Geometric Error Identification of Gantry-Type CNC Machine Tool Based on Multi-Station Synchronization Laser Tracers

Laser tracers are a three-dimensional coordinate measurement system that are widely used in industrial measurement.We propose a geometric error identification method based on multi-station synchronization laser tracers to enable the rapid and high-precision measurement of geometric errors for gantry-type computer numerical control(CNC)machine tools.This method also improves on the existing measurement efficiency issues in the single-base station measurement method and multi-base station time-sharing measurement method.We consider a three-axis gantry-type CNC machine tool,and the geometric error mathematical model is derived and established based on the combination of screw theory and a topological analysis of the machine kinematic chain.The four-station laser tracers position and measurement points are realized based on the multi-point positioning principle.A self-calibration algorithm is proposed for the coordinate calibration process of a laser tracer using the Levenberg-Marquardt nonlinear least squares method,and the geometric error is solved using Taylor’s first-order linearization iteration.The experimental results show that the geometric error calculated based on this modeling method is comparable to the results from the Etalon laser tracer.For a volume of 800 mm×1000 mm×350 mm,the maximum differences of the linear,angular,and spatial position errors were 2.0μm,2.7μrad,and 12.0μm,respectively,which verifies the accuracy of the proposed algorithm.This research proposes a modeling method for the precise measurement of errors in machine tools,and the applied nature of this study also makes it relevant both to researchers and those in the industrial sector.

Numerical Investigation of Thermal Behavior of CNC Machine Tool and Its Effects on Dimensional Accuracy of Machined Parts

The dimensional accuracy of machined parts is strongly influenced by the thermal behavior of machine tools (MT). Minimizing this influence represents a key objective for any modern manufacturing industry. Thermally induced positioning error compensation remains the most effective and practical method in this context. However, the efficiency of the compensation process depends on the quality of the model used to predict the thermal errors. The model should consistently reflect the relationships between temperature distribution in the MT structure and thermally induced positioning errors. A judicious choice of the number and location of temperature sensitive points to represent heat distribution is a key factor for robust thermal error modeling. Therefore, in this paper, the temperature sensitive points are selected following a structured thermomechanical analysis carried out to evaluate the effects of various temperature gradients on MT structure deformation intensity. The MT thermal behavior is first modeled using finite element method and validated by various experimentally measured temperature fields using temperature sensors and thermal imaging. MT Thermal behavior validation shows a maximum error of less than 10% when comparing the numerical estimations with the experimental results even under changing operation conditions. The numerical model is used through several series of simulations carried out using varied working condition to explore possible relationships between temperature distribution and thermal deformation characteristics to select the most appropriate temperature sensitive points that will be considered for building an empirical prediction model for thermal errors as function of MT thermal state. Validation tests achieved using an artificial neural network based simplified model confirmed the efficiency of the proposed temperature sensitive points allowing the prediction of the thermally induced errors with an accuracy greater than 90%.

A New Dynamics Analysis Model for Five-Axis Machining of Curved Surface Based on Dimension Reduction and Mapping

The equipment used in various fields contains an increasing number of parts with curved surfaces of increasing size.Five-axis computer numerical control(CNC)milling is the main parts machining method,while dynamics analysis has always been a research hotspot.The cutting conditions determined by the cutter axis,tool path,and workpiece geometry are complex and changeable,which has made dynamics research a major challenge.For this reason,this paper introduces the innovative idea of applying dimension reduction and mapping to the five-axis machining of curved surfaces,and proposes an efficient dynamics analysis model.To simplify the research object,the cutter position points along the tool path were discretized into inclined plane five-axis machining.The cutter dip angle and feed deflection angle were used to define the spatial position relationship in five-axis machining.These were then taken as the new base variables to construct an abstract two-dimensional space and establish the mapping relationship between the cutter position point and space point sets to further simplify the dimensions of the research object.Based on the in-cut cutting edge solved by the space limitation method,the dynamics of the inclined plane five-axis machining unit were studied,and the results were uniformly stored in the abstract space to produce a database.Finally,the prediction of the milling force and vibration state along the tool path became a data extraction process that significantly improved efficiency.Two experiments were also conducted which proved the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed dynamics analysis model.This study has great potential for the online synchronization of intelligent machining of large surfaces.

