Virtual machining is the practice of using computers to simulate and model the use of

machine tool A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, boring, grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some sort of tool that does the cutting or shaping. All m ...

s for part

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

. Such activity replicates the behavior and errors of a real environment in

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...

systems. This can provide useful ways to manufacture products without physical testing on the shop floor. As a result, time and cost of part production can be decreased.

Applications

Virtual machining provides various benefits: *Simulated machining process in virtual environments reveals errors without wasting materials, damaging

s, or putting workers at risk. *A

computer simulation Computer simulation is the process of mathematical modelling, performed on a computer, which is designed to predict the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be dete ...

helps improve accuracy in the produced part. *Virtual inspection systems such as

surface finish Surface finish, also known as surface texture or surface topography, is the nature of a surface as defined by the three characteristics of lay, surface roughness, and waviness.. It comprises the small, local deviations of a surface from the perf ...

surface metrology Surface metrology is the measurement of small-scale features on surfaces, and is a branch of metrology. Surface primary form, surface fractality, and surface finish (including surface roughness) are the parameters most commonly associated with th ...

, and

waviness Waviness is the measurement of the more widely spaced component of surface texture. It is a broader view of roughness because it is more strictly defined as "the irregularities whose spacing is greater than the roughness sampling length". It can ...

can be applied to the simulated parts in virtual environments to increase

accuracy Accuracy and precision are two measures of ''observational error''. ''Accuracy'' is how close a given set of measurements (observations or readings) are to their ''true value'', while ''precision'' is how close the measurements are to each other ...

. *Systems can augment process planning of machining operations with regards to the desired

tolerances Engineering tolerance is the permissible limit or limits of variation in: # a physical dimension; # a measured value or physical property of a material, manufacturing, manufactured object, system, or service; # other measured values (such as t ...

of part designing. *Virtual machining system can be used in process planning of machining operations by considering the most suitable steps of machining operations with regard to the

time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

and cost of part manufacturing. *

Optimization techniques Mathematical optimization (alternatively spelled ''optimisation'') or mathematical programming is the selection of a best element, with regard to some criterion, from some set of available alternatives. It is generally divided into two subfi ...

can be applied to the simulated machining process to increase

efficiency Efficiency is the often measurable ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in doing something or in producing a desired result. In a more general sense, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without ...

of parts production. * Finite element method (FEM) can be applied to the simulated machining process in virtual environments to analyze stress and strain of the machine tool, workpiece and cutting tool. *Accuracy of mathematical error modeling in prediction of machined surfaces can be analyzed by using the virtual machining systems. *Machining operations of flexible materials can be analyzed in virtual environments to increase accuracy of part manufacturing. * Vibrations of machine tools as well as possibility of chatter along cutting tool paths in machining operations can be analyzed by using simulated machining operations in virtual environments. *

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

and cost of accurate production can be decreased by applying rules of production process management to the simulated manufacturing process in the virtual environment. *

Feed rate The phrase speeds and feeds or feeds and speeds refers to two separate velocities in machine tool practice, cutting speed and feed rate. They are often considered as a pair because of their combined effect on the cutting process. Each, however, ...

scheduling systems based on virtual machining can also be presented to increase accuracy as well as efficiency of part manufacturing. * Material removal rate in machining operations of complex surfaces can be simulated in virtual environments for analysis and optimization. *

Efficiency Efficiency is the often measurable ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time in doing something or in producing a desired result. In a more general sense, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without ...

of part manufacturing can be improved by analyzing and optimizing production methods. *Errors in actual machined parts can be simulated in virtual environments for analysis and compensation. *Simulated

machining center Milling is the process of machining using rotary cutters to remove material by advancing a cutter into a workpiece. This may be done by varying direction on one or several axes, cutter head speed, and pressure. Milling covers a wide variety of d ...

s in virtual environments can be connected by the network and

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

for remote analysis and modification. *Elements and structures of machine tools such as

spindle Spindle may refer to: Textiles and manufacturing * Spindle (textiles), a straight spike to spin fibers into yarn * Spindle (tool), a rotating axis of a machine tool Biology * Common spindle and other species of shrubs and trees in genus ''Euony ...

rotation axis Rotation around a fixed axis is a special case of rotational motion. The fixed-axis hypothesis excludes the possibility of an axis changing its orientation and cannot describe such phenomena as wobbling or precession. According to Euler's rot ...

moving axes In physics, a rigid body (also known as a rigid object) is a solid body in which deformation is zero or so small it can be neglected. The distance between any two given points on a rigid body remains constant in time regardless of external force ...

