Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive

Prof. PhD. Eng. Lucian GRUIONU

Course Notes

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Forming and Joining: Materials Forming - Forming of Polymer and Composite Materials

1. Fundamentals of Polymers and Polymer Composite

2. Polymers in automotive industry
3. Manufacturing processes and equipment for polymers parts
4. CADMOULD – injection simulation

The name “polymer” gives an idea of the structure of the materials. The term “polymer” arrived
from Greek words in which poly means many and mer means unit. A polymer is a very large molecule
formed by successive linking of many monomers into a chain or network structure.

Polyethylene (abbreviated PE) or polyethene (IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is

the most common plastic. Its primary use is in packaging (plastic bag, plastic films, geomembranes,
containers including bottles, etc.).

Polypropylene (PP), also known as polypropene, is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide

variety of applications including packaging and labeling, textiles (e.g., ropes, thermal underwear and
carpets), stationery, plastic parts and reusable containers of various types, laboratory equipment,
loudspeakers, automotive components, and polymer banknotes.

Polystyrene (PS) can be solid or foamed. General purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and rather
brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It is a rather poor barrier to oxygen and water vapor
and has a relatively low melting point. Polystyrene is one of the most widely used plastics. Polystyrene
can be naturally transparent, but can be coloured with colorants. Uses include protective packaging (such
as packing peanuts and CD and DVD cases), containers (such as "clamshells"), lids, bottles, trays,
tumblers, and disposable cutlery.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), is the third-most widely produced synthetic plastic polymer, after
polyethylene and polypropylene. PVC comes in two basic forms: rigid (sometimes abbreviated as
RPVC) and flexible. The rigid form of PVC is used in construction for pipe and in profile applications
such as doors and windows. It is also used for bottles, other non-food packaging, and cards (such as
bank or membership cards). It can be made softer and more flexible by the addition of plasticizers. In
this form, it is also used in plumbing, electrical cable insulation, imitation leather, signage, inflatable
products, and many applications where it replaces rubber.

Polyamide occur both naturally and artificially. Examples of naturally occurring polyamides are
proteins, such as wool and silk. Artificially made polyamides can be made through step-growth
polymerization or solid-phase synthesis yielding materials such as nylons, aramids, and sodium
poly(aspartate). Synthetic polyamides are commonly used in textiles, automotive applications, carpets
and sportswear due to their high durability and strength. The transportation industry is the major
consumer, accounting for 35% of polyamide (PA) consumption.

Application of polymer composites is increasingly important in many different industries:

- aerospace,'
- automotive sectors,
- areas dealing with corrosion and construction
They are strong, resistant to damage, and easy to install.
The global composites market reached about $62.6 bn. in 2012.

Some of the very common polymers are:

- polyethylene (PE),
- polypropylene (PP),
- polystyrene (PS),

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- polyvinylchloride (PVC),
- polyamide (PA, nylon)

Properties of polymeric materials are very much affected by its microscopic arrangement of molecules
or chains.

Polymers can have an amorphous or partially crystalline/semi crystalline structure.

- in amorphous polymers, molecules or chains are arranged in a random manner.
- in semi-crystalline polymer, molecular chains are partially aligned and chains fold together
and form ordered regions known as lamellae which compose larger spheroidal structures
named “spherulite”.

Random organised: Amorphous region

Lamellae structure; High crystallinity region

Melting and Glass Transition Temperatures of Polymers

The glass transition is the reversible transition in polymeric materials from a hard and relatively
brittle state into a molten or rubber-like state.

The term melting temperature (Tm) for polymers, suggests a transition from a crystalline or
semi- crystalline phase to a solid amorphous phase.

Crystalline melting is only discussed for crystalline or semi-crystalline polymers among

synthetic polymers. Thermoset polymers are closely densely cross-linked in the form of a network,
degrade upon heating, cannot be reused (e.g., rubber); while thermoplastics, which do not contain cross-
links, will melt upon heating, and can be recycled for reuse, e.g., polypro- pylene, polyethylene, PMMA,
etc.

Glass transition is a phenomenon that occurs at a specific temperature known as glass transition
temperature (Tg), when amorphous materials or amorphous regions within semi crystalline materials go
from a hard and relatively brittle state into a rubbery like state or vice versa. This is a reversible
phenomenon which very much depends on the nature of the polymer.

Tm and Tg usually characterise, respectively, the upper and lower temperature limits for applications of
semi-crystalline polymers. Tg may also describe the upper use temperature for amorphous materials.

Viscosity

Viscosity is an important property and one of the key issues of the polymer that needs to be considered
during manufacturing materials, it is the measured resistance of the material which is being deformed
by either shear stress or tensile stress.

Viscosity very much depends on temperature. It is the proportionality constant between the shear
stresses and the velocity gradient and can be represent as,

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the viscosity, (η) behaviour of polymers in various regions

Mechanical Properties of Polymeric Materials

Viscoelasticity, as a property of materials, is a combination of viscous and elastic behaviour. It

is both time dependent and temperature dependent.

When a polymer is subjected to a step constant stress, polymeric materials experience a time-
dependent increase in strain. This phenomenon is known as viscoelastic creep. It is temperature
dependent and tests are conducted in the same manner as for metals.

Creep modulus is a parameter to quantify this behaviour of polymeric materials,

where ε(t) is time dependent strain and σo is constant stress at a particular temperature.

Stress relaxation, which is also a result of viscoelasticity, describes how polymers relieve stress
under constant strain, like viscoelastic creep, it is also time dependent.
Relaxation modulus is a common parameter to quantify this behavior of polymeric materials
and can be given as:

where σ(t) measured time dependent stress and εo is constant stress at a particular temperature.

Tensile modulus or elastic modulus or just “modulus” of polymer is identical to Young’s

modulus for metals. The value of tensile modulus tends to be much lower for polymers compared to
metals. In the case of semi-crystalline polymers the tensile modulus arises from the combination of the
modulus of the crystalline and the amorphous regions. Similarly, tensile strength, impact strength, and
fatigue strengths of polymers are defined in the same way as for metals. In general these values are
much lower for polymers.

Ductility values are usually much higher for polymers than metals whereas fatigue curves are
the same as for metals, and some polymers may or may not have fatigue limits. The values tend to be
lower than for metals and very much affected by loading frequency.

Tear strength which is related to the tensile strength, is the energy required to remove a cut
specimen that has a standard geometry.

Hardness of the polymer is determined by measuring the resistance to penetration, scratching,

or marring the surface. Durometer and Barcol are common instruments used for hardness tests for
polymers.

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Polymer properties are very sensitive to temperature and generally with increasing temperature,
tensile strength, elastic modulus decreases whereas ductility decreases. Besides temperature, the
properties of polymer are very much affected by environment, e.g., moisture, oxygen, UV radiation,
organic solvents, etc.

Deformation of Polymers

Elastic and plastic deformations of polymers are general properties that are experienced every
day. Elastic deformations in thermoplastics, is similar to a metal spring which upon stretching shows
uncoiling but returns to its original shape when the stretch force is released.

In polymer, elastic deformation behaviour comes from coil polymer chains which uncoil upon
stretching, and the chains revert to their original conformations when forces are removed. This is a
reversible process. During elastic deformation, primary bonds are being stretched but not broken.

Figure a shows the properties of brittle polymer which fail during elastic deformation. Figure b
shows rubber like elasticity property of polymer whereas fig. c shows the typical stress-strain curves of
plastic polymer.

High performance plastics are playing an important role in the automotive industry these
days

Current economic and environmental concerns make the creation of more fuel efficient cars a
top priority in the automotive industry. Some other advantages of high performance plastics used in
transport vehicles include:
• minimal corrosion, allowing for longer vehicle life
• substantial design freedom, allowing advanced creativity and innovation

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• flexibility in integrating components

• safety, comfort and economy
• recyclability.
Here are the top 13 high performance plastics used in automotive hardware. While all 13 may
easily be used in a single vehicle, just three types of plastic make up approximately 66% of the total
high performance plastics used in a car: polypropylene (32%), polyurethane (17%) and PVC (16%).

1) Polypropylene (PP)
Polypropylene is a thermoplastic polymer used in a wide variety of applications. A saturated
addition polymer made from the monomer propylene, it is rugged and unusually resistant to many
chemical solvents, bases and acids.
Application: automotive bumpers, chemical tanks, cable insulation, gas cans, carpet fibers.
2) Polyurethane (PUR)
Solid Polyurethane is an elastomeric material of exceptional physical properties including
toughness, flexibility, and resistance to abrasion and temperature. Polyurethane has a broad hardness
range, from eraser soft to bowling ball hard. Other polyurethane characteristics include extremely high
flex-life, high load-bearing capacity and outstanding resistance to weather, ozone, radiation, oil,
gasoline and most solvents.
Application: flexible foam seating, foam insulation panels, elastomeric wheels and tires,
automotive suspension bushings, cushions, electrical potting compounds, hard plastic parts.
3) Poly-Vinyl-Chloride (PVC)
PVC has good flexibility, is flame retardant, and has good thermal stability, a high gloss, and
low (to no) lead content. Polyvinyl chloride molding compounds can be extruded, injection molded,
compression molded, calendered, and blow molded to form a huge variety of products, either rigid or
flexible depending on the amount and type of plasticizers used.
Application: automobile instruments panels, sheathing of electrical cables, pipes, doors.
4) ABS
Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene is a copolymer made by polymerizing styrene and acrylonitrile
in the presence of polybutadiene. The styrene gives the plastic a shiny, impervious surface. The
butadiene, a rubbery substance, provides resilience even at low temperatures. A variety of modifications
can be made to improve impact resistance, toughness, and heat resistance.
Application: automotive body parts, dashboards, wheel covers.

