With the urgent demand of high-end equipment for high quality surfaces, the technique of ultrasonic vibration-assisted burnishing is introduced to strengthen the surface properties. To explore the influence of the ultrasonic vibration on the dynamic response of a burnishing system, the burnishing friction force generated from a multi-ball surface burnishing system was characterized by chaos theory. The system had four assisted forms: no ultrasonic vibration, one-dimensional (1D) ultrasonic in x-axis, 1D ultrasonic in z-axis, and 2D ultrasonic in xz-axis. The results showed that the burnishing system had chaotic nature. Under the 2D ultrasonic vibration-assisted burnishing, the burnishing friction force was reconstructed to be a chaotic attractor with high convergence degree. Moreover, the burnishing system has notable complexity and stability. The burnished Al7075 alloy sample has an excellent surface with a higher smoothness and hardness. The burnishing with 2D ultrasonic vibration in xz-axis is a technique to enhance surface properties.

Models that are able to accurately predict the dynamic behavior of machine tools are crucial for a variety of applications ranging from machine tool design to process simulations. However, with increasing accuracy, the models tend to become increasingly complex, which can cause problems identifying the unknown parameters which the models are based on. In this paper, a method is presented that shows how parameter identification can be eased by systematically reducing the dimensionality of a given dynamic machine tool model. The approach presented is based on ranking the model's input parameters by means of a global sensitivity analysis. It is shown that the number of parameters, which need to be identified, can be drastically reduced with only limited impact on the model's fidelity. This is validated by means of model evaluation criteria and frequency response functions which show a mean conformity of 98.9 % with the full-scale reference model. The paper is concluded by a short demonstration on how to use the results from the global sensitivity analysis for parameter identification.

The five-axis machining of a free-form surface often contains the reversal of a rotary axis’ rotation direction with linear axis synchronized with it. This paper proposes a new machining test to quantitatively evaluate the influence of the reversal of rotation direction on the surface geometry and roughness. In the five-axis machining, the trajectory of tool position and orientation is first given in the workpiece coordinate system (WCS) by the computer-aided manufacturing ( cam ) software, and the computerized numerical control (CNC) system converts it to the machine coordinate system (MCS) to calculate command trajectories. This paper clarifies that the tool path smoothing in the MCS can potentially cause a large contour error because of the dynamic synchronization error of rotary and linear axes. Although some academic works in the literature presented the smoothing in the WCS, many commercial CNC systems still employ the smoothing in the MCS, partly because machine tool users or makers do not clearly see how significant this influence can be on the machining accuracy. The proposed machining test enables a user to quantitatively evaluate it. The machining experiment shows that the geometric error of the finished test piece was as large as 0.16 mm under the conventional smoothing in a commercial CNC system, which can be significantly larger than the influence of other typical geometric errors of a five-axis machine tool. This paper shows, by numerical simulation, that the smoothing in the WCS can completely eliminate this contour error.

Serrated milling tools are widely used for chatter suppression in roughing difficult-to-cut Titanium and Nickel alloys in the aerospace industry. Due to the complexity of chip generation and serration wave geometries ground on the flutes, the chatter stability diagrams are predicted with time marching numerical simulation or semi-discrete time-domain methods, which are computationally too costly to use in practice. This paper presents a frequency domain model of milling dynamics with variable delays caused by the flute serrations. The endmill is divided into discrete cylindrical elements, each having a different radius from the cutter axis. As the cutter rotates and cuts metal, the angular distance between the subsequent tooth varies as a function of serration amplitudes and feedrate; hence, the regenerative delays vary. The angular delays and effective directional factors are averaged for each tooth to form a time-independent but serration-dependent characteristics equation for all discrete cutter elements. The stability of the resulting characteristic equation of the system is solved using Nyquist theory and compared against the experimental results and existing time marching and semi-discrete time-domain solutions. The proposed analytical model predicts the stability charts about 30 times faster than the time-domain models while providing acceptable accuracy.

