NSERC/P&WC Industrial Research Chair in Virtual High Performance Machining

现代制造业的目标是在第一次试制时精确地、最经济地生产昂贵的零件

The objective of modern manufacturing is to produce costly parts accurately and most economically at first trial on aerospace production floors. The first two terms of the Chair saw the development of the virtual 2 ½- axis milling and 5-axis flank milling technologies, which have since been transferred to industry. In the third term, the Chair's research will focus on the technologies used in 5-axis ball end milling of gas turbine blades. A generalized, reconfigurable and modular kinematic model of 5-axis machine tools will be modeled for virtual testing of blade machining ahead of costly capital investments. The tool paths will be smoothed to avoid discontinuities in the axis velocities along five axis paths. The contouring errors around the sharp curvatures of blades will be predicted and compensated based on the mathematical model of the machine tool. The time varying structural dynamics of the blade along the tool path will be modeled, and integrated into the Virtual Machining System to predict cutting forces, torque, power, vibrations and dimensional form errors during 5-axis ball-end milling of blades. The depth and width of cuts, spindle speeds and feed rates will be optimized, leading to the most economical yet accurate machining of costly parts. When completed, the Chair will achieve a science-based simulation and optimization system to predict the behaviour of machine tools and the five-axis virtual ball end milling of flexible blades. The system has a wide application in the aerospace, die and mold machining industry worldwide. The Chair is sponsored by NSERC and Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) Corporation. P&WC is a world leader in the design and manufacturing of small gas turbine engines, and has a significant number of complex 3- to 5-axis machining applications. This research draws additional support and collaboration from major national and international companies and research centres worldwide. The findings will be published in open literature, and the technology will be disseminated to industry through Virtual Machining Software and the training of graduate students and practicing engineers.