Dynamic synchronous motion accuracy measurement and estimation for a five-axis mirror milling system

• Published in: Science China. Technological sciences Vol. 66; no. 3; pp. 689 - 705
• Main Authors: Xu, Kun, Tang, XinYu, Bi, QingZhen, Yu, YangBo, Qian, DeHou, Ji, YuLei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing Science China Press 01-03-2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Accuracy; Engineering; Estimation; Five axis; Kinematics; Machine tools; Measurement methods; Milling (machining); Quasistatic errors; Screw theory; synchronous motion error; dynamic accuracy; mirror milling; five-axis machine tool; measurement
• ISSN: 1674-7321; 1869-1900
• DOI: 10.1007/s11431-022-2299-6

A mirror milling system (MMS) comprises two face-to-face five-axis machine tools, one for the cutting spindle and the other for the support tool. Since it is essential to maintain the cutter and support coaxial during the cutting process, synchronous motion accuracy is the key index of the MMS. This paper proposed a novel method for measuring and estimating the synchronous motion accuracy of the dual five-axis machine tools. The method simultaneously detects errors in the tool center point (TCP) and tool axis direction (TAD) during synchronous motion. To implement the suggested method, a measurement device, with five high-precision displacement sensors was developed. A kinematic model was then developed to estimate the synchronous motion accuracy from the displacement sensor output. The screw theory was used to obtain the analytical expression of the inverse kinematic model, and the synchronous motion error was compensated and adjusted based on the inverse kinematic model of the dual five-axis machine tools. TCP and TAD quasi-static errors, such as geometric and backlash errors, were first compensated. By adjusting the servo parameters, the dynamic TCP and TAD errors, such as gain mismatch and reversal spike, were also reduced. The proposed method and device were tested in a large MMS, and the measured quasi-static and dynamic errors were all reduced when the compensation and adjustment method was used. Monte Carlo simulations were also used to estimate the uncertainty of the proposed scheme.