SIMULATION CONCEPT FOR PREDICTING WORKPIECE VIBRATIONS IN FIVE-AXIS MILLING

The characteristic discontinuous cut of the milling process influences the whole machining process by an increased susceptibility to vibrations of the machine-tool-workpiece system. This can result in undesirable effects on the workpiece surface or in a shorter lifetime of the tool and the spindle. Especially with regard to the machining of thin-walled components, such as turbine blades and thin profiles, the dynamic behavior of the workpiece is of particular interest. In this paper a simulation concept for predicting regenerative workpiece vibrations during the five-axis milling process is presented. This concept combines an accurate and fast simulation of the five-axis machining process including material removal and force calculation with an implemented finite element model for computing workpiece displacements. The simulation results are compared with data from experiments, which were conducted using a milling tool with high stiffness in order to minimize the influence of the milling tool dynamics.