is pro-
posed for obtaining the optimal factors/levels combination in
a multi-responses problem. In the procedure of fuzzy
reasoning, the fuzzifier initially uses membership functions
to fuzzify the grey relational coefficient ξi(k) for each
sequence. A membership function (MF) is to determine how
each input value is mapped to a membership value (or degree
of membership) between 0 and 1. The fuzzify inference engine
will perform a fuzzy interface on the fuzzy rules in order to
generate a fuzzy value. The most popular defuzzification
method is the centroid calculation which returns the
center of area under the curve. The aggregation of a fuzzy set
encompasses a range of output values, so it must be de-
fuzzified in order to resolve a single output value from this set.
Therefore, the defuzzifier can convert the fuzzy value into a
non-fuzzy value, which is called the grey-fuzzy reasoning
grade in this procedure.
In this study, the membership function adopts the
trapezoidal membership function which has a flat top and
a truncated triangle curve. In the fuzzy logic, these if-then
231
rule statements are used to formulate the conditional state-
ments which have the multi-response grey relational coeffi-
ð4Þ cients ξn and one multi-response output η, that is
Rule 1 : if ξ1 is A11 and ξ2 is A12 . . . and ξn is A1n ð6aÞ
then η is D1 else
Rule 2 : if ξ1 is A21 and ξ2 is A22 . . . and ξn is A2n ð6bÞ
then η is D2 else. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ð5Þ
..............................
Rule i : if ξ1 is Ai1 and ξ2 is Ai2 . . . and ξn is Ain ð6cÞ
and then η is Di else. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
....................................
Rule n : if ξ1 is An2 and ξ2 is An2 . . . and ξn is Ann ð6dÞ
then η is Dn
where Ai1, Ai2, ... , Ain and Di are the fuzzy subsets defined
by the corresponding membership functions, i.e., μAi1 ; μAi2 ;
. . . ; μAin and mDi . The fuzzy multi-response output η is
provided from those above rules by employing the max-
min interface operation. Inference results in a fuzzy set with
membership function for the multi-response output η can be
expressed as following
 
μD0 ðηÞ ¼ μA11 ðξ1 Þ ^ μA12 ðξ2 Þ ^ μA13 ðξ3 Þ ^


μA1n ðξn Þ ^ μD1 ðηÞ


_
 
μAn1 ðξ1 Þ ^ μAn2 ðξ2 Þ ^ μAn3 ðξ3 Þ ^


μAnn ðξn Þ ^ μDn ðηÞ
ð7Þ
where ∨ and ∧ are the minimum and maximum operation,
respectively.
Finally, the fuzzy multi-response output μD0(η) must be
transferred to a non-fuzzy value η0 by the calculation of
centroid defuzzification method, that is
P
η μD0 ðηÞ
η0 ¼ P ð8Þ
μD0 ðηÞ
This non-fuzzy value η0 is called the grey-fuzzy reasoning
grade. The grey-fuzzy reasoning grade η0 can handle the
optimization of complicated multiple machining responses.
Using the value of grey-fuzzy reasoning grade η0, the
relational degree between main factor and other factors is
calculated for each response characteristic. Hence the higher
value of grey-fuzzy reasoning grade η0 indicates that the
experimental result close to the ideally normalized value.
2.3 The proposed optimal procedure
The integrated algorithm combines the grey relational analy-
sis with fuzzy logic in order to determine the machining
232 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2008) 38:229–237

Adopting an appropriate orthogonal array
Determining the level of machining parameters
Defining the machining performances evaluation
Normalizing the experimental results X i (k ), i 0
(Grey relational analysis)
Grey relational generating, X i* (k)
0,i (k ) = X 0* (k ) ⎯ X i* (k ) , min = min min X 0* (k) ⎯ X i* (k )
i ∈I
parameters with optimal response characteristics, and is illu-
strated as Fig. 1. This proposed algorithm, including seven
steps, is summarized as following [18–22]:
Step (1) Adopting an appropriate orthogonal array to plan
the experimental design and determining the
level of machining parameters.
Step (2) Defining the machining responses evaluation and
normalizing the experimental results Xi(k), i ≠ 0
by using the formula (2)–(4).
Step (3) Using the formula (5) for each machining
response to calculate the grey relational coeffi-
k

max = max max X 0* (k ) ⎯ X * (k)

