Computer-aided accuracy enhancement for multi-axis CNC machine tool

A computer-aided error compensation scheme has been developed to enhance the accuracy of multi-axis CNC machine tools by compensating for machine geometric and thermal errors in software way. Stationary geometric errors including the coupling effect of linkage errors between machine slides are calibrated off line. Dynamic thermal errors are predicted on line by an artificial neural network model. Because machine errors are variant with the cutting time and slide positions, a PC based compensation controller has been developed to upgrade commercial CNC controllers for real-time error compensation. The real-time compensation capability is achieved by digital I/0 communication between the compensation controller and CNC controller without the need of any hardware modification to the machine servo-drive loops. The compensation scheme implemented on a horizontal machining center has been proven to improve the machine accuracy by one order of magnitude using a laser interferometer and cutting test.     

A study of thermally induced machine tool errors in real cutting conditions

A thermal error model for software error compensation is usually established from air cutting experiments. The accuracy of the air cutting model in real machining applications is often questioned. In this research the characteristics of thermal errors in real cutting conditions are studied. An analysis based on a regression error model and an artificial neural network-based error model are studied and compared for free air cutting and real cutting conditions. The result shows that the prediction accuracy of the air cutting model is unacceptable in real cutting applications. This is because the cutting load and the cutting coolant applications produce significant thermal effects not taken into account by the air cutting approach. In some cases the predicted result of an air cutting model may go in the opposite direction to the actual error in real cutting. On the other hand, the hybrid model derived from air cutting and real cutting data gives a satisfactory prediction for real cutting conditions.     

Dynamic controlled milling process for bone machining

Optimal control of the machining process in orthopedic surgery can not only increase productivity but also ensure safety during tool usage. The authors have developed a technology for a force control system. The system has two modes of operation: the “air-cutting mode” and the “force control mode.” In the air-cutting mode, tool feed is scheduled by predicting the air and bone-cutting zones from the CAD/CAM system. In the force control mode, the software monitors the cutting force and the cutting temperature, and it controls the feed override according to the difference between the real and the desired cutting force. The software is installed on a robot controller, and its effectiveness is evaluated with a urethane bone.     

Enhanced virtual machining for sculptured surfaces by integrating machine tool error models into NC machining simulation

Sculptured surface machining is a time-consuming and costly process. It requires simultaneously controlled motion of the machine axes. However, positioning inaccuracies or errors exist in machine tools. The combination of error motions of the machine axes will result in a complicated pattern of part geometry errors. In order to quantitatively predict these part geometry errors, a new application framework ‘enhanced virtual machining’ is developed. It integrates machine tool error models into NC machining simulation. The ideal cutter path in the NC program for surface machining is discretized into sub-paths. For each interpolated cutter location, the machine geometric errors are predicted from the machine tool error model. Both the solid modeling approach and the surface modeling approach are used to translate machine geometric errors into part geometry errors for sculptured surface machining. The solid modeling approach obtains the final part geometry by subtracting the tool swept volume from the stock geometric model. The surface modeling approach approximates the actual cutter contact points by calculating the cutting tool motion and geometry. The simulation results show that the machine tool error model can be effectively integrated into sculptured surface machining to predict part geometry errors before the real cutting begins.     

Dimensional errors in longitudinal turning based on the unified generalized mechanics of cutting approach.: Part I: Three-dimensional theory

During the machining of a part, a new surface is generated together with its dimensional deviations. These deviations are due to the presence of several phenomena (workpiece deflection under strong cutting forces, vibration of the machine tool, material spring-back, and so on) that occur during machining. Each elementary phenomenon results in an elementary machining error. Consequently, the accuracy of the manufactured workpiece depends on the precision of the manufacturing process, which it may be controlled or predicted.The first part of this work presents a new model to evaluate machining accuracy and part dimensional errors in bar turning. A model to simulate workpiece dimensional errors in longitudinal turning due to deflection of the tool, workpiece holder and workpiece is shown. The proposed model calculates the real cutting force according to the Unified Generalized Mechanics of Cutting approach proposed by Armarego, which allows one to take into account the three-dimensional nature (3D) of the cutting mechanism. Therefore, the model developed takes advantage of the real workpiece deflection, which does not lie in a plane parallel to the tool reference plane, and of the real 3D cutting force, which varies along the tool path due to change in the real depth of cut. In the first part of the work the general theory of the proposed approach is presented and discussed for 3D features. In the second part the proposed approach is applied to real cases that are mostly used in practice. Moreover, some experimental tests are carried out in order to validate the developed model: good agreement between numerical and experimental results is found.     

