Fast simulation of machining error induced by elastic deformation of tool system in end milling

Abstract

In end milling, tool deflection can often be a main cause of machining error. Therefore, in our previous study, a method to simulate the machining error due to elastic deformation of the tool system was proposed because simulation is an effective tool to optimize cutting conditions and machining accuracy. However, the large computational time needed for machining error prediction is unacceptable for practical use. Thus, this study proposes a fast simulation of the machining error for end milling based on our conventional method. To accelerate the simulation and reduce the computational time, the multiple analysis steps that are sequentially calculated in our conventional method are parallelly processed using a graphics processing unit because each step can be treated as an independent phenomenon. In addition, to improve the efficiency of geometric calculation, the workpiece and tool are respectively represented by a dexel model and polygon model that correspond to the swept shape of cutting edges. To verify the validity and effectiveness of the proposed method, a machining error simulation was performed based on both our conventional and proposed methods. It was confirmed that the simulation results based on both methods are in good agreement, and the proposed method can reduce the calculation time significantly.

Keywords

• end milling operation
• tool deflection
• machining error
• simulation
• graphics processing unit (gpu)