, ball screw, numerical control unit,

electric motor An electric motor is an Electric machine, electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a Electromagneti ...

s (

step motor A stepper motor, also known as step motor or stepping motor, is a brushless DC electric motor that divides a full rotation into a number of equal steps. The motor's position can be commanded to move and hold at one of these steps without any posi ...

and servomotor), bed and et al. can be simulated in virtual environments so they can be analyzed and modified. As a result, optimized versions of machine tool elements can boost levels of technology in part manufacturing. *Geometry of cutting tools can be analyzed and modified as a result of simulated cutting forces in virtual environments. Thus,

machining time Machining is a process in which a material (often metal) is cut to a desired final shape and size by a controlled material-removal process. The processes that have this common theme are collectively called subtractive manufacturing, which utilizes ...

as well as

surface roughness Surface roughness, often shortened to roughness, is a component of surface finish (surface texture). It is quantified by the deviations in the direction of the normal vector of a real surface from its ideal form. If these deviations are large, ...

can be minimized and tool life can be maximized due to decreasing cutting forces by modified geometries of cutting tools. Also, the modified versions of cutting tool geometries with regards to minimizing cutting forces can decrease cost of cutting tools by presenting a wider range of acceptable materials for cutting tools such as high-speed steel, carbon tool steels,

cemented carbide Cemented carbides are a class of hard materials used extensively for cutting tools, as well as in other industrial applications. It consists of fine particles of carbide cemented into a composite by a binder metal. Cemented carbides commonly use ...

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

, cermet and et al. *The generated heat in engagement areas of cutting tool and workpiece can be simulated, analyzed, and decreased. Tool life can be maximized as a result of decreasing generated heat in engagement areas of cutting tool and workpiece. *Machining strategies can be analyzed and modified in virtual environments in terms of collision detection processes. *3D vision of machining operations with errors of actual machined parts and tool deflection error in virtual environments can help designers as well as machining strategists to analyze and modify the process of part production. *Virtual machining can augment the experience and training of novice machine tool operators in a virtual machining

training system A training system is a group or family of coursework that will achieve a stated series of training objectives. A training system typically employs a syllabus or similar document that specifies and outlines the coursework to be followed. A training ...

. *To increase

added value {{One source, date=June 2010 Added value in financial analysis of shares is to be distinguished from value added. It is used as a measure of shareholder value, calculated using the formula: :Added Value = The selling price of a product - the cost ...

in processes of part production,

energy consumption Energy consumption is the amount of energy used. Biology In the body, energy consumption is part of energy homeostasis. It derived from food energy. Energy consumption in the body is a product of the basal metabolic rate and the physical activity ...

of machine tools can be simulated and analyzed in virtual environments by presenting an

efficient energy use Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the process of reducing the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a building allows it to use less heating and cooling energy to ...

machine tool. *Machining strategies of freeform surfaces can be analyzed and optimized in virtual environments to increase accuracy of part manufacturing.

Future research works

Some suggestions for the future studies in virtual machining systems are presented as: *Machining operations of new alloy can be simulated in virtual environments for study. As a result, deformation, surface properties and residue stress of new alloy can be analyzed and modified. *New material of cutting tool can be simulated and analyzed in virtual environments. Thus, tool deflection error of new cutting tools along machining paths can be studied without the need of actual machining operations. *Deformation and deflections of large workpieces can be simulated and analyzed in virtual environments. *Machining operations of expensive materials such as gold as well as

superalloy A superalloy, or high-performance alloy, is an alloy with the ability to operate at a high fraction of its melting point. Several key characteristics of a superalloy are excellent mechanical strength, resistance to thermal creep deformation, g ...

s can be simulated in virtual environments to predict real machining conditions without the need of shop floor testing.

References

External links

Virtual Machining, Automation WorldAMGM Institute, Virtual MachiningMACHpro: THE VIRTUAL MACHINING SYSTEMThe 5th International Conference on Virtual Machining Process Technology (VMPT 2016)Eureka Virtual Machining
{{Virtualization software Operating system technology Programming language implementation Virtualization