减少机床热变形方法的研究

机床在各种热源的作用下,产生热变形,影响工件与刀具之间的相对位移,造成加工误差,从而影响零件的加工精度。所以,减少机床热变形对提高机床加工精度是极其重要的。本文对机床工艺系统的主要热源进行了分析,并对减少机床热变形的方法及国内外研究的现状进行了讨论。     

Feasibility study of in-process compensation of deformations in flexible milling

During the machining of thin-walled parts, deformation can occur resulting in dimensional errors. These dimensional errors cause a variation on cutting forces. From the actual measured cutting forces and the estimated forces resultant from rigid machining, it is possible to determine the value of this deformation. Based on this, an on-line system for compensating workpiece errors, has been developed. The system is based on correcting the relative position of the tool-workpiece during machining by means of a piezoelectric actuator. The objective is achieved in real time to compensate for the part deformations from the measurement of the cutting forces, without the programming of the tool path trajectories in the machine tool being affected.     

基于改进模糊聚类和最大信息系数的数控机床温度测点选取北大核心

在加工过程中,机床会因热变形而产生误差,这将严重影响加工精度。减少加工过程的热误差是提高加工精度的有效途径,而确定关键温度测点不仅能提高计算效率,还可避免温度数据间复共线性问题,提高热误差模型的预测精度。提出基于改进模糊聚类和最大信息系数(MIC)的温度测点选择方法,通过改进模糊聚类对温度测点进行分类;根据MIC方法选择每类温度数据中的关键温度测点;使用BP神经网络对热误差进行建模。结果表明:与传统温度测点选择方法相比,利用所提方法改进的热误差模型精度更高。     

Measurement of spindle thermal errors in machine tool using hemispherical ball bar test

The assurance of top-quality products in machining processes requires improved machine tool accuracy. Among the various errors related to machine tools, thermal errors of a spindle have a significant effect on machining accuracy and directly influence both the surface finish and the geometric shape of the finished workpiece. Accordingly, the current paper proposes a new measurement method for spindle thermal errors in a machine tool based on the use of a ball bar system instead of the conventional capacitance sensor system. The novel measurement method is more efficient and easier to use compared to conventional measurement systems. Furthermore, a single ball bar system is sufficient for the simultaneous measurement of both geometric and thermal errors.     

NURBS interpolator for constant material removal rate in open NC machine tools

Conventionally used linear or circular interpolators are undesirable for the precision machining of 3D free-form surfaces for the following reasons: the transmission errors due to the huge number of point data, discontinuity of curve segmentation, and unsmooth motion speed. In this regard, modern CNC machine tools are designed with a function for machining arbitrary parametric curves. However, these systems do not consider controlling feedrate adaptively, which dominates the quality of the machining process. This paper proposes a NURBS interpolator based on the adaptive feedrate control for the constant material removal rate. This is accomplished by varying feedrate using the curvature of a surface. The curvature-compensated feedrate system has important potential applications in ensuring part accuracy and protecting the cutting tool. The simulated and experimental results show it is applicable to real machining.     

