Numerical control of machine tools

Machine tools structure

Prof. Abdollah Saboori

Politecnico di Torino
Department of Management and Production Engineering (DIGEP)

[email protected]
 Design of machine tool structure

The structure of a conventional machines suffers from some limitations:

 lack of stiffness;
 backlash (it is any kind of unexpected play in an axis due to clearance or
looseness of mechanical parts);
 machine tool resonance;
 machine tool chatter.

CNC machine tools should not be characterized by the above undesirable

factors. As a matter of fact, the design of CNC machine structure must
satisfy the following requirements:
 geometrical accuracy of the structure has to be kept throughout the
design and service;
 deformation does not exceed the limits of load acting in a machine tool
structure;
 structure should ensure the working stress;
 the mating surface of the structure should be machined with a high
degree of accuracy.

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 CNC machine tool structure
The machine tool structure includes the following parts:
 Bed
 Column
 Box Type Housing
 Carriages
 Tables

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 CNC machine tool structure
Bed

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 CNC machine tool structure
Z-axis

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 CNC machine tool structure
X-axis

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 CNC machine tool structure
Y-axis

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 CNC machine tool structure
C-axis (spindle)

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 CNC machine tool structure
Axis cover

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 CNC machine tool structure
Axis cover

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 CNC machine tool structure
Axis cover

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 CNC machine tool structure
Axis cover

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 CNC machine tool structure
Worktable bed

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 CNC machine tool structure
Worktable (Rotary)

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 CNC machine tool structure

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 CNC machine tool structure

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 Requirements of machine tool structure
 Stiffness
 the most important factor;
 depends on components materials, spindle, bearings, drive train, and slideway.
 Damping
 critical factor in reducing or eliminating vibration and chatter;
 dimensional accuracy, tool wear.
 Thermal expansion
 important factor;
 internal sources and external sources.
 Assembly methods
 resin bonding and integral casting replace threaded fasteners and welding.
 Slideways and linear motor drives
 precision service life;
 electric drive.
 Machine foundation
 materials, mass, installation.

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 Materials
 Gray cast iron
 first material, good damping capacity and low cost;

 Welded steel
 lighter than cast iron, high stiffness-to-weight ratio;
 low damping capacity;
 design flexibility.
 Polymer concrete
 mixture of crushed concrete and plastic;
 good damping capacity, low stiffness, poor thermal conductivity, sandwich structure with welded steel.
 Ceramic composites
 strength, stiffness, corrosion resistance, surface finish, good thermal stability, wear resistance;
 spindles and bearings – silicon nitride .
 Composites-reinforced materials
 expensive, used for high-accuracy, high speed machining applications.
 Graphite-Epoxy composites
 good castability, high stiffness-to-weight ratio, thermal stability;
 resistance to environment degradation, good damping capacity.

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 Cast iron machine tool structure
 Widely used in machine construction
 Stable with thermal anneal, aging, or vibration stress relieve
 Provides good damping and heat transfer
 Low cost for moderate sizes
 Integral features can be cast in place
 Design and manufacturing rules are well-established

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 Welded steel machine tool structure
 Often used for larger/small structures
 Integral features/parts can be welded in place
 Structures can be made from tubes, profiles, and plates.
 Low damping, improved with shear dampers
 Stable with thermal anneal
 Low cost

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 Polymer concrete machine tool structure
Polymer concrete (PC) is a relatively new material used in precision machine design.
 Special polymers are mixed with specially prepared/sized aggregate.
 Epoxy-granite-, mineral-, and reactive-resin concrete castings all refer to the same technique.

For PC castings, the same rules for draft allowance apply as for metal castings if the mold is to be removed.
 Unlike metal castings, a PC will not develop hot spots while curing even in thick, uneven sections.

Instead of ribs, PC structures use internal foam cores to maximize their stiffness-to-weight ratio.
PC can accommodate cast in place components such as bolt inserts, conduit, bearing rails, hydraulic lines,
etc.
Highly loaded machine substructures (e.g. carriages) are made from cast iron or steel.
PC structures can have the stiffness of cast iron structures.
 They can have much greater damping.
PC does not diffuse heat as well as cast iron.
 Attention must be paid to the isolation of heat sources to prevent the formation of hot spots.

