Modelling and compensation of machine geometric errors for the surface texturing process

Abstract

Bio-inspired surface textures have been widely used in various industries because of their unique functionality. The geometric accuracy of the texturing equipment and its effect on the texture geometry are essential for the functional performance of the textured surfaces. This paper presents a surface texture error model that predicts the surface texture topography considering the geometric errors of the machine tool. An error compensation method is proposed to improve the accuracy of the texture by considering the characteristics of the synchronised tool's linear motion and spindle rotation simultaneously. Micro ball-end mill surface texturing experiments are carried out to validate the developed geometric error compensation model considering machine tool geometric errors. The surface topographies before and after the error compensation are examined and compared. The results prove the effectiveness of the proposed error compensation method in enhancing the geometric accuracy of the texture topography.