Model-Based Design of Electro-Spindles for High Performance Machining

The paper, focusing on the sector of electro-spindle manufacturing, presents a solution to support spindle development by progressive numerical modeling that, integrating mechanical structure and cutting process analysis, is able to verify if the unit under design will, when constructed, satisfy customer requirements in terms of material removal capability (MRC). A first investigated aspect is the accuracy of the proposed modeling methodology on an existing spindle. The numerical tool tip dynamic compliance has been compared with the experimental measures on the physical prototype. Secondly, a simplified modeling approach is proposed for the phase of preliminary design, where many choices are made that will have a strong effect on final product performance and cost. The proposed methodology asks for the execution of numerous structural analyses during DOE studies to compare and optimize alternative solutions. To support its application in the industrial environment, a software interface has been developed to connect the Finite Element package used for spindle modeling to a general package for numerical analysis in order to optimize the spindle in respect to a set of milling operations.