Structural stability estimation of whirling unit

Whirling is a cutting process in which a series of cutting edges on whirling ring remove material by turning over a rotating workpiece. In this study static and dynamic stability of whirling unit was estimated by using ADAMS and NASTRAN softwares. Each maximum force acting on the bearing attached to the spindle assembly and the cutting tool attached to the whirling ring with the rotating speed of 6 000 r/min was 235 N and 902 N respectively. The maximum stress of 0.74 MPa on the base frame is far smaller than the yield strength of 282 MPa. The calculated natural frequency of 148 Hz of the system is far from the frequency of the driving speed of 6 000 r/min. The experimentally obtained maximum cutting force of 792 N is smaller than that of calculated value. And the experimentally obtained natural frequency of 118 Hz is beyond the driving speed of 6 000 r/min. From above results it can be judged that the whirling system is statically and dynamically stable.