i
cient ξi(k).
i ∈I k
Step (4) Establishing the trapezoidal membership function
and fuzzy rxule to fuzzify the grey relational
Grey relational coefficient ξi (k ) coefficient ξi(k) of each response.
min +ξ max Step (5) Calculating the fuzzy multi-responses output
ξ i (k) = μD0(η) by the max-min interface operation and
o, i ( k ) + ξ max
using the formula (8) to transfer the μD0(η) into a
grey-fuzzy reasoning grade η0.
Step (6) Performing the response table and response graph
(Fuzzy logic)
Fuzzifier to select the optimal level setting of machining
Inference Engine parameters.
Membership function, Fuzzy rules Step (7) Confirming test and verifying the optimal setting
of machining parameters.
Defuzzifier
η µD0 (η )
Grey-fuzzy reasoning grade η0 = ∑
∑µD0 (η )
3 The optimal setting of machining parameters
for the die casting process of thin-walled LCD
Selection of optimal machining parameters cover components
Confirming test
3.1 Experimental equipment and materials
Fig. 1 Structure of the grey-fuzzy integrated algorithm for the optimal
machining parameters
The experimental studies were performed on a CF-30HT
heating chamber fully automatic die casting machine
(Cheng Feng Machinery Works Co., Ltd). The tie bar
diameter is 55 mm, the die plunger stroke is 185 mm and the
locking force is 30 tons. The shielding gas used in the die
casting process is a mixture of SF6 and N2. The casting
experimental setup is shown in Fig. 2. The machined

Fig. 3 Designed geometry and dimensions of notebook LCD panel

Fig. 2 The casting experimental setup cover
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2008) 38:229–237 233

Table 1 Design scheme of machining parameters and their levels (TESA Micro-Hide 3D CMM). The measured direction is
Symbol Machining unit Level along the normal vector of surface. The maximum warpage
parameter value of all reference points is adopted as the warpage value
1 2 3 4 of the whole product in this process. The flow mark appears
with higher probability to the surface defect for the LCD
A Die temperature °C 200 220 240 260
B Pressure of MPa 15 17.5 20 22.5 panel cover components. The flow mark presents irregular
injection lines like streamline wave which is created by the flow of
C Plunger velocity m/s 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 liquid magnesium alloy in the mould. Although the flow
first stage mark does not affect the strength and function of finished
D Plunger velocity m/s 1.5 2 2.5 3 product, the flow mark are perceived the quality of machined
second stage surface. In the die casting process, the maximization of
E Filling time ms 30 60 90 120
casting density and the minimization of warpage and flow
mark are the indications of better machining responses. The
casting density is regarded as larger-the-better characteristic
material in this study is commercially available AZ91D and both the warpage and the flow mark are the smaller-
(Mg, Al-9%, Zn-1%) magnesium alloy. The size of thin- the-better characteristic, and they affect each other relatively.
walled LCD panel cover components is 330×265×8 mm
and the mean thickness is 0.8 mm as shown in Fig. 3. The 3.1.2 Machining parameter selection
mould of LCD panel cover is designed with a tapered runner
system, and the type of gate is a fan gate (160×1 mm). The experiment is initially designed on a three-level robust
design with full factor replication based on the design of
3.1.1 Machining performances evaluation experiments (DOE). This factional factorial experimental
design is called an orthogonal array and becomes a more
The casting density, warpage and flow mark of the LCD effective method for the practicing engineers and scientists.
panel cover components were considered as the criterion In this study, the factors of machining parameters and the
affecting the results of surface quality, and were adopted factor levels were identified according to the characteristics
as the performance characteristics in the die casting process. of AZ91D magnesium alloy and the correlated processing
The casting density relates to the internal defects including parameter of experimental equipment. This experiment
the porosity, shrinkage, micro voids, etc. The values of specifies five principal machining parameters including
warpage are obtained through the comparison of dimension- (A) the die temperature, (B) the pressure of injection, (C)
al measurement between actual injection-molded part and the plunger velocity (first stage), (D) the plunger velocity
design part at some reference points. The value of warpage (second stage), and (E) the filling time as the machining
was measured by using the coordinate measuring machine parameters. The three levels for above each machining

Table 2 Experimental layout

using an L16 orthogonal array Exp no. Machining parameter Casting density(g/cm3) Warpage(mm) Flow mark(%)