基于G10指令自动修改坐标偏置的数控编程加工

针对小尺寸工件采用传统加工工艺时存在加工效率过低且相关位置公差难以保证的问题,通过实例进行工艺革新分析、编程方法创新、偏置数据计算、数控程序编制等研究,将制定的加工工艺及编制的数控程序通过宇龙数控仿真软件进行模拟切削,并在真实加工环境下进行切削试验,证明改进后的加工工艺及数控程序不仅提高了生产效率,而且工件的相对位置尺寸等均由机床精度保证,减少了人为操作的误差。该加工工艺对同类零件的加工具有一定借鉴价值。     

5-Axis adaptive flank milling of flexible thin-walled parts based on the on-machine measurement

Deformation of the part and cutter caused by cutting forces immediately affects the dimensional accuracy of manufactured parts. This paper presents an integrated machining deviation compensation strategy based on on-machine measurement (OMM) inspection system. Previous research attempts on this topic deal with deformation compensation in machining of geometries in 3-axis machine tools only. This paper is the first time that concerned with 5-axis flank milling of flexible thin-walled parts. To capture the machined surface precision dimensions, OMM with a touch-trigger probe installed on machine׳s spindle is utilized. Probe path is planned to obtain the coordinate of the sampling points on machined surface. The machined surface can then be reconstructed. Meanwhile, the cutter׳s envelope surface is calculated based on nominal cutter location source file (CLSF). Subsequently, the machining error caused by part and cutter deflection is calibrated by comparing the deviation between the machined surface and the envelope surface. An iteration toolpath compensation algorithm is designed to decrease machining errors and avoid unwanted interference by modifying the toolpath. Experiment of machining the impeller blade is carried out to validate the methodology developed in this paper. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in machining error compensation.     

Development of monitoring system on the diamond tool wear

Recently, ultra-precision machining using a single crystal diamond tool has been developing very rapidly, especially in the fields of production processes for optical or magnetic parts such as magnetic discs, laser mirrors, polygon mirrors and copier drums. As a result, it has been successfully extended to machine various soft materials, generating mirror-like surfaces to sub-micron geometric accuracy with the ultra-precision CNC machine and the single crystal diamond tool. With the real cutting operation, the geometric accuracy and the surface finish attainable in machined surfaces are mainly determined by both of the sharpness of a cutting tool and stability of the machine vibration. In this study, for monitoring the progress of machining state for assuring the machining accuracy and the surface quality, a new monitoring method of machining states in face-cutting with diamond tool is proposed, using the frequency response of multi-sensors signal, which includes wear state of tool in terms of the energy within the specific frequency band. A magnetic disc is machined on the ultra-precision lathe.     

数控机床热变形误差补偿技术

热变形误差是影响机床加工精度的重要因素之一,通过实时热变形误差补偿可以提高数控机床加工精度.本文在分析产生机床热误差的原理的基础上, 探讨了热误差的测量方法,利用多元线性回归方法建立了机床热变形与温升之间的数学模型.应用数控系统的PLC补偿功能,对XH178加工中心加工过程中的热误差进行了实时补偿.实验结果表明误差补偿量达到80%以上.     

Identification and compensation of geometric errors of rotary axes on five-axis machine by on-machine measurement

The geometric errors of rotary axes are the fundamental errors of a five-axis machine tool. They directly affect the machining accuracy, and require periodical measurement, identification and compensation. In this paper, a precise calibration and compensation method for the geometric errors of rotary axes on a five-axis machine tool is proposed. The automated measurement is realized by using an on-the-machine touch-trigger technology and an artifact. A calibration algorithm is proposed to calibrate geometric errors of rotary axes based on the relative displacement of the measured reference point. The geometric errors are individually separated and the coupling effect of the geometric errors of two rotary axes can be avoided. The geometry error of the artifact as well as its setup error has little influence on geometric error calibration results. Then a geometric error compensation algorithm is developed by modifying the numeric control (NC) source file. All the geometric errors of the rotary errors are compensated to improve the machining accuracy. The algorithm can be conveniently integrated into the post process. At last, an experiment on a five-axis machine tool with table A-axis and head B-axis structure validates the feasibility of the proposed method.     

