Simultaneous Time-Frequency Control of Multi-Dimensional Micro-Milling Instability

A novel control concept is presented for the online control of a high-speed micro-milling model system in the time and frequency domains concurrently. Micro-milling response at high-speed is highly sensitive to machining condition and external perturbation, easily deteriorating from bifurcation to chaos. When losing stability, milling time response is no longer periodic and the frequency response becomes broadband, rendering aberrational tool chatter and probable tool damage. The controller effectively mitigates the nonlinear vibration of the tool in the time domain and at the same time confines the frequency response from expanding and becoming chaotically broadband. The simultaneous time-frequency control is achieved through manipulating wavelet coefficients, thus not limited by the increasing bandwidth of the chaotic system — a fundamental restraint that deprives contemporary controller designs of validity and effectiveness. The feedforward feature of the control concept prevents errors from re-entering the control loop and inadvertently perturbing the sensitive micro-milling system. Because neither closed-form nor linearization is required, the innate, genuine features of the micro-milling response are faithfully retained.