A B C D E

1 1 1 1 1 1 2.742 0.228 0.178

2 1 2 2 2 2 2.746 0.245 0.095
3 1 3 3 3 3 2.645 0.224 0.114
4 1 4 4 4 4 2.744 0.254 0.165
5 2 1 2 3 4 2.746 0.201 0.153
6 2 2 1 4 3 2.745 0.203 0.142
7 2 3 4 1 2 2.748 0.221 0.125
8 2 4 3 2 1 2.746 0.212 0.154
9 3 1 3 4 2 2.737 0.172 0.114
10 3 2 4 3 1 2.741 0.184 0.131
11 3 3 1 2 4 2.738 0.201 0.146
12 3 4 2 1 3 2.743 0.187 0.132
13 4 1 4 2 3 2.741 0.165 0.152
14 4 2 3 1 4 2.743 0.175 0.123
15 4 3 2 4 1 2.740 0.187 0.154
16 4 4 1 3 2 2.742 0.196 0.152
234 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2008) 38:229–237

1.1
Table 3 The ξi(k) for each machining response 1
0.9
ξ1(k) ξ2(k) ξ3(k) Very small

Membership grading
Exp no. 0.8 Small
0.7
Smaller middle
1 0.896 0.414 0.333 0.6
Middle
0.5
2 0.963 0.357 1.000 Biger middle
0.4
3 0.333 0.430 0.686 0.3 Big
4 0.928 0.333 0.372 0.2 Very big
0.1
5 0.963 0.553 0.417
0
6 0.945 0.539 0.469

31
38
46

92

00
08

62
69
00

23

54

85
15

77
7 1.000 0.443 0.580

0.
0.
0.

0.

1.
0.

0.
0.
0.

0.

0.

0.
0.

0.
8 0.963 0.486 0.413 grey-fuzzy reasoning grade

9 0.824 0.864 0.686 Fig. 5 The seven fuzzy subsets of grey-fuzzy reasoning grade
10 0.880 0.701 0.535
11 0.837 0.553 0.449 3.3 Calculating the grey-fuzzy reasoning grade
12 0.912 0.669 0.529
13 0.880 1.000 0.421 First, Fig. 4 shows that three fuzzy subsets are assigned in
14 0.912 0.817 0.597
the grey relational coefficient of the casting density, warpage
15 0.866 0.669 0.413
and flow mark by using this trapezoidal membership
16 0.896 0.589 0.421
function. In the fuzzy logic, these if-then rule statements
are used to formulate the conditional statements that has two
parameter are identified by digits 1, 2, 3 and 4 as shown in the grey relational coefficients, ξ1 ξ2 and ξ3, and one multi-
Table 1. The interaction between the machining parameters response output, η, that is
is neglected in this study. Rule 1 : if ξ1 is A11 and ξ2 is A12 and ξ3 is A13 ð9aÞ
The table of L16 (45) orthogonal arrays for five machining then η is D1 else
parameters and four levels are employed and shown in Table 2.
Each combination of experiments will be repeated three
Rule 2 : if ξ1 is A21 and ξ2 is A22 and ξ3 is A23 ð9bÞ
times to acquire a more accurate result in this process.
then η is D2 else
3.2 Calculating the grey relational coefficient
Rule 3 : if ξ1 is A31 and ξ2 is A32 and ξ3 is A33 then η is D3
According to the procedure of grey relational analysis, the ð9cÞ
experimental results for the casting density, warpage and
flow mark in Table 3 are first normalized by using formula The seven fuzzy subsets can be applied to the multi-
(2). The grey relational coefficient ξi(k) for each machining response output η, as shown Fig. 5. Hence the 27 fuzzy rules
response is calculated by formula (5) and listed in Table 3.
The experimental No.7, 13 and 2 in the Table 3 have the Table 4 The grey-fuzzy reasoning grade η0 of the multiple machining
best machining response for the casting density, warpage responses
and flow mark, respectively.
Exp no. Grey-fuzzy reasoning grade η0 Order
1.2
1 0.5686 14
2 0.7943 3
1
3 0.5041 16
4 0.5655 15
Membership grade