5) Polyamide (PA, Nylon 6/6, Nylon 6)

Nylon 6/6 is a general-purpose nylon that can be both molded and extruded. Nylon 6/6 has good
mechanical properties and wear resistance. It is frequently used when a low cost, high mechanical
strength, rigid and stable material is required. Nylon is highly water absorbent and will swell in watery
environments.
Application: gears, bushes, cams, bearings, weather proof coatings.

6) Polystyrene (PS)
Naturally clear, polystyrene exhibits excellent chemical and electrical resistance. Special high
gloss and high impact grades are widely available. This easy to manufacture plastic has poor resistance
to UV light.
Application: equipment housings, buttons, car fittings, display bases.

7) Polyethylene (PE)
Polyethylene has high impact resistant, low density, and exhibits good toughness. It can be used
in a wide variety of thermoplastics processing methods and is particularly useful where moisture
resistance and low cost are required.
Application: car bodies (glass reinforced), electrical insulation.

8) POM (polyoxymethylene)
POM has excellent stiffness, rigidity, and yield strength. These properties are stable in low
temperatures. POM also is highly chemical and fuel resistant.

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Application: interior and exterior trims, fuel systems, small gears.

9) Polycarbonate (PC)
Amorphous polycarbonate polymer offers a unique combination of stiffness, hardness and
toughness. It exhibits excellent weathering, creep, impact, optical, electrical and thermal
properties. Because of its extraordinary impact strength, it is the material for car bumpers, helmets of
all kinds and bullet-proof glass substitutes.
Application: bumpers, headlamp lenses.

10) Acrylic (PMMA)

A transparent thermoplastic, PMMA is often used as a lightweight or shatter-resistant
alternative to glass. It’s cheaper than PC but is also more prone to scratching and shattering.
Application: windows, displays, screens.

11) PBT (polybutylene terephthalate)

The thermoplastic PBT is used as an insulator in the electrical and electronics industries. It is
highly chemical and heat resistant. Flame-retardant grades are available.
Application: door handles, bumpers, carburetor components.

12) Polyethylene Teraphthalate (PET)

PET is mostly used to create synthetic fibers and plastic bottles. You may recognize it on
clothing labels under the name “polyester.”
Application: wiper arm and gear housings, headlamp retainer, engine cover, connector
housings.

13) ASA (acrylonitrile styrene acrylate)

Similar to ABS, ASA has great toughness and rigidity, good chemical resistance and thermal
stability, outstanding resistance to weather, aging and yellowing, and high gloss. Be careful not to burn
this material. It will cause a toxic smoke.
Application: housings, profiles, interior parts and outdoor applications.

Injection moulding is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting material into a
mould. Injection moulding can be performed with a host of materials, including metals, glasses,
elastomers, confections, and most commonly thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers.

Material for the part is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and forced into a mould cavity, where it
cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity. After a product is designed, usually by an industrial
designer or an engineer, moulds are made by a mould maker (or toolmaker) from metal, usually either
steel or aluminium, and precision-machined to form the features of the desired part. Injection moulding
is widely used for manufacturing a variety of parts, from the smallest components to entire body panels
of cars.

Advances in 3D printing technology, using photopolymers which do not melt during the
injection moulding of some lower temperature thermoplastics, can be used for some simple injection
moulds.

Parts to be injection moulded must be very carefully designed to facilitate the moulding process;
the material used for the part, the desired shape and features of the part, the material of the mould, and
the properties of the moulding machine must all be taken into account. The versatility of injection
moulding is facilitated by this breadth of design considerations and possibilities.

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Blow molding ( BrE moulding ) is a manufacturing process by which hollow plastic parts are
formed. In general, there are three main types of blow molding: extrusion blow molding, injection blow
molding, and injection stretch blow molding.

The blow molding process begins with melting down the plastic and forming it into a parison
or in the case of injection and injection stretch blow moulding (ISB) a preform. The parison is a tube-
like piece of plastic with a hole in one end through which compressed air can pass.

The parison is then clamped into a mold and air is blown into it. The air pressure then pushes
the plastic out to match the mold. Once the plastic has cooled and hardened the mold opens up and the
part is ejected.

The blow molding process

Principle drawing of the blow mould process. 1 Feed from the extruder. 2 Melted plastic. 3
Extruder head. 4 Air tube. 5 Preform (parison) / tubular shape of hot plastic. 6 Mould. 7 Air pressure. 8
(End) product.

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Thermoforming is a manufacturing process where a plastic sheet is heated to a pliable forming

temperature, formed to a specific shape in a mold, and trimmed to create a usable product. The sheet, or
"film" when referring to thinner gauges and certain material types, is heated in an oven to a high-enough
temperature that permits it to be stretched into or onto a mold and cooled to a finished shape. Its
simplified version is vacuum forming.

In its simplest form, a small tabletop or lab size machine can be used to heat small cut sections
of plastic sheet and stretch it over a mold using vacuum. This method is often used for sample and
prototype parts.

In complex and high-volume applications, very large production machines are utilised to heat
and form the plastic sheet and trim the formed parts from the sheet in a continuous high-speed process,
and can produce many thousands of finished parts per hour depending on the machine and mold size
and the size of the parts being formed.
Plastics extrusion is a high-volume manufacturing process in which raw plastic is melted and
formed into a continuous profile.

Extrusion produces items such as pipe/tubing, weather stripping, fencing, deck railings, window
frames, plastic films and sheeting, thermoplastic coatings, and wire insulation.

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Simcon is producer of the patented German plastic injection moulding simulation software.
Cadmould Users:
ABB, I
Applied Plastic Services, AUS
A. Schulman, D
Arburg, D
Autopal, CZ
Behr, F
Bosch, D
BMW, D
SIRRIS, B
Faurecia, D, F
Fuji Magnetics, D
Geberit, CH
Georg Fischer, CH
Huntsman, B
Plastic Omnium, F
Impetus, D
Johnson Controls, F
Kurashiki, J
Moeller, D
Montaplast,D
Ninka Plast, D
Nokia, FI
Continental VDO, D
Skoda, CZ
Sumitomo Chemicals, J
Tokai Rubber, J
Veritas, D
Woco, D
Electrolux, I
Lear Corporation, D

Introduction: Injection molding simulation is an excellent tool to shorten the development time
and to lower the production and development costs. However, the injection molding simulation is still
much too seldom used by the plastic injection moulding industry.
Economic use of the injection molding simulation
The usage of injection molding simulation results in:
Cycle time reduction of 10-30 %, Reduction of mold modification and test production between 30 - 50
%, Significant reduction of „Time to Production“
Common Problems during Development of Complex Parts

Filling
Mould venting
Shrinkage and Warpage
Tolerances
(Survey among 50 SMEs in the EU project Pro4Plast, 2007)

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The more complex the development is the more problems occur.

Injection moulding simulation can predict problems and by that avoid them.

Technical Advantages of
Cadmould 3d-F

1. CADMOULD 3D-F works with the patented 3D framework technology developed by simcon
which allows to automatically create a Finite Element model based on a 3D stl file.

2. The superior 3D framework technology allows to handle a large variety of geometries (wall
thickness < 0,5 mm, geometries with a large variation of wall thicknesses and “jumps” in wall
thickness).

3. CADMOULD can simulate thermoplastics, rubber, RIM (reaction injection molding – material
reactive) and thermosets (rasini termorigide).

4. CADMOULD contains almost 30 years of research done at the world largest Institute for plastic
Processing (IKV) at the RWTH Aachen, Germany and SIMCON.


5. CADMOULD results are exact because it uses adaptive, high resolution viscosity and
temperature calculation including compressability.

6. Cadmould is fast, because it uses a robust iterative solver.

7. Cadmould is easy to use for all persons having knowledge about plastic processing.

8. Cadmould has an internal database based on standard measuring techniques (CAMPUS/ISO).

It is possible to add material data measured according to this standard.


New patented 3D-F Framework Technology (EP 1 385 103)

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Technological possibilities of injection moulding simulation

Demands to the Injection Mould:

1. Mould can be optimally filled
2. Dimensions of the plastic part are within the agreed tolerances
3. Mould exchanges heat that the plastic part can be manufactured within the shortest
possible cycle time
4. Air traps are avoided
5. Weld lines are shiftes into uncritical areas
6. Pressure distribution is optimized and the machine clamping force is minimized
7. Fiber orientations are optimal distributed for mechanical loads

Steps of Injection Moulding Simulation

1. Read .stl part geometry

2. Define injection points or runner system
3. Select used plastic material
4. Define process parameters
5. Run simulation
6. Evaluate results

Application: Filling Pattern

Avoiding Defects with Filling Simulation

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Comparison of the Real Part with Simulation

Comparison of Filling Pattern and Short Shots

Automatic Balancing of Runners

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Shrinkage & Warpage

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Simulation and Optimization of the Cooling system

Injection Moulding Simulation of Conformal Cooling

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Cadmould® 3D Structural FEA

Possible Kinematic Constraints

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Parts with inserts and overinjected parts simulated with Cadmould® 3D-F

Overinjection of a Metal Insert
(Lead Frame)

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Deformation of an Back Injection Moulded Sheet Metal

Shrinkage and Warpage
Simcon Test Part Animated

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Connector Part with Metal Lead Frame

Filling Pattern and Resulting Lead Frame Deformation

Validation of Simulation Results on the Real Part

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Prediction of Optical Properties Influenced by Residual Stresses
in Cadmould® 3D-F

Lens: Temperature Distribution at Start of Holding Pressure Phase

Lens: Difference of Refraction Indices (Averaged Across Wall Thickness)

Lens: Difference of Refraction Indices (Locally)

Conclusion
- Injection molding simulation offers substantial saving potentials.
- It shortens the development time and increases part quality. \
- It is easy to use and permits amazing know how already after short computing time.

