Robust Control of Machine-Tool Vibration in a Lathe

In the turning operation the relative dynamic motion between cutting tool and workpiece, or vibration, is a frequent problem, which affects the result of the machining, and, in particular, the surface finish. Tool life is also influenced by vibration. Severe acoustic noise in the working environment frequently occurs as a result of dynamic motion between the cutting tool and the workpiece. These problems can be reduced substantially by active control of the machine-tool vibration. Adaptive feedback control based on the filtered-x LMS-algorithm, enables a reduction of the vibration by up to 40 dB at 1.5 kHz and by approximately 40 dB at 3 kHz. The active control performeds a broadband attenuation of the sound pressure level by up to 35 dB. However, the process of machining a workpiece usually involves a variety of cutting data which in turn are likely to cause substantial variations in the spectral properties of the tool vibrations. Hence, variations in the spectral properties originates from changes in the excitation of the tool holder and changes in the structural response of the tool holder. To handle the potential large variations in the spectral properties of tool vibration in the turning operation the robustness of the control system has to be improved. By applying the leaky version of the filtered-x LMS algorithm in the active control of machine tool vibration it was found that the robustness of the adaptive control system was improved substantially to large variations in the spectral properties of tool vibration