The structural dynamics of a machine tool at the tool center point characterizes its vibration response and machining stability which affects productivity. The dynamics are mostly dominated by the spindle-holder-tool assembly whose main vibration mode can change during machining due to centrifugal forces, thermal expansion, and gyroscopic moments generated at high spindle speeds. This paper proposes the identification of the spindle’s in-process modal parameters: natural frequency, damping ratio, and modal constant, by using a limited number of vibration transmissibility and critical chatter stability measurements. The classical inverse stability solution, which tunes the modal parameters to minimize prediction errors in chatter stability limits, is augmented with vibration transmissibility under two methods: (1) transmissibility-enhanced inverse stability solution: the modal parameters are updated to minimize prediction errors in chatter stability, and vibration transmissibility; (2) artificial neural network (ANN)-integrated inverse stability solution: the ANN uses vibration transmissibility to estimate the natural frequency and damping ratio, such that the inverse stability solution only needs to identify the modal constant. While both methods are experimentally validated, it is shown that the transmissibility-enhanced inverse stability solution is a more effective approach than the time-consuming ANN alternative for the estimation of in-process spindle dynamics.

Tool-tip frequency response functions (FRFs) are often required in milling vibration analysis. Receptance coupling substructures analysis (RCSA) affords an efficient analytical way for different tool-tip FRFs prediction with only one modal test. The coupling theory includes both translational and rotational degrees-of-freedom, so rotation-related FRFs are essential to know in the test. The finite-differential technique is generally used to measure these special FRFs due to the avoidance of specialist equipment. The technique uses several translational accelerometers spatially placed close to each other to approximate the rotational vibration. However, the added sensor masses lead to a frequency shift of the test structure, and the phenomenon would aggravate as the sensors increase. The polluted measurement data would subsequently decrease the tool-tip FRFs prediction accuracy. Addressing this problem, this paper introduces a multi-point substructure coupling method to simultaneously compensate the multi-accelerometer masses in a single experimental setup. The proposed method considers the installed accelerometers as multiple point masses and then uses inverse coupling calculation to isolate their effect. The compensation procedure is first effectively validated in simulation and experiment, and then, it is integrated into an RCSA-based application of predicting different tool-tip dynamics. Experimental results show that the compensated FRF data can improve prediction accuracy, especially when predicting tools shorter than the tested tool.

In aviation and navigation, complicated parts are milled with high-speed low-feed-per-tooth milling to decrease tool vibration for high quality. Because the nonlinearity of the cutting force coefficient (CFC) is more evident with the relatively smaller instantaneous uncut chip thickness, the stable critical cutting depth and its distribution against different tool postures are affected. Considering the nonlinearity, a nonlinear dynamic CFC model that reveals the effect of the dynamic instantaneous uncut chip thickness on the dynamic cutting force is derived based on the Taylor expansion. A five-axis bull-nose end milling dynamics model is established with the nonlinear dynamic CFC model. The stable critical cutting depth distribution with respect to tool posture is analyzed. The stability results predicted with the dynamic CFC model are compared with those from the static CFC model and the constant CFC model. The effects of tool posture and feed per tooth on stable critical cutting depth were also analyzed, and the proposed model was validated by cutting experiments. The maximal stable critical cutting depths that can be achieved under different tool postures by feed per tooth adjustment were calculated, and corresponding distribution diagrams are proposed for milling parameter optimization.

A systematic modeling of multibody dynamics of five-axis machine tools is presented in this article. The machine is divided into major subassemblies such as spindle, column, bed, tool changer, and longitudinal and rotary drives. The inertias and mass center of each subassembly are calculated from the design model. The subassemblies are connected with elastic springs and damping elements at contact joints to form the complete multibody dynamic model of the machine that considers the rigid body kinematics and structural vibrations of the machine at any point. The unknown elastic joint parameters are estimated from the experimental modal analysis of the machine tool. The resulting position-dependent multibody dynamic model has the minimal number of degrees-of-freedom that is equivalent to the number of measured modes, as opposed to thousands used in finite element models. The frequency response functions of the machine can be predicted at any posture of the five-axis machine, which are compared against the directly measured values to assess the validity of model. The proposed model can predict the combined rigid body motion and vibrations of the machine with computational efficiency, and hence, it can be used as a digital twin to simulate its dynamic performance in machining operations and tracking control tests of the servo drives.

