State Space Modeling of Variation Propagation in Multistation Machining Processes Considering Machining-Induced Variations

In spite of the success of the stream of variation (SoV) approach to modeling variation propagation in multistation machining processes (MMPs), the absence of machining-induced variations could be an important factor that limits its application in accurate variation prediction. Such machining-induced variations are caused by geometric-thermal effects, cutting-tool wear, etc. In this paper, a generic framework for machining-induced variation representation based on differential motion vectors is presented. Based on this representation framework, machining-induced variations can be explicitly incorporated in the SoV model. An experimentation is designed and implemented to estimate the model coefficients related to spindle thermal-induced variations and cutting-tool wear-induced variations. The proposed model is compared with the conventional SoV model resulting in an average improvement on quality prediction of 67%. This result verifies the advantage of the proposed extended SoV model. The application of the new model can significantly extend the capability of SoV-model-based methodologies in solving more complex quality improvement problems for MMPs, such as process diagnosis and process tolerance allocation, etc.