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- The market for plastic parts continues to grow, but sufficient experienced specialists are
missing, and also not sufficient specialists are trained.
- The missing know-how is however already available in CADMOULD 3D-F for many tasks
to be solved.

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Forming and Joining: Metal Forming

1 Bulk Metal Forming Processes in Manufacturing

2 Roll Forming
3 Metal Casting
4 Incremental Metal Forming Processes in Manufacturing Combined Sheet and Bulk
5 Forming of High Value-Added Components in Manufacturing
6 Powder Processing of Bulk Components in Manufacturing
7 Forming and Joining: Materials Joining
8 Solid State Welding Processes in Manufacturing
9 Arc-Welding
10 High Energy Beam Welding Processes in Manufacturing
11 Solid State Micro-Joining Processes in Manufacturing
12 Process of Nano-joining
14. Solder Joint Technology
13 15. Adhesive Bonding Technology

1 Bulk Metal Forming Processes in Manufacturing

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Rolling is a mechanical process whereby the metal is deformed by passing through the gap
between rotating rolls. Depending on the process and the metal type, there might be only two or more
number of rolls to be used for the process.

Rolling is also used for forming of more complicated parts such as rounds or squares or complex sections
such as L, U, T, or H. These processes are mostly done in multi-pass rolling by using the grooved rolls
or universal mill.

In comparison with other bulk metal forming processes, rolling is a relatively uniform or
homogenous process, since the plastic deformation proceeds continuously/in continuously and plastic
zone is penetrated to the center line oft he workpiece. However, during the process, as shown in Fig. 2
, in practice, a sort of backward metal flow occurs at the rolling entry zone (bending of the grid line
outwards) and a forward metal flow at the rolling exit (bending back the grid lines to the straight
position), which pushes the metal during the process (Mielnik 1991 ).

In the case of large workpieces and small thickness reductions, there is a probability of having
more deformation at the surface, while the center of the specimen remains undeformed, causing a
nonuniform deformation through the thickness. Application of proper pass schedule (reduction in
thickness) could minimize the nonuniformity in such cases. Nonuniform microstructure can also

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lead to alligatoring as shown in Fig. 3c . Besides, there are special type of rolling processes that are
summarized in Table 3.

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Automotive Metal Forming: ROLL FORMING

Inline sweep rolling and arc rolling allows to create complex, aesthetically superior parts,
including:
• Automotive cargo shades
• Bumpers
• Side impact beams
• Decorative trim
• Chassis components
• Window components

Forging is usually defined as plastic deformation of a bulk metal to a predetermined shape by

compressive forces using a hammer or press. Forging in conventional way is classified as (i) open-die
and (ii) closed-die forging.

Open-die forging is the term that is used for processes in which there is no lateral constraint for
the material movement in the die set. These processes are practically used under the circumstances
below:
1. As a preforming process for closed-die forging
2. For simple desired shapes
3. To justify the operation cost and time in small number of forgings.

The closed-die forging is a process in which the metal has the restriction in flowing laterally
during the process. It usually involves filling a cavity between the punch (upper part of the die) and the
die (lower part of the die). Due to that, the load displacement curve for the closed-die forging cycle is
usually divided into three main stages, as typically is shown in Fig.:

1. Upsetting which corresponds to lateral and vertical flow of the material.

2. Die filling, in which the die cavities start to be filled and the flash begins to form.
3. End stage in which the dies are completely filled. Due to restriction of the metal flow, the
pressure inside the die increases rapidly.

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As shown in Fig. , normally the dies are not completely closed in the closed-die forging
processes. The purpose of the flash land is to control the back pressure to obtain a desired fill-up of
metal in the cavity. The design of the flash land is critical though to have a good control over the process.

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AUTOMOTIVE & TRUCK

The characteristics of forged parts strength, reliability and economy are what makes them ideal
for vital automotive and truck applications. Forged components are commonly found at points of shock
and stress such as wheel spindles, kingpins, axle beams and shafts, torsion bars, ball studs, idler arms,
pitman arms and steering arms.

Another common application is in the powertrain, where connecting rods, transmission shafts
and gears, differential gears, drive shafts, clutch hubs and universal joints are often forged. Although
typically forged from carbon or alloy steel, other materials such as aluminum and microalloyed steels
are seeing great advances in forged auto and truck applications.

Extrusion is basically categorized as a compression forming process, since the main forming
stress comes from the compressive stresses which are applied from the punch, as shown in Fig.

Extrusion is usually either performed at room temperature (cold extrusion) to obtain the final
part with close dimensional accuracy or at elevated temperatures (hot extrusion) for extreme conditions
such as high punch pressure and high degree of deformation.

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Extrusion Processes

1. Direct Extrusion (Forward Extrusion)

The flow of the material is in the same direction of the punch movement. Thus, the punch pushes the
material to be extruded through the die orifice. The cross-sectional shape of the extruded product is
dictated by the geometry of the interior shape of the die.

2. Indirect Extrusion
In indirect extrusion process, the die set is designed in a way that the material could only flow in the
opposite direction of the punch movement, through the hole at the punch center.

3. Backward Can Extrusion

In this type of extrusion, the material flow is also in the opposite direction of the punch movement, but
only through the gap between the punch and die walls. Lateral flow is constrained by the die walls, to
distinguish this method by the heading process. This technique is used for forming a can by piercing
from a bulk billet.

The schematic of the above-mentioned types of extrusion process is shown in Fig. There is a
slight difference between the forming-load behaviors of the direct and indirect extrusion processes. As
shown in Fig, the forming pressure in backward extrusion is slightly lower. This is because in backward
extrusion, there is no load necessary to overcome the container friction.

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Various vehicle parts made from aluminum extrusions

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Forming process defects:

Cold bulk forming is defined as forming of a bulk metal at room temperature without initial or interstage
heating. The plastic deformation of the metal is developed by the slip on multiple slip planes in each
grain. This develops a network of dislocations in the grains and a series of dislocation pile-ups at the
grain boundaries, inclusions, and internal defects. These obstacles inhibit the dislocation movement
inside the metal, and thus increase the flow stress and hardness by work hardening. This, nevertheless,
decreases the ductility in certain amount. The plastic deformation changes the grain shape along the
deformation route as shown in Fig. for the cold rolling process.

Elevated Temperature Metal Forming

Although metals exhibit good ductility at room temperature, some alloys such as medium to
high carbon steels, different grades of stainless steel, titanium alloys, and magnesium alloys cannot be

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easily formed in bulk due to low formability or/and higher flow stress. For these alloys, elevated
temperature forming is suitable. In warm forming processes, the metal is heated to temperatures below
the recrystallisation temperature, for instance, up to around 750–850 °C for different types of steels. An
exception could be austenitic stainless steels that are warm-formed at around 250–450 °C.

Such a warm temperature can ease the movement of the dislocations within the microstructure,
increasing the formability of the metal. Furthermore, since the temperature is yet below the
recrystallization temperature, the grain growth and phase transformations can be controlled through the
process. The work hardening appears in warm forming process, but its extent is smaller than that in the
cold forming process.

As an example of warm forming, magnesium alloys such asMg-3%Al-1%Zn (AZ31) and Mg-6%Al-
1%Zn (AZ61) can be formed at 250–450 #C.

In the forming of hard-to-machine alloys such as high carbon steels and titanium- and nickel-
based superalloys, the hot forming process is used at temperatures above the recrystallization
temperature.

The hot forming is also used to form large size components. The isothermal hot forming
processes can provide a near-net shape product of titanium- and nickel-based superalloys (to reduce the
material cost), with a well controlled microstructure and properties.

In isothermal forming processes, the dies are heated up to the same temperatures as the
workpiece (e.g., more than 1,000 °C for nickel-based superalloys), preventing the temperature drop in
the workpiece, which in return provides better formability.
Moreover, to maintain the superplastic material behavior, the strain rate must be kept low. This
prolongs the forming process. However, since the process is isothermal, there is no die chilling required.
In hot forming processes, since the temperature is higher than the recrystallization temperature of the
workpiece, dynamic recovery and recrystallization occur in the microstructure during the process (Fig.).

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

2 Roll Forming

Roll forming is cost-effective compared to other sheet metal forming processes for uniform
profiles. The process has during the last 10 years developed into forming of profiles with varying cross
sections and is thereby becoming more flexible.
The motion of the rolls can now be controlled with respect to many axes enabling a large
variation in the profiles along the formed sheet, the so-called 3D roll forming or flexible roll forming
technology. The roll forming process has also advantages compared to conventional forming for high-
strength materials.

Roll forming is a metal forming process, which is spread throughout the world. Roll forming
products are used in numerous applications, for example, buildings, automotive, airplanes, furniture,
and domestic appliances. It is a highly productive process and the use of the process increases every
year.
The benefit of the process in comparison to other metal forming processes is that auxiliary
operations such as punching, welding, clenching, etc. can be included, and thus, it is possible to produce
profiles directly ready to use.
Roll forming can be defined as a continuous bending or forming operation by a number of
consecutive rolls. Recently, it has also become possible to manufacture profiles with variable cross
sections by varying the motions of the rolls during the process. Thus, it is not anymore limited to straight
profiles with parallel edges and uniform cross sections. The roll forming process is sometimes called
cold roll forming as it is most commonly performed at room temperature and there is very limited
heating due to the process itself. However, the process has been combined with preheating at bend lines
in order to improve ductility before rolling starts.

All materials that can be bent can also be roll formed. Thus, most metals and alloys like
aluminum, various steels, copper, etc. The material can be pre-painted or pre-coated. The normal
production speed that the profile can be produced varies between 10 and 30 m/min, depending on the
tolerance of the cross section, the material, and how fast the machine can be fed with raw material or
how fast the finished product can be removed from the runout table. The thickness of the material that
can be roll formed is between 0.1 and 10 mm, but one can find application where thicker material has
been used.

