A new on-line spindle speed regulation strategy for chatter control

A new on-line control method to suppress regenerative chatter vibration during the machining process by regulating spindle speed is proposed. The dynamic cutting force signal collected from a dynamometer is passed through a low pass filter, and then digitized. The fast Fourier transform is carried out to obtain the corresponding power spectrum. The chatter frequency is identified when the intensity at a certain frequency other than the spindle speed and tooth passing frequency exceeds a critical value. Based on the identified chatter frequency, a new spindle speed is computed by applying the principle of keeping the phase between the present and previous undulations to 90°. The new speed command is executed while the cutting proceeds. It is found from simulation that the chatter vibration can be suppressed by this approach in the shortest time. This method is also verified by experiments through actual cutting of various materials by a computer numerically controlled milling machine. The main feature of this approach is that the feed of the machine tool does not need to be halted during the change of spindle speed. Hence, tool wear can be reduced. Furthermore, no system identification of the machine tool structure is needed, and therefore it has great potential in actual applications.