| dc.description.abstract | This study presents an optimal design process for the base in medium-to-large-size turn-mill machining centers. Such a computer-aided design process can be applied at the initial stage in development of a new turn-mill machining center. In this proposed design process, a Taguchi method is employed in combination with a finite element analysis (FEA) technique. The Taguchi method is applied to determining the quality characteristic of the product, the control factors, and the control factor levels for a turn-mill machining center. The FEA technique is applied to calculating the stress and deformation of the developing turn-mill center under various combinations of design parameters, as planned by the Taguchi method.
According to the “Smaller-the-Better” quality characteristic in the Taguchi method, the minimum deformation of the base in the vertical direction (Y axis) is selected to be the objective function to be optimized. Analysis results indicate the optimal combination of the control factors is determined to be a rib spacing of 365 mm, a rib thickness of 25 mm, a spindle fixture width of 70 mm, and 12 bottom supports. Compared to the original design, the optimized design can reduce the Y-axis deformation about 16.49% and 18% on the upper guide-way, about 16.59% and 58.62% on the front guide-way, and about 55.33% in the main spindle fixture. The weight of the base in the optimal design slightly increases by 756.84 kg, which is about 11.52% of the original one. | en_US |