The Roll Forming Process

The bending occurs in several steps from an undeformed strip to a finished profile; the basic
concept of the process is illustrated in Fig. 1. The forming is geometrical complex due to the forming
does not only occur during the contact with the forming tools, but also between each forming stand. Due
to the latter, this will cause the material in the flange to travel a longer distance than the material in the
bending zone, Fig. 2. This creates longitudinal strain in the flange, which should not be plastic in order
to avoid large, longitudinal residual stresses in the finished profile.

Fig. 1 The forming occurs in several steps from undeformed strip to a finished profile. The tools
forming and driven the strip through the machine

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Fig. 2 The material in the flange will travel a longer distance than the material in the bending
zone between the forming steps. That difference will cause a strain in the flange.

Fig. 3 Different defects that the finished profile can have. From left, oil canning, flare, and
wavy edge

The roll forming process is very robust provided it is set up correctly. However, if the process
is not adequately designed, then the profile can have defects, such as bow, twist, oil canning, flare, and
wavy edges. Bow and twist are unwanted bending along the axis of the profile and rotation of the
cross section, respectively.
Oil canning, left part of Fig. 3, is a local buckling of surfaces of the profile. Flare, middle part
of Fig. 3, denotes the local deformation at the end of the profile and wavy edges is shown in the right
part of Fig. 3. Many of the defects are caused by too few forming steps, which give plastic deformations
in other parts than the bending zone. These plastic deformations give residual stresses in the profile
causing unwanted deformations.
When tools for a new product are created, the tool designer starts with the wanted profile and
unfold it in several forming steps until the profile is a flat sheet. To unfold the profile, the tool
designer uses experience and makes a so-called flower pattern (see Fig. 4). The number of
forming steps that is used to create the flower depends on the required geometry of the profile, the
tolerances, the finish of the surface, and the material properties. If the tools are made for an already
existing machine, the number of forming steps must fit this machine. It is often important to keep the
number of forming step low as the cost increases linearly with the number of steps. On the other hand,
more steps will usually improve the quality of the produced profile.

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Fig. 4 The tool design process, from flower design to tool manufacturing

3 Metal Casting

Casting is a cost-effective route to make extremely complex geometry near net shape
components. To reach the full potential in the cost/complex performance, it is essential to understand
the whole manufacturing route.
This chapter on metal casting covers the fundamental of the metallurgical aspect of melting, and
casting of both ferrous and nonferrous materials is covered. This includes furnaces and melting
practices. The shaping of casting is described in more detail including mold filling and solidification.
An overview of pressure die casting, die casting, and disposable mold casting including both sand and
ceramic molds is covered. Important constraints such as process alloy capability and ability to produce
complex and sound geometries are covered as well as the first basic steps towards a sound design are
covered. In the description of the route to sound castings, Campbell’s Ten Commandments are followed
and discussed in detail. Last but not least, the metal alloys and their microstructure and properties are
treated covering both ferrous and nonferrous alloys.

Casting is one of the oldest methods to manufacture objects with cast copper components dating
back to 3000 BC having been found in archaeological surveys. Copper was followed by bronzes
(copper-tin alloys). Cast iron was developed in China around 600 BC. Material classes like cast iron
have evolved from early use in cast statues into a cost-effective advanced material that to a large extent
has enabled the modern industry and transportation. Cost-effective cast aluminum alloys and
magnesium alloys are all twentieth-century innovations. Technology developments enabling casting of
reactive materials such as titanium alloys and highly engineered single crystal nickel-super alloy provide
a full palate of choices in component manufacturing. Together with the extraordinary design freedom
offered by casting in addition to the full palate of materials and processes, casting has grown to a
dominant process for components in most manufacturing sectors, laying a foundation for high-value
manufacturing, in a robust and sustainable manner.

Casting has been used for a long time, and as such a great number of variants have been
developed. The casting manufacturing route consists of seven critical events all critical to cost, process
yield, and productivity. These seven events are:
• Cast component design
• Mold/die layout and manufacturing
• Melting of the metal and metallurgical conditioning of the melt
• Filling of the die cavity
• Solidification of the melt in the die/mold
• Shakeout/part removal

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

• Fettling and part post-casting treatments

Cast Component Design

The foundation of a successful component made through the casting manufacturing route is
based on some simple concepts. By making a sound design, a highly cost-effective component will not
only provide value to the end use but also enable high yields in the manufacturing process and will thus
also be resource efficient well suited in a sustainable manufacturing environment.

Mold/Die Manufacturing
The task of the die/mold is to shape the melt and to remove the heat so that the melt
solidifies to the desired shape. Important to the choice of casting process is the function of the mold/die
as different types of molds/dies will create different constraints on the component design and the ability
to handle different sizes of series. There are methods capable from single piece manufacturing up to
millions of parts per month. Understanding these constraints is thus a part of making the right choice of
process. The main discriminator for the choice of mold/die material is however determined by the
melting point of the metal to be cast. High-temperature melting alloys such as steel and cast irons are
commonly cast using sand or ceramic molds. Low-temperature melting alloys such as zinc, aluminum,
and magnesium alloys are cast in metallic molds. Copper and brass can be cast in pressure die casting
processes using permanent molds, but these alloys represent an upper limit for the use of metal molds.
It should be noted that un-pressurized die casting of steel is used but only for moderately complicated
shapes and limited sizes.

Melting of the Metal and Metallurgical Conditioning of the Melt

The melt is commonly made either from remelting a ready-made alloy or from scrap-based
processing. Foundries also recycle runner and gating systems used to fill the mold/die in-house. In the
melting furnace, the main melt conditioning is made to achieve the right alloy composition. Furthermore,
special treatments, such as inoculation to control the microstructure of the part produced, are commonly
used to control grain size in aluminum alloys and graphite shape in cast irons. Other treatments include
strontium treatments to modify silicon in aluminum alloys for mechanical properties control. The main
issue in cast components is porosity. In the process of making a sound component, having a high-quality
melt is essential.

Casting/Pouring
In the casting/pouring step, the die cavity is filled. The rate of filling is very important in all
casting processes, and minimal turbulence is the main aim. In gravity-assisted processes, this is achieved
by the sprue, runner, and gating design in combination with the shop floor operator skill. In a pressure-
assisted process, this is decided by the runner and gating system together with the computer-controlled
injection system.

Solidification
Solidification is primarily determined by the part design and as such also all defects, but there is a strong
relation between what is possible and the choice of process. The main issue is porosity formation and
stress buildup/cracking together with part distortion and lack of tolerances.

Shakeout/Part Removal
Once the part is solidified, it is to be removed from the mold/die cavity. This step changes the cooling
rate and restrictions in shrinkage and affects the tolerances and residual stresses. The timing of shakeout
or ejection/part removal is an important process control.

Fettling and Part Post-Casting Treatments

Subsequent to part extraction fettling is started with the removal of the runner and gating system. It
should here be noted that for high-pressure die casting, it is common that the largest possible gate is to
be used. Sometimes it is the fettling process that limits this as there is a practical force limitation in the
de-gating step. In this single operation, the flash can also be removed. Following this machining, surface

39
 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

coating and heat treatment can be done. The differences in these steps and equipment setup generate
different capabilities of the processes to cast different materials.

Metal Casting Processes

As previously mentioned casting as a manufacturing process has been used for a long time, and
a direct consequence of this is that there exists a huge variety of processes. Today there are uncountable
processes, and each foundry has added its own adaptation of the process used. The aim of the current
section is to provide an overview of the most typical and important processes as well as to provide some
kind of systematics for process classifications.

The molds are divided into:

• Permanent molds
• Disposable molds

Permanent Mold Processing

Common for all permanent mold processes are that the mold is used many times and that no
physical model is used in the mold-making process. Permanent mold use can be further categorized
according to the mode of mold filling:
• Gravity-driven filling
• Low-pressure-driven filling
• High-pressure filling

Gravity die casting (Fig. 16) is the simplest form of die casting where the die is made from
hot-work steel such as H13. Filling can be made directly into the cavity, but for good quality castings,
it is necessary to include a sprue, runner, and gating system. Slow filling speeds and low pressures
enable the use of metal and sand cores. Risers are also commonly used to allow feeding.

The process cycle for gravity die casting consists of the following stages:
• Die preparation where the coated die surface is cleaned by air blowing. Automation is possible.
Disposable cores are also sometimes added into the die cavity (Fig. 17).
• Die clamping involves closing the die and locking it to avoid leakage and flash formation.
• Filling is achieved by ladling melt from a holding or dosing furnace or by tilting the furnace
or pumping melt of a controlled volume/mass into the down sprue.
• Solidification and cooling allow the part to solidify and attain the shape as well as to cool with
thermal shrinkage and dimensional tolerances as controls.

Fig. 16 Gravity die casting (Courtesy [Link]) (CustomPartsNet 2013)

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Fig. 17 Gravity die casting with a disposable core (Courtesy of [Link]) ([Link] A to Z
of Materials 2013)

• Die opening, opening of the two halves by release of the clamping mechanism.
• Part removal can be either manual or automated.
• De-gating and flash removal can be made manually or automated. Automation
often involves the use of a blanking press resulting in a fine cut removing all flash.

Gravity die casting is a relatively slow process, but capable of producing complex-shaped
components. Die temperatures are high and to protect the die material, a die dressing is used. This
dressing can be a simple soot coating to more advanced ceramic coatings, often 0.1–0.3 mm thick. The
wide range of coatings available can be divided into two main classes:
• Insulating coatings: contain blends of insulating minerals such as talc, mica, kieselguhr,
titanium dioxide, alumina, etc.
• Lubricating coatings: based on colloidal graphite or boron nitride to aid release of the casting.

