UNATTENDED PRECISION GRINDING PROCESS DEVELOPMENT

THE UNATTENDED PRECISION GRINDING STATION ADDRESSES A NEED FOR HIGH VOLUME, HIGH PRECISION GRINDING OF PROPULSION SYSTEM PARTS. REALIZATION OF THE UNATTENDED GRINDING STATION IS DEPENDENT UPON THE DEVELOP-MENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RELATIONSHIPS FOR ADAPTIVE CONTROL OF WHEEL-AND-WORKPIECE STIFFNESS, DAMPING, AND COMPLIANCE IN THE GRINDING PROCESS. THE MEASUREMENT AND CONTROL OF THESE PARAMETERS HAS NOT BEEN PRACTICAL TO DATE. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH GOES BEYOND FORCEADAPTIVE AND ENERGY-ADAPTIVE GRINDING. USING MOTION SENSORS AND REAL-TIME ANALYSIS OF WHEEL-WORKPIECE MACHINE DYNAMICS, THE RESEARCH SEEKS TO EFFECT ACTIVE CONTROL OF THE SPINDLE. SUCH A CONTROL CAN BE ACHIEVED IN A MAGNETIC BEARING BY ALTERING THE MAGNETIC FIELDS WHICH SUSPEND IT. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH (PHASE I) WILL IDENTIFY WHAT CONTROL ALGORITHMS AND RULES FOR THE APPLICATION OF ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE ARE APPROPRIATE FOR THE CREATION OF A HIGH PRECISION UNATTENDED GRINDING STATION. FURTHERMORE, THE SUITABILITY OF THE MAGNETIC BEARING SPINDLE WILL ALSO BE DETERMINED. A SELECTED MACHINE-TOOL BUILDER AND MAGNETIC BEARINGS INC. WILL BECOME PART OF THE TEAM.