Thermal error reduction based on thermodynamics structure optimization method for an ultra-precision machine tool

Thermal error is one of the main errors in ultra-precision machine tools. This paper presents a thermodynamics-based structure optimization method to reduce the thermal displacements of machine tools during operation. The method makes use of the thermal-structure coupled model to analyze the thermal behavior considering the thermal contact resistance and the temperature rise of the oil film in hydrostatic spindle. The structure of the motor link, spindle, and headstock of grinder are optimized by setting appropriate gaps in the contact region of two neighboring parts to change the heat transfer distribution and minimize the thermal displacement of the spindle center position. The proposed method is validated by an equivalent thermal conductivity-based simulation method and experiment on an ultra-precision grinding machine tool. Experimental results show that the proposed method can provide an important instruction on how to reduce the thermal error for the design of the precision machine tools, especially for those with key parts placed near the heat sources.