Rotating Workpiece Table With Radial Holder Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Machining processes, particularly metal-cutting operations on machine tools, face challenges in optimizing productivity and maintaining a technically optimal machining process, as they often require significant time and may not efficiently utilize the workpiece table's rotational speed and tool positioning.
Innovation Solution
The method involves a machine tool with a workpiece table that rotates in a position-controlled manner and a tool that moves parallel to the axis of rotation, where the workpiece holder is displaced during machining to maintain a minimum distance from the axis of rotation, ensuring constant relative speed and optimal machining, and optionally using multiple tools and workpieces to balance loads and increase productivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the workpiece table rotates at high speed to increase productivity, then the machining throughput improves, but the tool may come too close to the axis of rotation causing insufficient cutting speed
Solution Approach 1:
The workpiece holder is made dynamically adjustable on the workpiece table, allowing its radial position to change during machining. This enables the system to adapt the tool-workpiece relative speed by moving the workpiece holder radially outward when needed, maintaining optimal cutting conditions while preserving high rotational throughput.
Solution Approach 2:
The radial position parameter of the workpiece holder is changed during the machining process. By adjusting the distance of the workpiece holder from the axis of rotation, the system modifies the effective cutting speed parameter without changing the rotational speed parameter, thus resolving the contradiction between high productivity and sufficient cutting speed.
2Manufacturing precision
If the tool is positioned close to the axis of rotation to machine workpiece features, then machining precision improves, but the relative cutting speed becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The workpiece holder position is dynamically adjusted during machining operations. When high precision machining is required near the axis, the system compensates for insufficient cutting speed by radially displacing the workpiece holder outward, maintaining optimal relative speed between tool and workpiece while still achieving the desired precision features.
Solution Approach 2:
The radial position parameter of the workpiece holder is modified during the machining process to maintain adequate cutting speed. This parameter change allows the system to decouple the relationship between radial position and cutting speed, enabling precision machining at various radial distances from the axis.
3Productivity
If multiple workpieces are machined simultaneously to increase productivity, then output improves, but load imbalances on the rotating table increase
Solution Approach 1:
Each workpiece holder position is independently controlled with position-controlled drives, allowing local adjustment of individual workpiece holders to achieve optimal balance. This localized control enables the system to maintain rotational stability while machining multiple workpieces at different radial positions and orientations.
Solution Approach 2:
The radial positions of individual workpiece holders are adjusted as control parameters to optimize balance. By independently varying the position parameters of each workpiece holder, the system can compensate for load imbalances and maintain stable rotation while processing multiple workpieces simultaneously.
4Speed
If the workpiece holder is displaced radially during machining, then tool speed optimization is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The position-controlled drives serve multiple functions: they rotate the workpiece table, position workpiece holders radially, and maintain balance during multi-workpiece machining. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate specialized mechanisms, limiting the increase in device complexity while achieving radial displacement for speed optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses programmable position parameters to control radial displacement, integrating the speed optimization function into the existing position control architecture. This approach leverages existing control capabilities rather than requiring entirely new mechanisms, thus minimizing the increase in device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A machine tool has a tool and a workpiece clamped into a workpiece holder on a workpiece table and a tool. The workpiece table is rotatable about a rotation axis in a position-controlled manner by a plurality of complete revolutions, and the tool is movable at least parallel to the rotation axis in a position-controlled manner. While the workpiece table is rotated, the tool is placed at least temporarily against the workpiece on a side substantially facing away from the workpiece table, machines the workpiece, and the tool is at a distance being at least equal to a predefined minimum distance from the rotation axis. The first workpiece holder is displaced in a direction that has a component towards or away from the rotation axis on the workpiece table in a position-controlled manner during the machining of the first workpiece by the first tool.