A theoretical and experimental study of surface generation under spindle vibration in ultra-precision raster milling

•Spindle vibration in ultra-precision raster milling (UPRM) is impulse spindle vibration.•It is intrinsic mechanism influencing surface topography in UPRM.•It produces the lattice-like, stripe and irregular patterns at a milled surface.

In ultra-precision raster milling (UPRM), the impulse spindle vibration induced by the impulse-like cutting forces is intrinsic and special mechanism majorly influencing surface topography. It is fundamentally distinctive with the step spindle vibration induced by the step-like cutting forces in turning. However, no work has been conducted to study surface generation under the impulse spindle vibration in UPRM in depth. Consequently, this paper theoretically and experimentally elaborates that in UPRM, (i) the impulse spindle vibration includes the axial, radial and coupled-tilting spindle vibration with damping; (ii) the excitation frequency of the impulse-like cutting forces, i.e. spindle speed, determines the spindle vibration characteristics, i.e. synchronous or asynchronous spindle vibration; (iii) the coupled-tilting spindle vibration is a predominant factor influencing surface generation; and (iv) the irregular spindle-vibration waves induced by the impulse spindle vibration produce one of the irregular, lattice-like and stripe patterns or their hybrids at a milled surface.

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