Research on vibration suppression by a multi-point flexible following support head in thin-walled parts mirror milling

Large thin-walled parts are widely utilized in many different fields such as aircraft manufacturing. However, the vibration caused by the milling force during processing unfortunately affects the processing quality. To reduce the vibration, a multi-point flexible following support head is proposed, which can adjust the supporting force in mirror milling in real time. By installing the milling cutter and support head at the end of the milling robot and support robot, respectively, and allowing them to symmetrically move during processing, the vibration of the thin-walled parts can be suppressed. In this study, the supporting force equations of the multi-point flexible following support head are established. Then, the vibration response of the thin-walled part with two clamped edges and two free edges (CCFF plate) under alternating external loads is analyzed, and the simulation model of the mirror milling vibration is established. The simulation is carried out under the milling condition with and without the support head to verify the vibration suppression effect of the support head. Finally, the mirror milling experiment verifies that the multi-point flexible following support head can decrease the amplitude by 98% compared with milling without a support head, and the processing quality is significantly improved.