Simulation examines the interaction between the machine and the cutting process

When highly productive machine tools are put into operation, it can happen that the planned cutting process cannot be implemented due to vibrations, or so-called “chatter”. To stabilize the processes, the cutting data must be reduced. As a result, the desired productivity cannot be achieved with the processes.

Simulation can be used to optimize the components of a machine tool for a planned process even in the early stages of development. This leads to the following advantages:

• significantly reduced start-up times,
• higher productivity by avoiding “chatter” (less tool wear and breakage)
• higher component quality with regard to surface and dimension.

Within the framework of the VispaB research project (funded by the BMBF and supported by the PTKA Karlsruhe), the project partners developed a continuous chain of simulation tools. This allows the process stability of machining operations to be used as a reliable evaluation criterion within the framework of the entire development process chain of production plants. For this purpose, process models were developed based on reference processes for the manufacturing processes of turning and milling, which, in combination with machine models, allow an estimation of the performance of the production plant from the design phase through production planning. Based on a transient, CMS-reduced Ansys model (Ansys Structural), a stability assessment was carried out using the tool-workpiece displacement curve, which occurs within several tool revolutions.