Spindle Thermal Error Optimization Modeling of a Five-axis Machine Tool

Aiming at the problem of low machining accu- racy and uncontrollable thermal errors of NC machine tools, spindle thermal error measurement, modeling and compensation of a two turntable five-axis machine tool are researched. Measurement experiment of heat sources and thermal errors are carried out, and GRA（grey relational analysis） method is introduced into the selection of tem- perature variables used for thermal error modeling. In order to analyze the influence of different heat sources on spindle thermal errors, an ANN （artificial neural network） model is presented, and ABC（artificial bee colony） algorithm is introduced to train the link weights of ANN, a new ABC- NN（Artificial bee colony-based neural network） modeling method is proposed and used in the prediction of spindle thermal errors. In order to test the prediction performance of ABC-NN model, an experiment system is developed, the prediction results of LSR （least squares regression）, ANN and ABC-NN are compared with the measurement results of spindle thermal errors. Experiment results show that the prediction accuracy of ABC-NN model is higher than LSR and ANN, and the residual error is smaller than 3 pm, the new modeling method is feasible. The proposed research provides instruction to compensate thermal errors and improve machining accuracy of NC machine tools.

Identification of Kinematic Errors of Five-axis Machine Tool Trunnion Axis from Finished Test Piece

Compared with the traditional non-cutting measurement,machining tests can more accurately reflect the kinematic errors of five-axis machine tools in the actual machining process for the users.However,measurement and calculation of the machining tests in the literature are quite difficult and time-consuming.A new method of the machining tests for the trunnion axis of five-axis machine tool is proposed.Firstly,a simple mathematical model of the cradle-type five-axis machine tool was established by optimizing the coordinate system settings based on robot kinematics.Then,the machining tests based on error-sensitive directions were proposed to identify the kinematic errors of the trunnion axis of cradle-type five-axis machine tool.By adopting the error-sensitive vectors in the matrix calculation,the functional relationship equations between the machining errors of the test piece in the error-sensitive directions and the kinematic errors of C-axis and A-axis of five-axis machine tool rotary table was established based on the model of the kinematic errors.According to our previous work,the kinematic errors of C-axis can be treated as the known quantities,and the kinematic errors of A-axis can be obtained from the equations.This method was tested in Mikron UCP600 vertical machining center.The machining errors in the error-sensitive directions can be obtained by CMM inspection from the finished test piece to identify the kinematic errors of five-axis machine tool trunnion axis.Experimental results demonstrated that the proposed method can reduce the complexity,cost,and the time consumed substantially,and has a wider applicability.This paper proposes a new method of the machining tests for the trunnion axis of five-axis machine tool.

A Generic Kinematic Model for Three Main Types of Five-axis Machine Tools

Material removal is one of the most used processes in manufacturing. Five-axis CNC machines are believed to be the best tools in sculptured surface machining. In this study, a generic and unified kinematic model was developed as a viable alternative to the particular solutions that are only applicable to individual machine configurations. This versatile model is then used to verify the feasibility of the two rotational joints within the kinematic chain of three main types of a five-axis machine-tool. This versatile model is very useful applied to the design of five-axis machine tools.

High accuracy NURBS interpolation for five-axis machine of table-rotating/spindle-tilting type

In this paper, the definition of NURBS curve and a speed-controlled interpolation in which the feed rate is automatically adjusted in order to meet the specified chord error limit were discussed. Besides those, a definition of linear interpolation error of post-processed data was proposed, which should be paid more attention to because it will not only reduce quality of the surface but also may cause interference and other unexpected trouble. In order to control the error, a robust algorithm was proposed, which successfully met a desired error limit through interpolating some essential CL data. The excellence of the proposed algorithm, in terms of its reliability and self-adaptiveness, has been proved by simulation results.

