Conceptual Design of Machine Tool Interfaces for High-Speed Machining

摘要

High-speed machining is a promising technology to drastically increase productivity and product quality. However, conventional machine tool design often cannot meet stringent requirements needed to overcome various problems brought about by high-speed rotations. One particularly critical issue is how to hold an exchangeable tool rigidly during high-speed rotations. For this purpose, several new standards of tool interfaces between the toolholder and the spindle nose have been proposed. However, it has become increasingly difficult to choose among various competing interface standards or even different variations within a common standard. This issue is further complicated because many machine tool builders also offer various proprietary modifications to the common standards. Furthermore, there is also a need to develop new tool interfaces or modifications if existing standards are not satisfactory. The objective of this paper is to provide a systematic approach that can assist in the conceptual design of machine tool interfaces for highspeed machining. This conceptual design methodology can also be used to select appropriate interface designs from various competing alternatives that exist today. Two embodiment concepts for high-speed end milling are developed as a case study based on the proposed conceptual design methodology. It is shown that the proposed design methodology can assist systematic design decision making and sound reasoning of the design choice.