0.8
5 0.6652 10
Small
6 0.6721 8
0.6 Middle
7 0.6954 7
Large
8 0.6416 12
0.4
9 0.8123 1
10 0.7265 5
0.2
11 0.6339 13
12 0.7241 6
0
13 0.7882 4
0 0.05 0.45 0.55 0.95 1
14 0.7960 2
Grey relational coefficient
15 0.6702 9
Fig. 4 The trapezoidal membership function for the casting density, 16 0.6565 11
warpage and flow mark
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2008) 38:229–237 235

Table 5 Response table for the grey-fuzzy reasoning grade

Symbol Machining parameter Grey-fuzzy reasoning grade

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Max-Min

A Die temperature 0.6081 0.6686 0.7242 0.7277 0.1196

B Pressure of injection 0.7086 0.7473 0.6259 0.6469 0.1213
C Plunger velocity first stage 0.6328 0.7135 0.6885 0.6939 0.0807
D Plunger velocity second stage 0.6961 0.7145 0.6381 0.6800 0.0765
E Filling time 0.6518 0.7396 0.6721 0.6652 0.0879

Total mean value of the grey-fuzzy reasoning grade=0.6822

are directly obtained according to the occurrence that the In this study, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) is carried
large grey relational coefficient is the better process out to examine the influence of machining parameters on the
response. The inferential results in a fuzzy set with mem- performance characteristics. The results of ANOVA deter-
bership function for this multi-response output η can be mine the percent contribution of machining parameters in
expressed as order to obtain the influential degree of machining parameters
on the total performance characteristics. In general, the
  percent contribution of machining parameters can be calcu-
μD0 ðηÞ ¼ μA11 ðξ1 Þ ^ μA12 ðξ2 Þ ^ μA13 ðξ3 Þ ^ μD1 ðηÞ _ ð10Þ lated by the following equations:
 
μA21 ðξ1 Þ ^ μA22 ðξ2 Þ ^ μA23 ðξ3 Þ ^ μD2 ðηÞ _
 
μA31 ðξ1 Þ ^ μA32 ðξ2 Þ ^ μA33 ðξ3 Þ ^ μD2 ðηÞ X
n
nX L
SStotal ¼ η20i  nðηom Þ2 ; SSfactor ¼ ðη  η0m Þ2
i¼1
L i¼1 0i
where ∧ and ∨ are the minimum and maximum operation, ð11Þ
respectively. The fuzzy multi-responses output μD0(η) has
been transferred to a grey-fuzzy reasoning grade η0 accord- X
ing to formula (8). The experiment result of grey-fuzzy SSerror ¼ SStotal  SSfactor ð12Þ
reasoning grade η0 for the multiple (total) responses are
tabulated in Table 4. In this study, the experimental No. 9
has the best multiple (total) machining responses among the
DOFtotal ¼ n  1; DOFfactor ¼ L  1 ð13Þ
16 experiments in Table 4.

3.4 Analysis results and discussion

SSfactor Vfactor
Vfactor ¼ ; Ffactor ¼ ð14Þ
The response table and response graph are obtained from DOF Verror
the average value of the grey-fuzzy reasoning grade η0 for
each level of the machining parameters in order to find the where SStotal is the total sum of squared deviations, SSfactor
optimal levels of four machining parameters. The optimal is the factorial sum of squared deviations, n is the number
setting of machining parameter is to select the level with of experiments, DOF is the number of degrees of freedom,
higher value of grey-fuzzy reasoning grade η0. Since the L is the number of factor’s level, Vfactor is the variance of
grey-fuzzy reasoning grade η0 represents the level of
relationship between the reference sequence and the objec-
tive sequence, the greater value of grey-fuzzy reasoning 0.80

grade η0 reveals that the objective sequence has a stronger 0.76

Grey relational grade

correlation to the reference sequence. Therefore, the value of 0.72

grey-fuzzy reasoning grade η0 for each level is the greater 0.68

the better in the response table. From Table 5 and Fig. 6, the 0.64

level constitution of optimal machining parameters is A4, 0.60

B2, C2, D2 and E2 for maximizing casting density, and 0.56

A1 A2 A3 A4 B1 B2 B3 B4 C1 C2 C3 C4 D1 D2 D3 D4 E1 E2 E3 E4
minimizing warpage and flow mark, among the 16 experi- Machining parameters level
ments, simultaneously. Fig. 6 The response graph for each level of the machining parameters
236 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2008) 38:229–237