PLANNING METHOD OF TOOL ORIENTATION IN FIVE-AXIS NC MACHINING

The planning method of tool orientation in the five-axis NC machining is studied. The problem of the existing method is analyzed and a new method for generating the global smoothing tool orientation is proposed by introducing the key frame idea in the animation-making. According to the feature of the part, several key tool orientations are set without interference between the tool and the part. Then, these key tool orientations are inter- polated by the spline function. By mapping the surface parameter to the spline parameter, the spline function value is obtained and taken as the tool orientation when generating the CL file. The machining result shows that the proposed method realizes the global smoothing of the tool orientation and the continuity of the rotational speed and the rotational acceleration. It also avoids the shake of the machine tool and improves the machining quality.

WORKPIECE LOCATING AND POST PROCESSING SYSTEMS ON 6-DOF CNC MILLING MACHINE

A conventional non-computerized numerical control （CNC） machine is updated by mounting a six degree-of-free （DOF） parallel mechanism on it, thus obtaining a new CNC one. The structure of this CNC milling machine is introduced, and the workpiece locating system and the post processing system of the cutter location （CL） data file are analyzed. The new machine has advantages of low costs, simple structure, good rigidity, and high precision. It is easy to be transformed and used to process the workpiece with a complex surface.

High Accurate Interpolation of NURBS Tool Path for CNC Machine Tools

Feedrate fluctuation caused by approximation errors of interpolation methods has great effects on machining quality in NURBS interpolation, but few methods can efficiently eliminate or reduce it to a satisfying level without sacrificing the computing efficiency at present. In order to solve this problem, a high accurate interpolation method for NURBS tool path is proposed. The proposed method can efficiently reduce the feedrate fluctuation by forming a quartic equation with respect to the curve parameter increment, which can be efficiently solved by analytic methods in real-time. Theoretically, the proposed method can totally eliminate the feedrate fluctuation for any 2nd degree NURBS curves and can interpolate 3rd degree NURBS curves with minimal feedrate fluctuation. Moreover, a smooth feedrate planning algorithm is also proposed to generate smooth tool motion with considering multiple constraints and scheduling errors by an efficient planning strategy. Experiments are conducted to verify the feasibility and applicability of the proposed method. This research presents a novel NURBS interpolation method with not only high accuracy but also satisfying computing efficiency.

Actualities and Development of Heavy-Duty CNC Machine Tool Thermal Error Monitoring Technology

Thermal error monitoring technology is the key technological support to solve the thermal error problem of heavy-duty CNC （computer numerical control） machine tools. Currently, there are many review literatures intro- ducing the thermal error research of CNC machine tools, but those mainly focus on the thermal issues in small and medium-sized CNC machine tools and seldom introduce thermal error monitoring technologies. This paper gives an overview of the research on the thermal error of CNC machine tools and emphasizes the study of thermal error of the heavy-duty CNC machine tool in three areas. These areas are the causes of thermal error of heavy-duty CNC machine tool and the issues with the temperature moni- toring technology and thermal deformation monitoring technology. A new optical measurement technology called the ＂fiber Bragg grating （FBG） distributed sensing tech- nology＂ for heavy-duty CNC machine tools is introduced in detail. This technology forms an intelligent sensing and monitoring system for heavy-duty CNC machine tools. This paper fills in the blank of this kind of review articlesto guide the development of this industry field and opens up new areas of research on the heavy-duty CNC machine tool thermal error.

