Active vibration control in milling flexible workpieces

During milling of flexible workpieces a regenerative chatter vibration may become a critical factor that limits productivity. It is shown in this paper that a selection of cutting parameters based on a stability lobes diagram may not always be a remedy for low productivity due to increased forced vibration level. Additionally, other factors such as tool wear may limit the selection of stable spindle speeds. This paper presents an active control system that counteracts the development of chatter vibration. The proposed active control system employs Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) algorithm and piezoelectric actuator to suppress vibration during cutting. The Kalman filter is used to estimate the state of the system required by LQG algorithm. The active control introduces damping into the system, thereby raising the critical depth of cut and reducing forced vibration amplitude. It enables stable cutting under a much wider range of cutting parameters than for the uncontrolled system. Cutting tests are performed to demonstrate an effectiveness of the control system. Practical issues limiting applications of the proposed technique are discussed.