Tilt casting is a variation of the gravity die casting process. In tilt casting the process stages are
identical to the gravity die casting process with one distinct exception, the filling stage. In tilt casting,
melt is poured into a basin, without entering the die cavity. The complete closed die set is rotated at a
controlled rate together with the basing, generating a slow and smooth filling of the die cavity.
Low-pressure die casting (Fig. 19) is similar to gravity die casting, but here the gas pressure
forces the melt into the die cavity from below the die. Filling is quiescent and sound castings are
produced. The steps in low-pressure die casting are (Street 1977):
• Die preparation with cleaning coated surfaces by air blowing, often semiautomated. Here
disposable salt cores can be added.
• Die clamping involves closing and locking the die. The die is often a four- to six-part die
allowing for undercuts.
• Filling is achieved by injecting air or nitrogen gas into a gas-tight crucible furnace, located
below the die. The gas pressure acts on the melt surface forcing melt up the submerged stalk into the
die cavity.
• Solidification and cooling require more control than in other casting processes. The cooling
sequence can be controlled by time or by thermocouples in the die.

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

The cooling media may change from air cooling to air-water mist mixture to ensure that
solidification progresses from the outer portion of the casting towards the melt entry point.
• Die opening starts with release of the furnace gas pressure being reduced just before die
opening to allow melt in the stalk flow back into the crucible.
• Part removal that can be manual or automated.
• De-gating and flash removal can be made manually or automated.

The pressure used is however moderate, and it is common that in addition to the upper and lower
die halves, side walls are used as sliders. Wheels are a common product produced in low-pressure die
casting. The upper and lower die halves are here related to the model design, while the side walls can
be shared between many upper and lower pairs as these are only related to the wheel dimensions. Very
cost-effective die solutions are thus possible despite the use of sliders.

High-pressure die casting comes in two different forms, e.g., cold-chamber die casting (Fig.
20) and hot-chamber die casting (Fig. 21). The basic process sequence for these two processes is similar,
but alloy capability is different. The overall process consists of the following process steps (Street 1977):
• Die preparation starts with die lubrication/release agent being applied onto the die surface for
good surface finish, die filling, and part release. The application of the die spray is sometimes followed
by air blowing to remove water from the die surface.
• Die clamping involves closing the die and locking to avoid leakage and flash formation.

Fig. 20 High-pressure die casting (cold-chamber setup) (Courtesy [Link])

(CustomPartsNet 2013)

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Fig. 21 High-pressure die casting (hot-chamber setup) (Courtesy [Link])

(CustomPartsNet 2013)

Filling the melt into the die is achieved by pressure, but shot chamber geometry is different in
cold- and hot-chamber die casting.
• In cold-chamber die casting, melt is ladled from a holding/dosing furnace and poured into the
shot chamber through a pouring hole. If the first phase filling sequence is ill managed, gas entrainment
in the shot chamber will occur. The pressure transfer from the plunger into the die cavity is effective
and gives good quality components. In vacuum-assisted filling, the die cavity is evacuated at the point
where the plunge seals the pouring hole.
• In hot-chamber die casting, the plunger is submerged into the melt in the holding furnace. The
sleeve surrounding the plunger has a small inlet ensuring that the sleeve leading to the gooseneck is
filled. The plunger moves downwards the melt is forced through the gooseneck and the nozzle into the
die cavity.
• Solidification and cooling are chosen such that the best possible tolerance is attained without
the part fracturing from thermal stress.
• Die opening, opening of the two halves by release of the clamping mechanism. The part
follows the moving side.
• Part removal, the ejector pins eject the part and the part is picked up using a manual or
automated procedure.
• De-gating and flash removal can be made manually or automated. Automation often involves
the use of a blanking press resulting in a fin cur removing all flash.
High-pressure die casting is today a process dominating the manufacturing of light and zinc
alloys due to the high-productive and large series capability.
Dimensional tolerances are also good. The main drawback is that there is a need for a runner
and gating system that often exceeds the critical 30 % of the total mass. This exceeds the critical rule of
thumb for foundry in-house material recycling.

Disposable Mold Casting Mold Processing

The classification of disposable molds is complex but can be classified as shown in Fig. 25.
This table also contains processes where either a permanent model or a disposable model is used as
previously indicated in Table 1.
Sand molding processes have many features in common and only the degree of automation and
binder system differs between processes with the exception of shell molding and lost foam processes,
treated separately.

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Fig. 25 Disposable mold processes

Fig. 26 (a) Example of a solid pattern. (b) Split pattern. (c) Example of a match plate pattern.
(d) Example of a plate mounted cope and drag pattern (Courtesy [Link])
(CustomPartsNet 2013)

Sand molding has been around as a manufacturing process for long time due to its versatility
and consists of the following steps:
• Pattern making
• Mold making

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

• Mold assembly
• Pouring
• Cooling
• Shakeout
• De-gating, fettling, and post-casting processing

Pattern making takes shrinkage and machining allowances into consideration. Sometimes
runner and gating systems are included in the pattern, and sometimes these are put in place as part of
the mold-making and assembly processes. The choice of pattern and pattern material is process and
series size dependent. The same goes for choice of pattern material. There are four typical types of
patterns used in sand molding (Fig. 26a–d).
The solid pattern (Fig. 26a) is not so common but is used for simple-shaped castings and short
series manufacturing due to low cost. Sprue, runner, and gate are added separately. The two mold halves
cope and drag must be made in sequence making mold making slow and short series manufacturing the
only option.
The split pattern (Fig. 26b) is more common for slightly more complicated patterns. It is still a
low-cost alternative, mostly used for small series production or very large components. Sprue runner,
gates, as well as risers and feeders must be added in the mold-making and assembly processing. The
cope and drag can be made separately, but matching of the two halves during mold assembly is difficult
with risk of parting line flaws.
Figure 26c shows a match plate pattern allowing for accurate positioning of the mold cavities
in the cope and the drag, common in automated mold making. It does require sequential mold making
limiting the model making rate, but moderate to large series production is feasible. In a match plate, it
is also possible to make runners and gates, as well as the sprue for a pressurized system. For non-
pressurized system the sprue must be made separately as it requires an undercut.
Separating the cope and the drag patterns but putting them on separate plates (Fig. 26d) enables
high production rate with good accuracy of the cavity placement as well as high degree of automation.
As for the match plate pattern, runners and gates can be added as well as a gate for a pressurized system.

PROCESS AND SCIENCE OF MACHINING

The process and science of machining is introduced here. Machining is a versatile process widely used
in the manufacturing industry to process raw materials of various types to impart shape and finish to products.
While typically used as a secondary shaping process (primary shaping being done using casting, forming, etc.), it is
also often used as an all-in-one primary process for prototyping. By its very nature machining process removes
unwanted material to effect the shaping and surface generation.
The nature of this material separation and its consequences are discussed in this chapter. Energy is needed
for such material, and some fundamental aspects of how to provide the needed energy for causing the material
removal are also discussed. The reader will obtain a basic intuitive idea of why the machining processes remove
material in a typical fashion generating so-called chips, and the factors that affect the quality of the shape and
surface generated will be highlighted. Some basic nomenclature of the process and cutting tools are used to
quantify the deformation involved in machining and show the process mechanics. Experimental techniques used
to study this process and some research trends in machining are also shown towards the end of this chapter.
A study of the machining process or removing material can be holistically under- taken by considering
the various process components that contribute to it. These are highlighted in the rest of this paragraph. Various
raw engineering materials have been processed using the machining process. In order to process this set of varied
materials, a variety of cutting tools (including use of fixed and loose abrasives) have been designed and fabricated.
The machining process is often facilitated by the use of coolant/lubricant. This has evoked recently the issue of
environmentally friendly machining. The entire process of machining needs a solid structure called the
machine tool to hold and move the cutting tool/work material. Such machine tools’ and process dynamics
have to be understood and monitored and controlled in a high-volume production environment and also their
flexibility studied in a low-volume high-mix environment. The very act of holding these two forms an entire
subject of study called fixturing. Programming and use of the machine tools have triggered various virtual

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

machining software tools. Besides such tools, the process mechanics can be understood using simulation and
modeling tools that have also been developed and utilized. Machining has also been undertaken at varied length
scales including at the micro- and nanoscales. It is hoped that the reader by undertaking a study of these various
components will have a good feel for this important aspect of manufacturing.
Certain aspects of the machining process are not covered in this volume due to time and resource constraints.
These include the topics of cutting tool materials, tool and workpiece holding (fixturing), the field of
ultraprecision machining, and the recently discussed aspects of microfactory concept. The reader will be referred
to the literature as and when necessary for these topics.
The history of machining goes back to the middle of the eighteenth century when there was a need for
making metallic parts of the steam engine; it is noted that prior to this there were some machining operations used
to craft wood. Since then, the field of machining has come a long way indeed. The basic need for machining has
remained the same: machining is a manufacturing process that helps provide shape, dimensions, and in some cases
properties to the raw material to produce an intend

Fig. 1 An illustration of shape creation by removing material

component. The machining process is a versatile method that accomplishes this by removing material from a bulk
raw material. This is illustrated in Fig. 1. To create the functional shape shown on the right, a block of material
needs to be removed from the raw material on the left.
Material can be removed using various forms of energy: mechanical, light, electrical, chemical,
etc., and combinations thereof. Here the focus is on using the kinetic energy/dynamic interaction of a moving
mass (cutting tool and or work material) focused using a pointed cutting edge. Combinations of forms of
energy with at least one of them in the mechanical form are also considered in this volume (called as hybrid
processes).
Widely used from wood/stone carving involving hand motions to ultrahigh precision smooth computer-
programmed motion machining of precision optics, the machining process essentially involves using a cutting tool
that is moved using specific motion paths to remove material in areas deemed unwanted so that the material left
behind is in the shape desired.

