Development of a method for simulating behaviour of media in machine enclosures during the manufacturing process and development of an interface with the CAD system
Overall aim of the project
Modern machine tools work with very high forward feed rates. Since a large amount of heat is generated as a result, large volumes of coolants and lubricants must be employed. This results in a high operating pressure for these media.
The requirements in terms of a tightly sealing machine enclosures are constantly increasing for occupational safety and environmental protection reasons. However, the requirement for performance of rapid workpiece changes in order to be able to achieve rapid cycle times conflicts with the requirement for 100% sealing under all operating conditions. On these grounds, the technologies would preferably completely dispense with coverings in order to access the workpiece holder from all sides.
A prediction of how the injected media will behave during operation is not possible with the media currently available to the designer. Both the tools and the respective workpiece are constantly in relatively rapid motion and the environmental conditions are therefore constantly changing. In unfavourable configurations of the components involved, fluids are diverted, i.e. they travel distances that are not desired and not calculated by the designer.
It is only after manufacture of the housing and installation on the machine that success of the design can be tested during machine operation. Based on our experience, it can be stated that in the majority of cases, reworking even extending to design modifications becomes necessary. Since the cladding is often already on the customer’s premises at this point, corrosion-protected and lacquered, it can readily be understood that several thousand Euros of costs rapidly arise for the revision work.
Scientific and technological concept of the project
Within the context of the project, it is intended to develop a program system that actively assists the designer of machine claddings with regard to sealed construction.
A simulation programme forms the starting point of this system, which determines, based on the machine-readable CAD data of the machine tool to be enclosed, at which points in the planned cladding which media pressure and at which angle will most probably arise. These data are made available again to the CAD system where they can be used during design.
