Simulation of Surface Topography Formed During the Intermittent Turning Processes

Abstract

This paper presents a methodology which employs computer simulation to dynamically generate the topography of a surface machined during an intermittent turning process. The methodology is based on a mathematical model that characterizes the intermittent turning process as an alternating sequence of forced and free vibratory motion. The simulation of machining workpieces, with discontinuous geometries of arbitrary shape, is facilitated by representing the workpiece surface as a two-dimensional grid, with an index for each cell in the grid accounting for the feature boundaries. The tool vibratory motion is integrated with the tool geometric motion to form a basis for the construction of surface texture produced during machining. The simulation model not only provides for a qualitative evaluation of the surface accuracy through a graphic visualization of the surface topography, but also provides a quantitative estimate of the roughness quality of the machined surface.