An Open CAM System for Dentistry on the Basis of China-made 5-axis Simultaneous Contouring CNC Machine Tool and Industrial CAM Software

China-made 5-axis simultaneous contouring CNC machine tool and domestically developed industrial computer-aided manufacture （CAM） technology were used for full crown fabrication and measurement of crown accuracy, with an attempt to establish an open CAM system for dental processing and to promote the introduction of domestic dental computer-aided design （CAD）/CAM system. Commercially available scanning equipment was used to make a basic digital tooth model after preparation of crown, and CAD software that comes with the scanning device was employed to design the crown by using domestic industrial CAM software to process the crown data in order to generate a solid model for machining purpose, and then China-made 5-axis simultaneous contouring CNC machine tool was used to complete machining of the whole crown and the internal accuracy of the crown internal was measured by using 3D-MicroCT. The results showed that China-made 5-axis simultaneous contouring CNC machine tool in combination with domestic industrial CAM technology can be used for crown making and the crown was well positioned in die. The internal accuracy was successfully measured by using 3D-MicroCT. It is concluded that an open CAM system for den-tistry on the basis of China-made 5-axis simultaneous contouring CNC machine tool and domestic industrial CAM software has been established, and development of the system will promote the introduction of domestically-produced dental CAD/CAM system.

Design and Accuracy Analysis of a Metamorphic CNC Flame Cutting Machine for Ship Manufacturing

The current research of processing large size fabrication holes on complex spatial curved surface mainly focuses on the CNC flame cutting machines design for ship hull of ship manufacturing. However, the existing machines cannot meet the continuous cutting requirements with variable pass conditions through their fixed configuration, and cannot realize high-precision processing as the accuracy theory is not studied adequately. This paper deals with structure design and accuracy prediction technology of novel machine tools for solving the problem of continuous and high-precision cutting. The needed variable trajectory and variable pose kinematic characteristics of non-contact cutting tool are figured out and a metamorphic CNC flame cutting machine designed through metamorphic principle is presented. To analyze kinematic accuracy of the machine, models of joint clearances, manufacturing tolerances and errors in the input variables and error models considering the combined effects are derived based on screw theory after establishing ideal kinematic models. Numerical simulations, processing experiment and trajectory tracking experiment are conducted relative to an eccentric hole with bevels on cylindrical surface respectively. The results of cutting pass contour and kinematic error interval which the position error is from -0.975 mm to ＋0.628 mm and orientation error is from -0.01 rad to ＋0.01 rad indicate that the developed machine can complete cutting process continuously and effectively, and the established kinematic error models are effective although the interval is within a ＇large＇ range. It also shows the matching property between metamorphic principle and variable working tasks, and the mapping correlation between original designing parameters and kinematic errors of machines. This research develops a metamorphic CNC flame cutting machine and establishes kinematic error models for accuracy analysis of machine tools.

CPS Modeling of CNC Machine Tool Work Processes Using an Instruction-Domain Based Approach

Building cyber-physical system(CPS) models of machine tools is a key technology for intelligent manufacturing. The massive electronic data from a computer numerical control(CNC) system during the work processes of a CNC machine tool is the main source of the big data on which a CPS model is established. In this work-process model, a method based on instruction domain is applied to analyze the electronic big data, and a quantitative description of the numerical control(NC) processes is built according to the G code of the processes. Utilizing the instruction domain, a work-process CPS model is established on the basis of the accurate, real-time mapping of the manufacturing tasks, resources, and status of the CNC machine tool. Using such models, case studies are conducted on intelligent-machining applications, such as the optimization of NC processing parameters and the health assurance of CNC machine tools.

Thermal Error Modeling Method with the Jamming of Temperature-Sensitive Points'Volatility on CNC Machine Tools

Aiming at the deficiency of the robustness of thermal error compensation models of CNC machine tools, the mechanism of improving the models＇ robustness is studied by regarding the Leaderway-V450 machining center as the object. Through the analysis of actual spindle air cutting experimental data on Leaderway-V450 machine, it is found that the temperature-sensitive points used for modeling is volatility, and this volatility directly leads to large changes on the collinear degree among modeling independent variables. Thus, the forecasting accuracy of multivariate regression model is severely affected, and the forecasting robustness becomes poor too. To overcome this effect, a modeling method of establishing thermal error models by using single temperature variable under the jamming of temperature-sensitive points＇ volatility is put forward. According to the actual data of thermal error measured in different seasons, it is proved that the single temperature variable model can reduce the loss of fore- casting accuracy resulted from the volatility of tempera- ture-sensitive points, especially for the prediction of cross quarter data, the improvement of forecasting accuracy is about 5 μm or more. The purpose that improving the robustness of the thermal error models is realized, which can provide a reference for selecting the modelingindependent variable in the application of thermal error compensation of CNC machine tools.

