Lorenzo Sallese

Numerical investigation of chatter suppression in milling using active fixtures in open-loop control

Among the chatter suppression techniques in milling, active fixtures seem to be the most industrially oriented, mainly because these devices could be directly retrofittable to a variety of machine tools. The actual performances strongly depend on fixture design and the control logic employed. The usual approach in the literature, derived from general active vibration control applications, is based on the employment of adaptive closed-loop controls aimed at mitigating the amplitude of chatter frequencies with targeted counteracting vibrations. Whilst this approach has proven its effectiveness, a general application would demand a wide actuation bandwidth that is practically impeded by inertial forces and actuator-related issues. This paper presents the study of the performance of alternative open-loop actuation strategies in suppressing chatter phenomena, aiming at limiting the required actuation bandwidth. A dedicated time-domain simulation model, integrating fixture dynamics and the features of piezoelectric actuators, is developed and experimentally validated in order to be used as a testing environment to assess the effectiveness of the proposed actuation strategies. An extensive numerical investigation is then carried out to highlight the most influential factors in assessing the capability of suppressing chatter vibrations. The results clearly demonstrated that the regenerative effect could be effectively disrupted by actuation frequencies close to half the tooth-pass frequency, as long as adequate displacement is provided by the actuators. This could sensibly increase the critical axial depth of cut and hence improve the achievable material removal rate, as discussed in the paper.

Investigation and Correction of Actual Microphone Response for Chatter Detection in Milling Operations

Integrating sensors in machine tools for monitoring purpose entails dealing with different issues, not only related to accessibility and safety but also to measureable bandwidth and linearity of the sensors. Those factors could be related to the sensor itself but also to sensor–machine interaction that could drastically affect sensor performances and reliability. This paper presents a dedicated experimental investigation of the actual response of microphone transducer inside the machine-tool chamber, highlighting the effects of the machine-tool chamber in altering response linearity. The identified response is then processed with specifically developed equalization filters to correct the measured response and rescale the amplitude of frequency contributions, as required by most chatter detection techniques. The main aspect of both the experimental identification procedure and the development of an effective correction approach are presented and discussed. Finally, the technique is tested in processing signals acquired in experimental chatter tests to estimate the achievable improvements.

Case Study 1.3: Auto-adaptive Vibrations and Instabilities Suppression in General Milling Operations

In general rough-milling operations, unstable tool vibrations due to the interaction between process forces and tool flexibility could arise. The onset of these unstable vibrations, usually referred to as chatter, poses limitations in terms of the achievable material removal rates, hence directly impacting on the productivity. Moreover, chatter vibrations generally lead to an increase in tool wear, imposing premature tool changes and careful monitoring of the process, potentially impeding unmanned operations. Within the INTEFIX project, an active fixture prototype was developed to detect and mitigate the level of chatter vibrations in general rough-milling operations with the purpose of improving the achievable material removal rates. This contribution covers the main aspects of the global development of this prototype, from the mechanical design to the adaptive control logic used in order to drastically reduce the inputs and expertise required for its operability.