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 Polymer concrete machine tool structure

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 Steel-polymer concrete machine tools structure

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 Loads acting on the structure of a machine tool

The machine structure is the load carrying and supporting member of the machine tool.
The machine structure is subjected to both static and dynamic forces.
Therefore, the following loads act on the structure of the machine:
 Static load;
 Thermal load;
 Dynamic load.

The static loads of the machine tools are the weights of the slide, the weight of the workpiece and the force due
to cutting, etc. If the machine structure has an adequate stiffness, then the deformation of the structure due to
static load will be within the admissible limit.
In CNC machines there is a number of heat sources creating thermal gradients within the machine. Due to these
heat sources, a (thermal) deformation takes place, which is the cause for inaccuracy in machine performance.
Dynamic load is a term used for the constantly changing forces acting on the structure while movement is
taking place. These forces cause the whole machine system to vibrate.

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 Static loads – Stiffness improvements
 An example of a machine-tool structure. The box-type,
one-piece design with internal diagonal ribs, significantly
improves the stiffness of the machine.
 Steel guide ways integrally-cast on the top of the cast-
iron bed of a machining center. Because of its high
elastic modulus, the steel provides higher stiffness than
cast iron.

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 Thermal loads
The thermal deformation can be reduced in the following ways:

 Large heat removing surfaces can be provided;

 The motor, gear drives and other drives can be externally mounted;
 Excellent coolants can be used;
 Designing all parts considering thermal stresses;
 Providing an efficient scrap removal system for dissipating the heat generated in the machining processes;
 Thermo-symmetric designing of machine structure;
 Reducing ambient temperature by installing air conditioning units;
 Providing a proper lubrication system to remove frictional heat from bearings and slideways.

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 Dynamic loads
 Forced vibrations (periodic)
 from vibrations transmitted from the environment
 shock and vibrations generated in presses, machine tools, internal-combustion engines, compressors, cranes, carts, rail and
road vehicles, etc., are transmitted to other machines through the foundation.
 from parts of the machine tools
 rotating unbalanced masses;
 gear, belt, bearing irregularities;
 unbalanced electromagnetic forces in electric motors; pressure oscillations in hydraulic drives.
 from the variation in the cross-sectional area of the removed material
 due to the shape of the machined surface (e.g., in turning of a non round or slotted part);
 caused by the configuration of the tool (e.g., in milling and broaching when cutting tools have multiple cutting edges).

 Self-excited (regenerative chatter)

 from the interaction between the cutting process and the structure of the machine tool, begins with a disturbance in
the cutting process
 interrupted cutting force from discontinues chips, serrated chips, material strength

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 Dynamic loads – Damping
Damping is the capacity of a mechanical system to reduce the intensity of a vibratory process. The damping
capacity can be due to interactions with outside systems or to internal performance-related interactions.
The damping effect for a vibratory process is achieved by transforming (dissipating) the mechanical energy
of the vibratory motion into other types of energy, most frequently heat, which can be evacuated from the
system.

❑ Internal damping
 different materials, different damping capacities

❑ Design of joints
 the greater the number of joints, the higher the damping capacity

❑ External Damping
 external vibration absorber

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 Dynamic loads – Damping

The relative damping capacity of gray

cast iron and epoxy-granite composite
material. The vertical scale is the
amplitude of vibrations and the
horizontal scale is the time.

The damping of vibrations as a

function of the number of
components on a lathe. Joints
dissipate energy; the greater the
number of joints, the higher the
damping capacity of the machine.

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 Dynamic loads – Chatter
Chatter is a self excited vibration that can occur during machining operations and becomes a common
limitation to productivity and part quality.
The occurrence of chatter is dependent on three factors:
 cutting conditions;
 work piece and tool material properties;
 dynamics of machine tool system.