Reliability Analysis of Electrical System of CNC Machine Tool Based on Dynamic Fault Tree Analysis Method

The electrical system of CNC machine tool is very complex which involves many uncertain factors and dynamic stochastic characteristics when failure occurs.Therefore,the traditional system reliability analysis method,fault tree analysis(FTA)method,based on static logic and static failure mechanism is no longer applicable for dynamic systems reliability analysis.Dynamic fault tree(DFT)analysis method can solve this problem effectively.In this method,DFT first should be pretreated to get a simplified fault tree(FT);then the FT was modularized to get the independent static subtrees and dynamic subtrees.Binary decision diagram(BDD)analysis method was used to analyze static subtrees,while an approximation algorithm was used to deal with dynamic subtrees.When the scale of each subtree is smaller than the system scale,the analysis efficiency can be improved significantly.At last,the usefulness of this DFT analysis method was proved by applying it to analyzing the reliability of electrical system.

Development of CAD/CAM system and profile measuring device for CNC grinding machine to obtain an optimal grinding speed

Cam mechanics is one of the most popular devices for generating irregular motions and is widely used in automatic equipment,such as textile machines,internal combustion engines,and other automatic devices.In order to obtain a positive motion from the follower using a rotating cam,its shape should be correctly designed and manufactured.The development of an adequate CAD/CAM system for a cam profile CNC grinding machine is necessary to manufacture high-precision cams.The purpose of this study is the development of a CAD/CAM system and profile measuring device for a CNC grinding machine to obtain an optimal grinding speed with a constant surface roughness.Three types of disk cams were manufactured using the proposed algorithm and procedures to verify effectiveness of the developed CAD/CAM system.

DXF File Identification with C# for CNC Engraving Machine System

This paper researches the main technology of open CNC engraving machine, the DXF identification technology. Agraphic information extraction method is proposed. By this method, the graphic information in DXF file can be identified and transformed into bottom motion controller’s code. So the engraving machine can achieve trajectory tracking. Then the open CNC engraving machine system is developed with C#. At last, the method is validated on a three axes motion experiment platform. The result shows that this method can efficiently identify the graphic information including line, circle, arc etc. in DXF file and the CNC engraving machine can be controlled well.

The Innovation of CNC Machine Interface Based on DNC System

This paper describes the innovation schemes of the interface of a CNC machine which cannot communicate with a computer by a Direct Numerical Control(DNC)interface and the functions of a DNC interface system.One architecture of hardware and software of a practi- cal single-chip computer based on DNC interface system developed by the authors is given. Without any change of the original hardware and software,this DNC interface system has been used to innovate the CNC machine's interface to implement the direct communication between a computer and a CNC machine and to achieve no tape transmission of a part program and ma- chine parameters.It has been demonstrated that this DNC interface system has certain practical values in improving the reliability,efficiency and production management of CNC/NC machine.

Application of MBAM Neural Network in CNC Machine Fault Diagnosis

In order to improve the bidirectional associative memory(BAM) performance, a modified BAM model(MBAM) is used to enhance neural network(NN)’s memory capacity and error correction capability, theoretical analysis and experiment results illuminate that MBAM performs much better than the original BAM. The MBAM is used in computer numeric control(CNC) machine fault diagnosis, it not only can complete fault diagnosis correctly but also have fairly high error correction capability for disturbed Input Information sequence.Moreover MBAM model is a more convenient and effective method of solving the problem of CNC electric system fault diagnosis.