Influence of lateral dynamic error on the trajectory error in machine tools

In machine tools, the trajectory error of the tool center point (TCP) is caused due to the dynamic positioning error of feed drive systems according to the relationship in spatial structure and motion. The dynamic positioning error of the feed drive system includes axial dynamic error and lateral dynamic error. To analyze the influence of the lateral dynamic error on the trajectory error of the TCP of multi-axis machine tools, in this study, circular and butterfly trajectories were designed as the set trajectories of a machine tool with three linear axes. In addition, the tracking error models were constructed both considering the lateral dynamic error and without considering the lateral dynamic error, and the difference between the two models was quantified. The Sobol method was then used to analyze the sensitivity of the lateral dynamic error of the feed drive system to the tracking error of the TCP. Finally, experiments were performed on a three-axis machine tool. The results show the maximum lateral dynamic error in the direction perpendicular to the motion direction is 0.026 mm. The lateral dynamic error detrimentally affects the tracking error and contour error of the TCP in multi-axis machine tools.