Development of a hybrid table system. Combination of the rolling guideway and the slideway.

Abstract

Rolling guideways have been actively applied to machine tool tables because of their low friction and ease of maintenance. The weak point of the rolling guideways is, however, the low damping ability which causes chatter vibration during machining. In this study, a new type of table system is developed by combining the rolling guideway with the slideway. The motion of the table is guided by the rolling guideway while the damping forct is applied by the sliding elements. The contact force between the guideway and the sliding elements tan be varied by adjusting the charged voltage to the electric magnets installed in the sliding elements. The dynamic performance of the table system is evaluated by the impulse force response method. The results show that the damping ability in the direction of table feed is effectively increased.