Highly dynamic machining forces can cause excessive and unstable vibrations when industrial robots are used to perform high-force operations such as milling and drilling. Implementing appropriate optimization and control strategies to suppress vibrations during robotic machining requires accurate models of the robot’s vibration response to the machining forces generated at its tool center point (TCP). The existing models of machining vibrations assume the linearity of the structural dynamics of the robotic arm. This assumption, considering the inherent nonlinearities in the robot’s revolute joints, may cause considerable inaccuracies in predicting the extent and stability of vibrations during the process. In this article, a single degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system with the nonlinear restoring force is used to model the vibration response of a KUKA machining robot at its TCP (i.e., machining tool-tip). The experimental identification of the restoring force shows that its damping and stiffness components can be approximated using cubic models. Subsequently, the higher-order frequency response functions (HFRFs) of the SDOF system are estimated experimentally, and the parameters of the SDOF system are identified by curve fitting the resulting HFRFs. The accuracy of the presented SDOF modeling approach in capturing the nonlinearity of the TCP vibration response is verified experimentally. It is shown that the identified models accurately predict the variation of the receptance of the nonlinear system in the vicinity of well-separated peaks, but nonlinear coupling around closely spaced peaks may cause inaccuracies in the prediction of system dynamics.

Surface errors due to force-induced tool and workpiece deflections are one of the major errors in multi-axis machining of parts especially with thin-walled structures. Dominant approaches to reduce these surface errors are re-machining the part, feed scheduling, and tool path modification. These methods are time consuming and computationally costly, and they rely on experimental data which is used in cutting force and deflection predictions. The present paper introduces a pure geometrical approach to reduce surface errors drastically by minimizing the engagement lengths of flutes’ cutting edges when a point on the flute’s cutting edge is in contact with the design surface. The total engagement length of the flutes’ cutting edges when one of them generates a contact point on the workpiece surface is formulated and considered as the minimization objective function of an optimization problem. Tilt and lead angles, which define the tool orientation, are the design variables of the optimization problem subjected to constraints based on the geometrical requirements of the ball end milling process. The optimization problem uses the nominal tool path to generate an optimal tool path with adjusted tool orientations. The presented method is computationally inexpensive and does not need any experimentally calibrated coefficients to predict cutting forces because of the pure geometrical nature of the approach. The method is experimentally validated through five-axis ball end milling experiments in which more than 90% surface error reduction is achieved.

In machining processes, regenerative chatter is an unstable vibration which adversely affects surface finish, cutting tools, and spindle bearings. Under some cutting conditions, the beat effect, an interference pattern between two periodical vibrations of slightly different frequencies, has been a common phenomenon where the amplitude of chatter vibration tends to increase and decrease periodically. Until now, few studies have been conducted to analyze the beat effect in machining chatter. On the other hand, researchers have developed various chatter detection methods with the objective to timely avoid detrimental effects induced by chatter. However, none of the existing chatter detection methods in the literature has ever considered the beat effect. The neglect of the beat effect will adversely affect the effectiveness of these methods and even result in false alarms. In this paper, the significance level and the mechanism of the beat effect in turning chatter are analyzed by time domain simulation. Afterward, a multiscale wavelet packet entropy (MWPE) method is proposed to detect machining chatter regardless of the occurrence of the beat effect. The determination strategy of the scale factor in the MWPE is presented based on the beat period, whose relationship with the damping ratio and spindle speed is derived analytically in orthogonal turning scenarios. Finally, machining tests are conducted to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed chatter detection method with respect to the presence and absence of the beat effect.

Five-axis ball-end milling is used extensively to machine parts with sculptured surfaces. This paper presents the general cutting dynamics model of the ball-end milling process for machine tools with different five-axis configurations. The structural dynamics of both the tool and workpiece are considered for the prediction of chatter stability at each tool location along the tool path. The effects of tool–workpiece engagement and tool axis orientation are included in the model. By sweeping the spindle speeds, the chatter-free spindle speeds are selected followed by the prediction of forced vibrations in five-axis milling of thin-walled, flexible parts. The proposed model has been experimentally illustrated to predict the chatter stability and forced vibrations on a table-tilting five-axis computer numerical control machine tool.