Fig. 2 Broadly considering, there are various by-products of machining

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Machining can affect such material removal at different scales – from very large volumes of removed
material such as in large meter-long aerospace structures and prototype making to very miniscule amounts in
micro- and nanometer scales. The material removal process essentially produces new surfaces (three new ones in
the example of Fig. 1); these new surfaces when connected in the right geometry and orientation produce the
desired overall shape. Not only is the shape important in the geometrical sense but also the shape is needed along
with desired surface condition usually in the form of surface roughness and subsurface properties. The machining
process is often used to impart very fine surface roughness.
Various engineering and non-engineering materials of varied material properties have been shaped using
this process. Engineering materials include steels, aluminum alloys, other nonferrous alloys, titanium alloys,
nickel alloys, polymers, ceramics, etc. Non-engineering materials include food materials such as cheese, meat,
biological tissues, etc. The very process of removing the undesired material may involve a lot of effort especially
if tough engineering materials are involved; this in turn entails the challenge of using even tougher cutting tool
materials. On the other hand, if soft non-engineering materials are involved, the challenge is a different one of
finely focusing the mechanical energy by the use of extremely sharp cutting tools to obtain the desired material
separation effects. Apart from the challenge of choosing and designing suitable cutting tool materials,
substantial other challenges include separating the material without damaging the leftover material
significantly. In most applications of machining, the removed material is often discarded and the leftover
shape is what is often desired.
In a very few cases, the removed material (called chip) can be utilized. Broadly speaking, there are many
outputs or by-products of machining (Fig. 2). The shaped void space that is generated after removing the material is
most popular output utilized. Besides this, the next popular closely output is the nascent surface generated. Burrs are
often undesirable outputs that occur due to the nature of deformation. The chip with its characteristic
microstructure is often discarded but can be utilized in some cases. The subsurface deformation often seen as
detrimental can be used, under controlled conditions, to impart stresses or to harden the surface (e.g., grinding
hardening).
Let us now consider some insights into the machining process and how material removal happens.

Cutting Tool

The basic shape of the cutting tool is a wedge. The kitchen knife and office scissors are examples of
common cutting tools that have a wedge shape (Fig. 3) with two faces meeting at a sharp edge called the cutting
edge. The edge and its sharpness focus the mechanical energy into the material facilitating removal. While the
kitchen knife is thin (small wedge angle between the two tool faces) and is sufficiently strong enough to cut soft
materials, engineering materials are much stronger, and hence, there is a need to make the tools stronger both
geometrically and using materials that are inherently stronger. Geometrical strength can be imparted to the
cutting tool many ways:

Fig. 3 Basic shape of cutting tool is a wedge. A soft material like cheese can be cut by a thin sharp knife, while
engineering materials need thicker and sometimes blunt cutting tools

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

• By increasing the wedge angle and most practical cutting tools are of this shape (Fig. 3).
• By changing the geometrical shape of the face of the tool; the cutting edge does not have to be straight, it
can be curved; round-shaped tools typically have high strengths against impact (Fig. 4).
• By altering cutting edge sharpness. A sharp edge is susceptible to breakage, while a relatively blunt
edge can take impact forces well.

Besides the few tool geometrical parameters introduced, there are many others to be considered in
manufacturing the tools, in chip evacuation. Detailed geometrical treatment of cutting tools can be seen in the
literature. Besides the well-defined geometrically shaped cutting tools, irregular-shaped abrasive particles ranging
in size from a few millimeters to a few micrometers or less can also be used to effect material removal (Fig.
5). When using such tiny

Fig. 4 The shape and sharpness of cutting tool are important factors to consider for the strength of the cutting tool

Fig. 5 Irregular-shaped tiny abrasive particles can also be used for removing material in machin- ing besides
well-defined geometrically shaped cutting tools

abrasive grains, the question comes as to how to hold these particles and provide them necessary kinetic/impact
energy to cause material removal. There are different ways to accomplish this. Processes that use such abrasive
grains fall under two categories: grinding and polishing. In grinding processes, the thousands of abrasive particles
are bound together using binders to form rough geometrical shapes such as cylinders. The surface of these
geometries will have sharp points of abrasives sticking out, and when (typically) rotated at high speeds, the
tangential speeds provide the needed kinetic/impact energies. In polishing processes, a single coating (on paper or
cloth) of abrasives or loose abrasives or in the form of slurry is used to cause material removal. The needed energy
is provided by rotation of a backing pad or the abrasives are simply projected onto the work surface using high

48
 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

pressure air or gas medium. Various processes that use such abrasives include grinding, disk polishing, belt
polishing, vibratory media finishing, abrasive jet machining, lapping, and ultrasonic machining. A separate
chapter in this volume considers the use of such processes.
A vast amount of cutting tool materials have been developed from high-speed steels to more popularly
used carbides and now ceramics (e.g., aluminum oxide) and even cubic boron nitride and diamond-based
cutting tools are now available. More details on cutting tool materials are available in books and handbooks and
from cutting tool manufacturers .

Mechanical Energy

Just having a cutting tool is not sufficient to cause material removal to occur. Energy must be
provided; the cutting tool merely focuses the energy via its sharp cutting edge onto the work material. The
mechanical energy needed is provided in the form of motion or kinetic and impact energy, more specifically
relative motion between the cutting tool and the work material that is being processed. The question of how much
energy is really needed to cause material removal to occur has been extensively investigated although its relation
to the cutting speed to be imparted to the cutting tool has not been linked very well. In the early days of machining,
linear motion was the most prevalent form. The cutting tool is moved linearly to cause the cutting action to occur
(Fig. 6). This is one of the simplest forms of cutting actions. Depending on how the cutting edge is oriented, the
cutting action is called orthog- onal or oblique (Fig. 7).

Fig. 6 Linear cutting motion to remove material

Orthogonal is the simplest, often used in research to understand process mechan- ics, but least practical,
while oblique is complex but the most commonly used form of cutting in practice. There is however a major
limitation to linear motion (Fig. 8). Typically the tool has to return back at some point of time to complete
cutting in one area of cutting and to continue cutting in other areas of the work material. This means that the
tool has to accelerate, reach a steady cutting speed and ramp back down, stop, and turn back. High cutting speeds
are not possible with this

Fig. 7 Orthogonal versus oblique cutting

arrangement since it requires high acceleration and deceleration rates to have a sizeable distance of constant

49
 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

cutting speed and length. However, higher cutting speeds enable material to be removed at a much faster rate, a
much desirable factor in production.

Fig. 8 Limitation of linear cutting motion

Fig. 9 Use of rotary cutting motion, the most often used method of imparting energy to the cutting tool and

work material

The speed limitation is overcome by the use of rotary cutting motion (Fig. 9). The cutting speed is
then simply the tangential speed of the tool at the location of the cutting edge relative to the center of rotation.
Such rotary cutting motion is the most often used method of imparting the relative motion to the cutting tool
and work material; the rotary action combined with the oblique form of machining is the most practiced one. Note
that the work material can also be rotated instead of the cutting tool. It will be later discussed that linear motions
are still needed in machining processes to cause the work material to be “fed” into the tool (called feed speeds
or feed velocity); this motion is not however what causes the actual material removal action to occur.
Machining operations are among the most versatile and accurate manufacturing processes in terms of its
capability to produce diverse and complex geometric features. This chapter takes its focus on the machining
processes utilizing sharp cutting tools to remove materials from the workpiece by shear deformation. The main
principle of these processes is providing the relative motions between the cutting tool and the workpiece, which
is accomplished through machine tools. The machine tools are discussed and categorized based on the employed
cutting tools: single-point cutting tools, multipoint cutting tools, or grinding wheels.
Machining centers, which have flexibilities to perform various machining operations with different
cutting tools on more than one workpiece, are also discussed. Drives and controls are responsible to respectively
provide and regulate the motions of the machine tool components. Thus, industrial designs and technologies of
spindle drives and feed drives, as well as numerical controls, are described in this chapter. Finally, different
mechanical designs, in terms of the kinematic mechanism to provide the relative motions between the tool and
the workpiece, have been introduced to the manufacturing floors. Each of these designs has penetrated today’s
manufacturing floor bringing certain superiority as compared to the conventional machine tools. This chapter
discusses important characteristics of a few of these emerging machine tool designs, namely, indus- trial robots,
parallel and hybrid kinematic machine tools, and reconfigurable machine tools.

Introduction
Development of machine tools for manufacturing was closely related to the Indus- trial Revolution, which
is marked by the successful development of steam engine by James Watt in 1776. When he started designing the
steam engine in 1763, his primary challenge was to make the bore of the cylinder sufficiently accurate to

50
 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

prevent the steam from escaping around the piston. The initial cylinder was manufactured from sheet metal, which
certainly did not work properly. The prob- lem was eventually solved by John Wilkinson when he invented a
waterwheel- powered horizontal-axis boring machine around 1775. This machine is often recognized as the first
machine tool.

