Development of an adaptronic spindle for a faultless machining of homogeneous and inhomogeneous materials

One of the latest topics in construction concerns the difficulty of producing faultless drill holes in parts made of composite and sandwich materials. At the Institute for Machine Tools of the University of Stuttgart, a prototype of an adaptronic drilling spindle for a machining of components made of homogeneous and inhomogeneous materials was developed within the framework of a research project, funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The spindle made it possible to limit the axial force and the torque acting on the tool, thus protecting the tools and the workpieces from any possible damage. The tests carried out with the spindle prototype proved that the axial feed force acting from the spindle can be reliably controlled by means of the developed spindle. It might be possible to restrict critical machining situations arising due to the removal of drill chips or the reduction of process temperatures.