Micro/meso-scale mechanical machining (M 4 ) processes are miniaturized versions of conventional machining processes such as milling, drilling, and turning, where material removal is accomplished by physical contact between the micro/meso-scale cutting tool and the workpiece. The objective of this review paper is to provide an assessment of the state-of-the-field related to M 4 processes during the last two decades. Key systems-level issues related to the deployment of M 4 processes including micro/meso-scale machine tool (mMT) design, sensing/calibration, cutting tools, and lubrication strategies are discussed. Emerging material systems are identified along with the specific challenges posed for the development of microstructure-based process models. The topic of micro/meso-scale machining dynamics is reviewed both in terms of recent research findings as well as unresolved challenges posed by the complexity of experimental characterization and modeling. Finally, key industry trends are discussed along with promising interdisciplinary drivers that are expected to influence this field in the upcoming decade.

Chatter in low immersion milling behaves differently from that in full immersion milling, mainly because of the non-negligible time-variant dynamics and the occurrence of period doubling bifurcation. The intermittent and time-variant characteristics make the active chatter suppression based on Lyaponov theorem a non-trivial problem. The main challenges lie in how to deal with the time-variant directional coefficient and how to construct a suitable Lyaponov function so as to alleviate the conservation, as well as the saturation of the controller. Generally, the Lyaponov stability of time-invariant dynamics is more tractable. Hence, in our paper, a first-order piecewise model is proposed to approximate the low immersion milling system as two time-invariant sub-ones that are cyclically switched. To alleviate the conservation, a novel piecewise Lyaponov function is constructed to determine the stability of each subsystem independently. The inequality conditions for determining the stability and stabilization are derived. The validity of the proposed stabilization algorithm to suppress both the hopf and period doubling bifurcation, as well as to reduce the conservation of the controller parameters have been verified.

With continued global market growth and an increasingly competitive environment, manufacturing industry is facing challenges and desires to seek continuous improvement. This effect is forcing manufacturers to squeeze every asset for maximum value and thereby calls for high-equipment effectiveness, and at the same time flexible and resilient manufacturing systems. Maintenance operations are essential to modern manufacturing systems in terms of minimizing unplanned down time, assuring product quality, reducing customer dissatisfaction, and maintaining advantages and competitiveness edge in the market. It has a long history that manufacturers struggle to find balanced maintenance strategies without significantly compromising system reliability or productivity. Intelligent maintenance systems (IMS) are designed to provide decision support tools to optimize maintenance operations. Intelligent prognostic and health management tools are imperative to identify effective, reliable, and cost-saving maintenance strategies to ensure consistent production with minimized unplanned downtime. This article aims to present a comprehensive review of the recent efforts and advances in prominent methods for maintenance in manufacturing industries over the last decades, identifying the existing research challenges, and outlining directions for future research.

This paper reviews the dynamics of machining and chatter stability research since the first stability laws were introduced by Tlusty and Tobias in the 1950s. The paper aims to introduce the fundamentals of dynamic machining and chatter stability, as well as the state of the art and research challenges, to readers who are new to the area. First, the unified dynamic models of mode coupling and regenerative chatter are introduced. The chatter stability laws in both the frequency and time domains are presented. The dynamic models of intermittent cutting, such as milling, are presented and their stability solutions are derived by considering the time-periodic behavior. The complexities contributed by highly intermittent cutting, which leads to additional stability pockets, and the contribution of the tool's flank face to process damping are explained. The stability of parallel machining operations is explained. The design of variable pitch and serrated cutting tools to suppress chatter is presented. The paper concludes with current challenges in chatter stability of machining which remains to be the main obstacle in increasing the productivity and quality of manufactured parts.