Negative effects:
 poor surface quality,
 unacceptable inaccuracy,
 excessive noise,
 disproportionate tool wear,
 machine tool damage,
 reduced material removal rate (MRR),
 increased costs in terms of production time,
 waste of materials,
 waste of energy,
 environmental impact of dumping non-valid final parts and repeating the manufacturing process.

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 Dynamic loads – Regenerative chatter
Regenerative chatter is the most common form of self-excited vibration. It often occurs because the majority of metal
cutting operations involve overlapping cuts, which can be a source of vibrations amplification. Due to the cutter
vibrations, a wavy surface is left on the machined surface. The chip thickness, hence, the force on the cutting tool varies
due to the phase difference between the waving surface left in the previous revolution and the wave left by the actual one.
This phenomenon can greatly amplify vibrations becoming dominant and building up chatter.

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 Dynamic loads – Regenerative chatter
Machine-tool chatter is essentially a problem of dynamic stability. A machine tool under vibration-free cutting conditions
may be regarded as a dynamical system in steady-state motion. The border between a stable cut (i.e. no chatter) and an
unstable cut (i.e. with chatter) can be visualized in terms of the axial depth-of cut as a function of the spindle speed. This
is a stability lobes diagram (SLD).

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 Dynamic loads – Regenerative chatter
Using these diagrams it is possible to find the specific combination of machining parameters, which results in the
maximum chatter-free material removal rate. The idea is to seek regions of stability within lobes taking advantage of the
lobbing effect. At high speeds, the stabilizing effect of process damping diminishes, making the process more prone to
chatter.

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 Slideways
Slideways are used for movement between two members of machine tool. They provide alignment and
fitting, ample load carrying capacity and adjustment for wear and lubrication.
A good slideway should posses the following properties:
 High accuracy;
 High rigidity;
 Good surface finish on slideway surface;
 High stiffness at the sliding joints;
 Good damping properties;
 High accuracy of travel;
 Low coefficient of friction at different slide velocities
(lower friction forces acting on the slideway surface
to ensure low wear);
 Minimum difference between static and
dynamic friction coefficient.

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 What is stick-slip?
 When two objects slide against each other, friction works against their motion. But there are two types of
friction: static (also referred to as breakaway) and kinetic (also referred to as dynamic).

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 Friction is a sticky phenomenon to define and measure, but at a fundamental level, static friction is caused
by the molecular bonding that occurs when two surfaces are in contact. Kinetic friction is primarily
caused by surface roughness, which impedes the motion of the two bodies relative to each other.
 Static friction increases with time of contact. In other words, the longer two surfaces have been in
contact at rest (not moving), the higher their static friction will be. Kinetic friction has been found to be
mostly constant regardless of velocity, although some variation can occur at very slow speeds. The
velocity of the surfaces determines how long any two areas on the surfaces are in contact with each other.

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 Stribeck curve
The relationship between friction and velocity for
lubricated surfaces is shown on a Stribeck curve.
The thickness of the lubrication film is an important
parameter in friction, and there are three regions of
lubrication in which bearings can operate:
 Boundary Lubrication—where friction is
dominated by surface properties
 Mixed Lubrication—where friction is affected
by both surface properties and the properties of
the lubricant, and is also dependent on speed
 Hydrodynamic Lubrication—where friction is
dominated by the viscosity of the lubrication film

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 Stick-slip phenomenon
 The initiation of motion draws lubrication into the contact area between the two surfaces, reducing
surface-to-surface contact and causing friction forces to drop. As the speed increases, the lubricant film
increases, and friction is further reduced. But beyond a certain point, friction actually increases and
generates viscous drag.
 When machining is taking place, the rate of the translational movement (feed rate) can be as low as a
few mm/min. During non-machining operations, such as positioning, the feed rate can be very high, e.g. 5
m/min or more.
 Stick-slip happens at very slow rates of movement because friction at these speeds tends to be high. To
cause movement, the force to overcome friction and any force resisting movement has to be
correspondingly high.
 The transition that occurs when motion is initiated, from higher static friction to lower dynamic
friction, can cause a system to overshoot its target position and negatively affect positioning
accuracy.
 The effects of stick-slip can be minimized through proper design of slideways and using materials with
constant friction coefficients (static and kinematic) between the surfaces in contact.

