Simulation Testing of the Machine Tool Equipped With the Active Feed Drive

The vibration of a machine tool is mainly caused by the dynamic acceleration of a motion axis and by the forces that act on it. All the disturbance forces are transmitted to the machine tool frame through the drive (motor) and its regulation loop and they excite its vibrations. Thus the achievable dynamics and machining quality is negatively influenced. There are several possibilities how to suppress the excited vibrations including the recently introduced "motor on motor" technique which is based on the serial connection of two linear motors. This paper presents new simulation results performed on the simulation model of a real machine tool. The maximal achievable tuning of the regulation loop parameters of the motion axis equipped with the "motor on motor" technique was confronted with the conventional feed drive setting. The "motor on motor" feed drive properties were also tested in the virtual machining operation mode where the real measured cutting force was used. The sensitivity analysis of the reaction force and the middle mass movement of the "motor on motor" feed drive solution to the predicted cutting force introduced to the feed drive control has been investigated. The middle mass is represented by the shared part of both linear motors which absorbs the high frequency part of the reaction force by its movement.