Error prediction and clustering compensation on shaft machining

To analyze the dimensional errors of the shafts, an experiment is carried out. The actual errors of the machined shafts and the calculated errors are compared in this study. The result shows that the cutting force is the main factor which affects the error distribution of the machined shafts; the thermal expansion and the tool wear change the error distribution. To improve the dimensional accuracy of the shafts, an error model is proposed based on the Newton interpolation. An equivalent diameter formula and a correction coefficient are proposed to achieve the error compensation under the various working conditions. To simplify the calculation of the error model, an application is designed based on the visual C++. The application not only can simplify the error model but also can generate the error curve. The macro program is employed to realize the real-time error compensation. Using the error compensation method, the maximum dimensional error is reduced from 12.6 to 1.6 mu m. The error is compensated by 87.3% compared with no compensation.