DYNAMILL

Dynamic manufacturing of thin-walled work pieces by milling process

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Lightweight components are gaining in importance in EU key industries with good market growth potential (aerospace, automotive, power generation, medical technology etc.). To achieve weight reductions, complex thin-walled structures are combined with high strength materials. However, the lower stiffness of work pieces leads to severe challenges during the milling process: - Difficulty to achieve high work piece quality, due to vibration and process forces, in industries that have very high safety and quality requirements (aviation, space etc.). Therefore, in many cases manual finishing of the work pieces is required. - Achievement of acceptable work piece quality only through time and resource consuming trial and error identification of process parameters that circumvent critical process states. This often results in slow and inefficient processes.

To overcome these problems, DynaMill aims at achieving the complete control over the milling process of thin-walled work pieces. This will be realised through a threefold approach combining the development of process planning, adaptive clamping devices and improved cutting conditions. Subsequently, these three developments will be integrated in the DynaMill Technology as a platform. Throughout the project demonstration of intermediate and integrated solutions will play an important role.

The concrete impacts for industry include: - 30% reduction of production time and costs - 80% increase in process stability - 30% reduction of power, compressed air and coolants - 60% reduction of process set-up time and 70% reduction of wasted raw materials during set-up - 20% improvement of tool life - Elimination of finishing operations As a result the competiveness of European industry will be enhanced significantly.

For the project, a strong consortium consisting of two research institutes, four manufacturers of key technologies (CAM software, machine tools, clamping devices and tools) and four end users has been gathered.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

The market for lightweight components is growing, largely driven by reductions in energy consumption and emissions afforded by the reduced loads. A novel process control platform will improve the milling of thin-walled components in many fields.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Machining of lightweight and thin-walled components with lower stiffness than similar parts made of conventional materials poses important technical challenges. The EU-funded project 'Dynamic manufacturing of thin-walled work pieces by milling process' (http://www.dynamill.eu/ (DYNAMILL)) aims to overcome the difficulties.

Currently, vibration and other factors impede achievement of the very high safety and quality required by the aviation and space sectors. Scientists are developing a robust platform to control the milling process, including process planning, adaptive clamping devices and improved cutting conditions. This is expected to significantly increase the competitiveness of the milling industry.

Five different project demonstrators will highlight the broad-sweeping applicability of the platform. The energy sector will benefit from better production of large and medium-sized turbine blades made of a steel alloy. Small turbine blades made of titanium will be produced for aircraft. A satellite component, knee bone prosthetic and print media part will also be included.

Process planning is strongly supported by software tools. These include finite element method (FEM) models for dynamic simulations of oscillation as well as computer-aided manufacturing. Several simulation models are currently being optimised. The team is also acquiring the numerical control data related to the machine spindle to enable development of control algorithms.

FEM simulations of clamping systems have led to development of improved clamping devices using highly efficient damping materials. Novel systems including magnetic clamping and a clamping device for the large turbine blade demonstrator have been developed. In the upcoming period, scientists will build and test the active clamping device.

Process control is focused on high damping and low excitation of work piece vibrations. Scientists have progressed to preliminary trials with the first prototypes of various damping milling tools. In parallel, a systematic optimisation of machining strategy is in progress for the demonstrator parts.

The DYNAMILL platform for control of advanced multi-axis milling of lightweight, thin-walled pieces will have broad-sweeping impact on numerous industries important to the EU economy. With increased efficiency and accuracy, the system will significantly reduce the time, cost, materials waste and energy associated with production. At the same time, product quality will be improved.