Fig. 1 Coordinate system for motions of (a) tool and (b) workpiece

Since then, machining process and machine tool have always been essential in product design and
manufacturing. Some even argue that machining is the most versatile and accurate of all manufacturing processes
in terms of its capability to produce diverse geometric features. Further, parts manufactured by casting, forming,
or other shaping processes often require machining operations before being assembled for the final product.
This final machining operation is required because the parts may have external and internal profiles, as well as
sharp corners and flatness that cannot be accurately achieved by forming and shaping processes. Also, because many
engineering components or parts need to be interchangeable, it requires control of dimensional accuracy, which can
be achieved through machin- ing process. Therefore, critical choices have to be made during product design and
manufacturing planning about the extent of casting, shaping, or forming against the extent of machining to be done
on a workpiece.
Machining is the general term used to describe the material removal process from a workpiece, which
is a wide topic. In the interest of a focused discussion, the scope of this chapter is limited to the processes using
sharp cutting tools to form a chip from the workpiece by shear deformation. This chapter also describes the
machine tools to perform these machining operations. Besides the operations described in this chapter, other
mechanisms can be applied to remove material other than using sharp cutting tool. These alternative mechanisms
may involve the use of mechanical (e.g., ultrasonic or water jet machining), thermal (e.g., electrical dis- charge,
electron beam, laser beam, arc, or oxyfuel machining), electrical, or chem- ical energy (e.g., etching) or even a
combination of these energies (e.g., electrochemical machining).
The main principle of all machining processes is providing suitable relative motions between the
cutting tool and the workpiece to produce the characteristic geometry. Generally, two kinds of relative motion
must be provided either by a machine tool or manually; they are called the primary motion and feed motion. The
primary motion is the main motion that causes relative motion between the cutting edge and workpiece. The feed
motion is one that when added to the primary motion leads to a repeated or continuous chip removal to create a
machined surface with the desired geometric characteristics. The resultant of these two tool motions is called the
resultant cutting motion. For example, in cylindrical turning on lathe, the primary motion is the rotation of the
workpiece on its axis, and the feed motion is the motion of the cutting tool along the axis of the workpiece.
The secondary principle is imparting the shape of the cutting tool to the workpiece in order to create
part geometry. The two principles are sometimes combined in one operation. For example, in slot milling, the
primary motion is the rotation of the mill on its axis, and the feed motion creates the slot. The width and
shape of this slot are dependent on the geometry of the cutting tool.
The International Organization of Standards (ISO 841 2001) has recommended a system of machine tool
axes to describe the motions of both the tool and workpiece shown in Fig. 1. The system was established for the
purposes of programming numerically controlled machine tools. However, it can also be adopted to describe
general machine.
The three coordinate axes X, Y, and Z refer to possible linear motions of the tool,

51
 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

and motions A, B, and C refer to possible rotary motions of the tool about those axes, respectively. The Z axis
is arranged parallel to the axis of the spindle of the machine, which normally provides the primary motion. If
the machine has no spindle, the Z axis is arranged perpendicular to the worktable. Motion in the positive
Z axis increases the distance between the workpiece and tool holder. The X axis is parallel to the worktable and,
wherever possible, should be horizontal. For machine tools with rotating workpieces, the X motion is radial,
where positive X axis is defined as the tool motion when it moves further off the axis of rotation of the
workpiece. On machine tools with rotating tools, if the Z axis is horizontal, the positive X axis is to the right
when viewed from the main spindle toward the workpiece; if the Z axis is vertical, the positive X axis is to
the right when viewed from the main spindle toward the machine column. The positive Y motion is selected
to complete the right-hand coordinate system.
For the motion of the workpiece, a similar set of axes are employed. However,
the corresponding letter is primed for differentiation, and the sign is reversed so that both sets of axes use the same
sign convention to represent the same relative motion. For example, a tool approaching a workpiece can be
represented by the motion of either the tool in the positive X direction or the workpiece in positive X’ direction.
It is important to note that the X’Y’Z’ coordinate system does not follow the right-hand rule.
Section “Machine Tool Operations” describes some common machine tools along with the operations, which
are grouped in three based on the employed cutting tools. These categories are based on the use of single-point cutting
tools, multipoint cutting tools, and abrasive wheels. The machining processes based on the relative motions of the
machine tools are correspondingly illustrated. Besides dedicated machine tools, this section also describes
machining centers, which have flexibilities to perform various machining operations with different cutting tools
on more than one workpiece. Key components of these machine tools based on their functions are grouped into the
supporting structures, drivers, and controls. Drivers and controls will be elaborated in section “Machine Tool
Structures.” Section “Nontraditional Machine Tools” highlights several emerging machine tools used in
industries. Finally, concluding remarks will be presented.
Single-point cutting tools are those having one sharp cutting edge attached to the shank. The cutting
edge is intended to perform cutting, produce chip, and create machined surface on the workpiece. The geometry
of a typical right-hand single- point tool is shown in Fig. 2.
The tool angles have important functions in cutting operations. The rake angle controls the chip flow direction
and strength of the tool tip. Positive rake angles improve the cutting operation by reducing forces and
temperatures, but reduce the strength of the tool, as the small angle may cause the cutting edge to chip away. In the
general case of oblique cutting, there are two rake angles, namely, side and back

Fig. 2 Geometry of single-point cutting tool

rake angles. As cutting takes place on the side of the tool, the side rake angle is of primary importance. The backrake
angle also affects the ability of the tool to shear the work material and form the chip. The relief angle controls
the tool interfacing with the workpiece. Too large relief angle may cause the tool to chip off, while too small
angle may result in high frictional forces due to rubbing between the flank surface and workpiece causing

52
 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

excessive flank wear. The cutting edge angle affects the chip formation, tool strength, and cutting forces. The nose
radius affects the surface finish and tool tip strength. Smaller radius creates rougher surface finish on the workpiece
and weaker tool tip. However, large radius can lead to excessive force and tool vibrations.

Center Lathe
Figure 3 shows a center lathe with its principal components. This versatile machine tool, which is often
called as the engine lathe, is mainly used for low to medium production. The term “engine” dates from the
time when these machines were powered with overhead pulleys and belts, driven by steam engines. Nowadays,
various types of automation have been added to the lathes to improve efficiency and accuracy for repetitive
operations.
A center lathe consists of a horizontal bed or base supporting all other major components. The
headstock, which is fixed to the bed, is equipped with motors, pulleys, and V-belts that rotate the spindle, which
rotates the workpiece at various speeds. Levers on the front of the headstock are to select the rotational speeds. The
headstock has a hollow spindle to which the workholding devices, such as chucks and collets, are attached.
Opposite the headstock is the tailstock, which can slide along the ways and be clamped at any position. A center is
mounted in the tailstock to support the other end of a long workpiece. A short workpiece is normally
supported only by the chuck.

Fig. 3 Centre lathe (Courtesy: Knuth Machine Tools USA, Inc.)

The single-point cutting tool is held in a tool post fastened to the cross slide. The assembly of the
tool post and cross slide is referred as the carriage. The carriage is designed to slide along the guides in order
to feed the tool parallel to the axis of rotation. The guides are tracks along which the carriage rides. They are made
with great precision to achieve a high degree of parallelism relative to the spindle axis.
The feed rod, which is powered by a set of gears from the headstock, rotates during the operation of the lathe
and provides movement to the carriage and the cross slide. The leadscrew is especially useful to accurately
machine threads on a workpiece. It is engaged with the carriage by a closing split nut.

Fig. 4 Cylindrical turning on centre lathe

Primary motion in a lathe is the rotation of the workpiece (C0 motion), which is provided by the spindle.

53
 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

The feed motion can be provided by driving the carriage along the bed (Z motion). Alternatively, the carriage can
remain stationary; the tool post is driven across the carriage (X motion) using a leadscrew in the cross slide. As an
example, Fig. 4 shows a cylindrical surface being generated on a workpiece by the rotation of the workpiece (-C’
motion) and the movement of the carriage along the lathe bed (-Z motion). This operation is known as cylindrical
turning.
The feed motion setting on the lathe is the distance moved by the tool during each revolution of the workpiece.
Once chosen, the feed setting remains constant

regardless of the spindle speed. The feed f is defined in mm/rev as the displacement of the tool relative to the
workpiece. To machine a cylindrical workpiece from one end to another, the machining time tm is given by

tm=L/fN

where tm is the machining time in minute (min), L is the length of the machined surface in mm, and N is the
rotational speed of the workpiece in revolutions/minute (rev/min).

Fig. 5 Other machining operations on centre lathe

It should be noted that tm is the time for one pass of the tool along the workpiece. This single pass does
not necessarily mean that the whole machining operation is completed. Further, this does not include the time
required for tool approach and retraction. Machine tools are now designed and built to minimize the total operation
time by minimizing the number of tool passes as well as the distance and time for tool approaching and retraction.
As shown in Fig. 4, for each workpiece revolution, a ring-shaped layered of material is removed. The cross-

54
 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

sectional area of this layer is the product of the feed f and depth of cut d in mm, which is given by d ¼ (Do - Dm)/2.
Do is the initial diameter of the workpiece in mm, while Dm is the diameter of the machined surface in mm. The
product of this area with the average circumference of the ring, which is πDav, where Dav ¼ (Do + Dm)/2, gives
the amount of material removed in one revolution. Thus, the material removal rate (MRR) is given by

MRR = πDav dfN

The maximum surface cutting speed is defined as Vmax = πDoN, while the average one is Vav =
πDavN.
Besides cylindrical turning, a variety of other machining operations can be performed on a center
lathe using single-point tool. These processes, which produce parts with radial symmetry but vary in terms of feed
motion, are illustrated in Fig. 5:

Fig. 6 Horizontal boring machine (Courtesy: Bravo Industries)

(a) Facing. By moving the cross slide, the cutting tool is fed perpendicular to the axis of rotation into the
rotating workpiece to produce a flat surface at the end of the workpiece or to produce grooves for O-ring seats.
(b) Taper turning. By moving both the carriage and cross slide, the cutting tool is at an angle, thus creating a
tapered cylindrical or conical shape.
(c) Contour turning or profiling. Instead of feeding the cutting tool along a straight path, it follows a contour
that is other than straight.
(d) Chamfering. The cutting tool is used to cut an angle on the corner of the workpiece, creating a
chamfer.
(e) Parting or cutting off. Similar to facing, the cutting tool is fed radially into the rotating workpiece. This
time, the tool is fed somewhere along the length of the workpiece, cutting a piece from the end of the
workpiece.
(f) Threading. The cutting tool is fed parallel to the axis of rotation at a large effective feed rate to
create threads at the outside surface of the rotating workpiece. For this operation, the single-point tool
has a geometry that shapes the thread.
(g) Boring. The cutting tool is fed parallel to the axis of rotation on the inside diameter of an existing
hole in the workpiece.