Machine tool contacts must be represented accurately for reliable prediction of machine behavior. In structural optimization problems, contact constraints are represented as an additional minimization problem based on computational contact mechanics theory. An accurate contact constraint representation is challenging for structural optimization problems: (i) “No penetration” rule dictated by Hertz-Signorini-Moreau (HSM) conditions at contacts is satisfied by varying the contact stiffness during a finite element (FE) solution without control of a user which causes increased contact stiffness “erroneously” to avoid penetration of contacting node pairs in an FE solution; and (ii) the reliability of solutions varies according to the chosen computational contact method. This paper is devoted to the topology optimization of machine tools with contact constraints. A hybrid approach is followed that combines the computational contact problem framework and an obtained stable contact stiffness function (analytically or experimentally). According to the proposed method, the existing optimization problem in FE literature is restated in a reliable form for machine tool applications. To avoid the existing computational challenges and reliability problems, contact forces are directly mapped onto an FE model used in the restated topology optimization problem with the help of proposed method. In this study, the existing and the proposed methods for contact are investigated by means of the solid isotropic material with penalization model (SIMP) algorithm for topology optimization. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by comparing the experimental measurements on a prototype machine tool manufactured according to the optimization solutions of the proposed method and those of a conventional machine tool.

Modeling the dynamic behavior of a machine tool accurately is a difficult but crucial task when optimizing a machine tool’s design. An accurate representation of the real behavior is essential to ensure the transferability of simulations from a virtual prototype to a physical prototype. Due to the complexity of modern machine tools, a large number of parameters have an influence on the dynamic behavior. The parameterization of the used dynamic models is still challenging, especially if intricate local models are used for the individual effects. This paper presents an efficient framework for parameterizing a dynamic model of a machine tool containing linear local damping and stiffness parameters. For parameter identification, measurements of single components on simple test rigs as well as measurements of the whole machine tool were carried out. Different numerical optimization algorithms as well as objective functions were compared and applied to a three-axis machine tool structure for parameter fitting. By using a parametric reduced-order flexible multibody model for the fitting, high accuracy can be combined with high computational efficiency. The use of the presented approach allows an efficient parameter estimation and lays the groundwork for an influence analysis and the targeted optimization of a machine tool.

Measuring rotating tool-tip frequency response functions (FRFs) is difficult because of the fluted tip geometry. The methods based on receptance coupling substructure analysis (RCSA) can obtain rotating tool-tip FRFs with a few tests. Existing RCSA-based methods require at least one smooth rod for measurement and then mathematically calculate the desired rotating tool-tip FRFs. However, involving the inverse of the experimentally obtained FRFs matrix, these methods are susceptible to the measurement noise in the rotating structure. In addition, the inconsistency between the holder–tool and holder–rod connections is another uncertainty which impacts accuracy. This paper presents a robust RCSA-based method to obtain rotating tool-tip FRFs. It is found that tool-tip FRFs can be calculated from another point FRFs on the same assembly. Then, one point on the smooth cylindrical shank of the tool is selected for measurement. The measured FRFs, along with those from the theoretical tool model, calculate the rotating tool-tip FRFs. Compared with the previous methods, the proposed one does not require inverting the measured FRFs matrix, inherently avoiding amplification of measurement noise. Since the tool replacement is no longer required, in situ measurement is achieved to ensure the same holder–tool connection throughout the procedure. The proposed method is first validated in a numerical case and then verified experimentally by a commercial hammer and laser vibrometer. Both results show that the method is insensitive to the measurement noise and can obtain rotating tool-tip FRFs with considerable accuracy.

Two different kinds of descriptions for edge geometry of harmonically varied helix tools are studied in this work. The edge geometries of the so-called lag and helix variations are used in this paper, and their equivalency is established from engineering point of view. The equivalent relation is derived analytically and the nonlinear algebraic system is described, with which the numerical equivalency properties can be determined. The equivalent description can be utilized in variable helix tool production to determine an optimized set of geometrical parameters of the edge geometry. The stability properties are shown and compared for a simple one degree-of-freedom case with the nonuniform constant helix tools. The robustness of the results related to the harmonically varied tools is critically discussed in this paper showing advantages compared to the nonuniform constant helix case. The results suggest that the more extreme the edge variation is, the more stable the process performed with the corresponding harmonically varied tool becomes.