机床空间精度预测与NC代码补偿研究

以某立式加工中心为研究载体,提出一种空间精度补偿技术。以旋量理论为基础,在充分考虑机床切削点空间位置的基础上,建立包含全部几何误差的立式加工中心空间精度模型,同时输出空间精度显示预测模型。针对传统空间精度补偿不充分的局限性,将空间精度补偿思路转换为NC代码最优化问题,基于遗传算法求解该最优化问题,通过实验验证优化结果的有效性。结果表明：基于旋量理论的机床空间精度建模包含21项几何误差,空间精度预测结果较为准确;基于NC代码最优化的空间精度补偿技术使得机床空间定位精度最大补偿率为90.94%,验证了所提方法的有效性。     

硬质合金刀片表面涂层对切削过程影响的数值模拟

本文通过有限元法模拟硬质合金刀片切削过程,对表面涂层在切削过程中的影响进行了研究。结果表明:在硬质合金表面涂覆TiC涂层,刀片切削时切削力平均降低了19.7%,其中,主切削力下降了15.7%,这有利于提高刀片的耐用度并降低机床的输出功率;轴向力和径向力分别下降了19.4%和23.6%,这有利于提高加工精度和工件的表面质量。切削过程中,涂层硬质合金刀片表面等温线分布比较集中,最高温度区域为907℃,而普通硬质合金刀片等温线分布比较分散,最高温度区域为882℃,这与涂层材料的导热系数低有关。另外,切削时刀片表面最高温度不在切削刃口,而在切削屑与前刀面相互挤压部位。同时,本文对切削力模拟结果与实验结果做了比较,其中,轴向力的平均偏差为7.9%,主切削力的平均偏差为3.8%,径向力的平均偏差为7.3%,表明两者之间误差不是很大。     

Error compensation in machine tools — a review: Part I: geometric,cutting-force induced and fixture-dependent errors

Accuracy of machined components is one of the most critical considerations for any manufacturer. Many key factors like cutting tools and machining conditions, resolution of the machine tool, the type of workpiece etc., play an important role. However, once these are decided upon, the consistent performance of the machine tool depends upon its ability to accurately position the tool tip vis-à-vis the required workpiece dimension. This task is greatly constrained by errors either built into the machine or occurring on a periodic basis on account of temperature changes or variation in cutting forces. The three major types of error are geometric, thermal and cutting-force induced errors. Geometric errors make up the major part of the inaccuracy of a machine tool, the error caused by cutting forces depending on the type of tool and workpiece and the cutting conditions adopted. This part of the paper attempts to review the work done in analysing the various sources of geometric errors that are usually encountered on machine tools and the methods of elimination or compensation employed in these machines. A brief study of cutting-force induced errors and other errors is also made towards the end of this paper.     

Derivation of machine tool error models and error compensation procedure for three axes vertical machining center using rigid body kinematics

Volumetric positional accuracy constitutes a large portion of the total machine tool error during machining. In order to improve machine tool accuracy cost-effectively, machine tool geometric errors as well as thermally induced errors have to be characterized and predicted for error compensation. This paper presents the development of kinematic error models accounting for geometric and thermal errors in the Vertical Machining Center (VMC). The machine tool investigated is a Cincinnati Milacron Sabre 750 3 axes CNC Vertical Machining Center with open architecture controller. Using Rigid Body Kinematics and small angle approximation of the errors, each slide of the three axes vertical machining center is modeled using homogeneous coordinate transformation. By synthesizing the machine's parametric errors such as linear positioning errors, roll, pitch and yaw etc., an expression for the volumetric errors in the multi-axis machine tool is developed. The developed mathematical model is used to calculate and predict the resultant error vector at the tool–workpiece interface for error compensation.     

A study of pre-compensation for thermal errors of NC machine tools

Thermally-induced errors are major contributors to the overall accuracy of machine tools. In this paper, an error pre-compensation system is developed to correct the thermal errors of the spindle and lead screws. A simple gauge 1-D ball array is used to accelerate and simplify the error measurement. An auto-regressive model based on spindle rotation speed is then developed to describe the thermal errors. Using the model, the thermal errors can be predicted without measuring the temperature field of the machine tool as soon as the workpiece NC machining program is made. By correcting the program, the errors can be pre-compensated before machining. Thus the process of compensation is greatly simplified and the cost is reduced. The test results on a vertical machining center show that a 70% reduction of thermal errors has been gained after compensation.