Table 6 Results of the analysis of variance

Symbol Machining parameter DOF Sum of squares Variance F Contribution

A Die temperature 3 0.0380 0.0127 2.9810 31.43%

B Pressure of injection 3 0.0374 0.0125 2.9280 30.87%
C Plunger velocity first stage 3 0.0144 0.0048 1.1271 11.89%
D Plunger velocity second stage 3 0.0128 0.0043 1.0000 10.54%
E Filling time 3 0.0185 0.0062 1.4473 15.26%
Error 0.0000
Total 15 0.1210 100.00%

the factor, Ffactor is the F-ratio of the factor, η0i is the grey-
fuzzy reasoning grade η0 of each experiment, and η0m is the
total mean of the grey-fuzzy reasoning grade. Statistically,
the Fisher’s F test [23] provides a decision at some
confidence level as to whether these parameters are signifi-
cantly effective on the machining response characteristic.
Large value of F-ratio indicates that the change of the ma-
chining parameter makes a significant effect on the machining
response characteristic.
From the results of ANOVA in the Table 6, the
contribution percentage of first two significant machining
parameters namely (A) the die temperature and (B) the
pressure of injection are 31.43% and 30.87%, respectively.
From the F-test analysis, those parameters have decided to
be the significant factor again. Therefore the above two
machining parameters are noticeably variable factors as the
resources of increasing quality. It is also seen from Table 6
that (C) the plunger velocity of first stage, (D) the plunger
velocity of second stage and (E) the filling time affect the
total performance characteristics by 18.89%, 10.54% and
15.26%, respectively. Those machining parameters are
regarded as unnoticeably variable factors to reduce manu-
facturing costs.
Table 7 The comparing results of the initial and optimal machining
parameters
3.5 Running confirmation experiment
Since the optimal level of the machining parameters is
selected, the confirmation test is processed to verify the
improvement of total performance characteristics. The result
of the confirmation experiment is expressed by the estimated
grey-fuzzy reasoning grade b h0 . The estimated grey-fuzzy
reasoning grade bh0 for the optimal levels of the machining
parameters can be calculated in the following:
X
N
b
η0 ¼ η0m þ ðη0i  η0m Þ ð15Þ
i¼1
where h0i is the mean of the grey-fuzzy reasoning grade at
the optimal level and N is the number of the machining
parameters. The initial design machining parameters are A1,
B3, C3, D3 and E3, which is the experimental No. 3 in the
Table 2. As shown in Table 7, the results of confirmation test
indicate that the casting density is improved from 2.645 to
2.762 g/cm3, the value of warpage is reduced from 0.224 to
0.142 mm and the value of flow mark is decreased from
0.114 to 0.089%, respectively. The estimated grey-fuzzy
reasoning grade b h0 increases to 0.9139, which is the largest
value obtained in all experimental results in the Table 4.
Consequently, it clearly shows that the required performance
characteristics in the die casting process have great improve-
ments by using this proposed algorithm.

Machining parameter Initial Optimal 4 Conclusions

Prediction Experiment
In this study, a fast and effective algorithm integrating the
A1 B3 A4 B2 C2 A4 B2 C2 grey relational analysis and the fuzzy logic is applied to
C3 D3 D2 E2 D2 E2 find the optimal setting of machining parameters in the die
E3
casting process of thin-walled magnesium alloy parts. The
Casting density 2.645 2.764 2.762
Warpage 0.224 0.144 0.142
conclusions of research are as follows:
Flow mark 0.114 0.087 0.089 (1) This proposed algorithm acquires a grey-fuzzy reasoning
Grey-fuzzy reasoning grade 0.5041 0.9142 0.9139 grade to evaluate the multiple performance character-
Improvement of the grey- 0.4101 0.4098
istics. It is more effective to make the determination of
fuzzy reasoning grade
optimal setting and can greatly simplify the optimization
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2008) 38:229–237
procedure for the complicated multiple performance
characteristics.
(2) The die temperature and the pressure of injection are the
most significant machining parameters with contribution
percentage of 31.43% and 30.87%, respectively, in the
die casting process of thin-walled magnesium LCD
panel cover components.
(3) From the results of confirmation test, the multiple
performance characteristics including casting density,
warpage and flow mark have great improvement in the
die casting process by using this proposed algorithm in
this study.
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