Thermal influence of the Couette flow in a hydrostatic spindle on the machining precision

Hydrostatic spindles are increasingly used in precision machine tools. Thermal error is the key factor affecting the machining accuracy of the spindle, and research has focused on spindle thermal errors through examination of the influence of the temperature distribution, thermal deformation and spindle mode. However, seldom has any research investigated the thermal effects of the associated Couette flow. To study the heat transfer mechanism in spindle systems, the criterion of the heat transfer direction according to the temperature distribution of the Couette flow at different temperatures is deduced. The method is able to deal accurately with the significant phenomena occurring at every place where thermal energy flowed in such a spindle system. The variation of the motion error induced by thermal effects on a machine work-table during machining is predicated by establishing the thermo-mechanical error model of the hydrostatic spindle for a high precision machine tool. The flow state and thermal behavior of a hydrostatic spindle is analyzed with the evaluated heat power and the coefficients of the convective heat transfer over outer surface of the spindle are calculated, and the thermal influence on the oil film stiffness is evaluated. Thermal drift of the spindle nose is measured with an inductance micrometer, the thermal deformation data 1.35 μm after running for 4 h is consistent with the value predicted by the finite element analysis’s simulated result 1.28 μm, and this demonstrates that the simulation method is feasible. The thermal effects on the processing accuracy from the flow characteristics of the fluid inside the spindle are analyzed for the first time.