Demonstrator 5: One Station Fixture with an Integrated Self-Tuning Eddy-Current Damper Installed in SORALUCE SV6000 Milling Machine Machining Steel C45 Parts

A Self-tunable eddy current damper has been developed to damp different fixturing systems. For the demonstration, the damper was placed on a vertical fixture in a SV6000 SORALUCE milling machine. By means of the damper the amplitude of the resonance frequency in the FRF decreases significantly, therefore succeeding in adding damping to the system. The damper was designed not only to be tunable, but also self-tuning. The damper incorporates an accelerometer that read the vibration level at the fixture. A real time processing controller has been developed, which reads this vibration level, and automatically detects whether chatter is being produced or not. When it is, it sends a signal to the motor in the damper that tunes the spring for eliminating chatter. Several cutting tests were performed on the SORALUCE machine to check and demonstrate the functionality of the damper. Cutting tests were performed at three different heights in the workpiece, and the stability at each height with and without damper was checked for different cutting depths. The damper was able to increase 5 times the depth of cut and the material removal rate (MRR).