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 Classification of slideways
The slideways may be categorized into three major groups:

❑ Plain slideways or sliding friction slideways;

❑ Anti-friction slideways or linear bearings;
 non-recirculating or recirculating type
 ball or roller type
❑ Pressurized slideways;

The plain slideways have a better damping capacity than anti-friction and pressurized slideways. But there is
a tendency to stick-slip at low-feed rates; in order to reduce this issue, plain slideways are usually coated with
anti friction material with similar values of static and dynamic (or kinematic) friction coefficients.

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 Sliding friction slideways
The plastic or non-metallic inserts are used mostly in the slide way system. These inserts are bonded to the underside of
the sliding members. They can be either of thermoplastic or of thermosetting type.
The static coefficient of friction for the coated slide ways is less than the dynamic friction coefficient. With an increase in
speed, the dynamic coefficient of friction increases to a value and remains constant. This initial slope of the friction
velocity curve is responsible for preventing stick-slip.
The employed inserts/composites are made up of two or more materials , out of which one reduce friction coefficient
and the other increases wear resistance, strength and load bearing capacity.

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 Application of the anti-friction material

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 Sliding friction slideways
The used material used are Turcite-B, Ferobestos-CA 3, SKC-3 and moglice.

Drawbacks:
 Poor contact rigidity;
 Poor structural stiffness due to low Young's modulus;
 Poor wear resistance;
 Low coefficient of thermal conductivity which leads to overheating;
 Tendency to swell by absorbing the lubricant.

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 Sliding friction slideways
The shapes of sliding friction slideways can be categorized into the following profiles:
❑ Flat slideway;
❑ Vee – slideway;
 Symmetrical Vee – slideway
 Asymmetrical Vee – slideway

❑ Dovetail slideway;
❑ Cylindrical slideway or round slideway.

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 Recirculating linear bearings

 The unit consists of a bearing block and a rail. Two race ways are provided on one side of the bearing
block where two rows of rolls are retained and caused to recirculate by means of a retainer and two end
plates.
 The unit is constructed in such a manner that each of the rows of balls rolling over the rail comes into
contact with the race way at an angle of 45 degree

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 Recirculating linear bearings
 Another type of linear motion device is the use of a ball bush, where the balls are arranged in the track
inside of a bush, which can slide along a ground rod to provide the linear motion similar to the round slide
ways used in conventional machine tools

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 Linear motion bearings

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 Linear motion bearings
The rolling element provides the following advantages when applied to reciprocating motion:
 stick-slip problem is completely eliminated;
 even though internal clearance is reduced to zero to absorb machine vibration and shock, the smooth
motion is obtained;
 with rolling element linear motion bearings, there is little difference between dynamic friction and static
friction. This means that it is possible to reduce the drive power to be used and also makes the drive
equipment more compact;
 machine weight, overall costs and maintenance costs can be reduced;
 lubrication of metal to metal contact slideways is different at low speed. So a high degree of wear results
in conventional slides. But rolling element slide (linear motion system) requiring only a small quantity of
lubricant shows little wear and last long.

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 Hydrostatic slideways
Hydrostatic slideways use essentially the same principle of operation as a hovercraft. Oil or air is pumped into small cavities or
pockets machined in the faces of the carriage which are in contact with the slideway of the machine

The pressure of the fluid gradually reduces to atmospheric as it seeps out from the pockets, through the gap between the contacting
faces of the carriage and slideway.
An almost frictionless condition exists for the movement of the carriage.
One of the problems with hydrostatic slideways is that there has to be a relatively large surface area to provide adequate support.
Machines may use pressure-balanced slideways where the pockets for the fluid are machined in all the faces of the carriage
contacting the slideway. If the carriages are heavy and the cutting forces created are high, the pocket may only be required in the
faces supporting the load.

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 Hydrostatic slideways

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 Hydrostatic slideways

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 Numerical control of machine tools
Machine tools structure

Question???

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