There are other machining operations that can be performed on a lathe with tools other than the single-
point one. An example is form turning, which utilizes a specially designed multipoint tool called a form tool.
Drilling can also be performed on the lathe using a drill bit, which is also a multipoint tool.

Boring Machine
Similar to turning, boring uses a single-point tool to remove material from a rotating workpiece. However,
boring is an internal turning operation, which is performed on the inside diameter of an existing hole.
Consequently, boring can be performed on lathes as discussed in the previous subsection in Fig. 5g. None- theless,
lathes have limitations in handling heavy and/or non-cylindrical workpiece.

55
 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Fig. 7 Horizontal boring operations with (a) rotating workpiece and (b) rotating boring bar

Boring machine can be horizontal and vertical, which refers to the orientation of the axis of rotation of
the machine spindle that provides the primary motion. A horizontal boring machine is shown in Fig. 6. There
are two possible setups in this machine. The first setup is depicted in Fig. 7a. Similar to lathe, this setup mounts the
workpiece on the rotating spindle. The cutting tool is attached to a cantilevered boring bar, which is mounted
on the worktable so that it can be fed into the workpiece. This setup is not preferred because the boring bar
must be very stiff to avoid deflection and vibration during cutting. Also, this setup still has limitation in handling
large and heavy diameter workpiece. The second setup is depicted in Fig. 7b. Similar to the first setup, the tool is
mounted to a boring bar. However, this long bar can be supported on its two ends, increasing the tool stiffness.
The workpiece is mounted on the worktable, which can be moved in the feed and/or cross-feed
directions. This setup is more versatile as it can handle heavier work- pieces. A facing operation can be carried
out on a horizontal boring machine, using either of the two setups. However, it requires a special tool holder,
instead of a boring bar.
A vertical boring machine is shown in Fig. 8, which is used for large and heavy workpiece, generally
larger and heavier than that of the horizontal boring machine. The setup for this machine is shown in Fig. 9. The
workpiece is mounted on the worktable, which is rotated by the spindle providing the primary motion (C’ motion).
The cutting tool is mounted on the tool-head, which can be fed either perpendicular (Z motion) or parallel (X
motion) to the axis of the workpiece rotation. Facing the top surface of the workpiece can also be done using
this machine.

Shaping Machine

Fig. 8 Vertical boring machine (Courtesy: Weaver Mabbs Engineering, Ltd.)

56
 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Fig. 9 Vertical boring operation

Shaping machine is used to yield flat machined surfaces. A horizontal shaping machine is shown in
Fig. 10. The single-point tool is attached on the tool-head, which is mounted on the end of the ram. The ram
linkage mechanism provides the primary linear motion (X motion) of the tool-head as shown in Fig. 11. The
forward stroke of the mechanism performs the cutting, while the return stroke lifts the tool slightly to provide
clearance and then resets the next pass. The crank of the mechanism can be either mechanically or hydraulically
driven. To minimize the overall machining time, the mechanism is designed to yield higher speed on the return
stroke than on the forward stroke. The length of the stroke can be adjusted to achieve the desired machining
geometry. On completion of each return stroke, the worktable, on which the workpiece is mounted, is fed
laterally (Y motion) to facilitate the next cutting cycle. The height of the worktable can be adjusted to modify
the depth of cut. The cutting mechanism of horizontal shaping is shown in Fig. 12. Feed on shaping machines is
defined in mm/stroke.
A vertical shaping machine, which is also called a slotting machine, is shown in Fig. 13. The machine
configuration and cutting mechanism, shown in Fig. 14, are similar to that of the horizontal machine, except for
the orientation of the primary motion. The ram mechanism of this machine gives vertical forward and return
strokes to the cutting tool (Z motion). Thus, this machine is used to yield flat vertical surfaces.
822 I.P. Girsang and J.S. Dhupia

Pilot wheel for Hand wheel to adjust

Z vertical feed stroke position

X Ram locking handle

Y Reciprocating ram
Toolhead

Worktable Speed selection lever

Column

Hand wheel for

manual ram operation
Base
Cross-feed crank
Crossrail
Elevating
screw

Fig.
Fig. 10 Horizontal shaping 10 Horizontal
machine (Courtesy: shaping machine
Jiwan Singh & Sons)

Toolhead

Crank
Stroke
(longer arc)

57
Return stroke
(shorter arc)
 Base
Cross-feed crank
Crossrail
Elevating
Manufacturing processes
screw
and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Fig. 10 Horizontal shaping machine (Courtesy: Jiwan Singh & Sons)

Toolhead

Crank
Stroke
(longer arc)

Return stroke
(shorter arc)

Fig. 11 Shaper linkage

Fig. 11 Shaper linkage

Fig. 12 Horizontal shaping

mechanism

similar to that of
20 the horizontal
Machine machine,
Tools except for the orientation of the primary
for Machining 823
motion. The ram mechanism of thisFig. 12 Horizontal
machine shaping
gives vertical mechanism
forward and return
strokes to the cutting tool (Z motion). Thus, this machine isused to yield flat vertical
surfaces.

Z
Y

X Tool post

Column Worktable

Base
Hand wheel for
feed drive
Hand wheel for
cross-feed drive
Cross slide

Fig. 13(Courtesy:
Fig. 13 Vertical shaping machine VerticalAjax
shaping machine
Machine Tools International, Ltd.)

Fig. 14 Vertical shaping

mechanism.
Fig. 14 Vertical shaping mechanism.

Planing Machine
The shaping machine is unsuitable for generating flat surfaces on very large
workpiece because of the limitations on the stroke and overhang of the ram
mechanism. This problem is solved in the planing machine by applying the linear
primary motion to the workpiece (X’ motion), instead of the tool. A two-column
58
planing machine is shown in Fig. 15. The toolhead is mounted on the crossrail,
which facilitates appropriate intermittent feed motion (Y motion). The column
 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Planing Machine
The shaping machine is unsuitable for generating flat surfaces on very large workpiece because
of the limitations on the stroke and overhang of the ram mechanism. This problem is solved in the planing
machine by applying the linear primary motion to the workpiece (X’ motion), instead of the tool. A two-
column planing machine is shown in Fig. 15. The toolhead is mounted on the crossrail, which facilitates
appropriate intermittent feed motion (Y motion). The column supports this crossrail. Each column has a
feed rail, which facilitates vertical motion (Z motion) that controls the depth of cut. A side toolhead, which
moves along the vertical column, can be installed if machining the side of the workpiece is required. Multiple
(more than two) toolheads can be mounted either on the crossrail or column to allow multiple cuts on each pass. The
cutting mechanism
824 of planing is shown in Fig. 16. I.P. Girsang and J.S. Dhupia

Column
Z Feed rail

Y
Crossrail
X I ndependent handle
wheel to adjust tool
position

Worktable

Base
Toolhead

Fig. 15 Planing machine (Courtesy: XingTai XinRong Machinery Co., Ltd.)

Fig. 15 Planing machine (Courtesy: XingTai XinRong Machinery Co., Ltd.)

Fig. 16 Planing mechanism

Fig. 16 Planing mechanism

Machines with Multipoint Tools
Machines with Multipoint Tools
A multipoint cutting tool has aseries of two or more cutting edges. These tools have
A multipoint cutting tool has a series of two or more cutting edges. These tools have a
a variety of designs dependent on the machine tools and machining process, most of
variety of designs dependent on the machine tools and machining process, most of which will be
which will be covered on this section. Nonetheless, the geometric terms, such as the
covered on this section. Nonetheless, the geometric terms, such as the rake and flank angles and
rake and flank angles and surfaces, defined earlier for the single-point tool are still
surfaces, defined earlier
applicable for the
to each single-point
cutting tool aretool.
edge of a multipoint stillThe
applicable to each
cutting action cutting edge of a
at a selected
multipoint tool. The cutting action at a selected point on one cutting edge engaging
point on one cutting edge engaging the workpiece at a given instant isalso the same. the workpiece
at a given instant is also
Majority of the same. tools
multipoint Majority of be
are to multipoint toolsthey
rotated. Thus, are to be either
have rotated. Thus, they have
a taper
either a taper (conical)
(conical) ororparallel
parallel(cylindrical)
(cylindrical) shank
shank for for holding
holding purposes
purposes or a or a bore
bore through which
through
a spindle or arbor
whichcan be inserted.
a spindle or arbor can be inserted.

Drilling Machine Drilling Machine

The most
Thecommon form ofform
most common drilling machine
of drilling is the bench
machine is thedrill
benchshown
drill in Fig. in
shown [Link].
As its
[Link]
As implies, this
machine is normally bolted
its name downthis
implies, to amachine
bench. Workholding is normalished
is normally bolted down to a by clamping
bench. the workpiece
Workholding is in a vise,
normally
fixture, or jig onto the accomplished by clamping the workpiece in a vise, fixture, or jig onto the

59
 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Head (belt and pulley inside) worktable or onto the base. The worktable can be moved up and down the
vertical column and then clamped at the preferred height.
The cutting tool is normally mounted on a three jaw chuck, which is rotated by
the spindle as the primary motion (C motion). The chuck can be moved up and down manually by a feed handle
via a rack and pinion mechanism, which provides the continuous feed motion (Z motion). The workpiece is
always kept stationary during each machining cycle. On a bench drill of Fig. 17, the workpiece must be manually
shifted to drill other locations.

Fig. 17 Bench drill (Courtesy: Ozito Industries)

Drilling is commonly performed using a twist drill to generate an internal cylindrical surface. An example of
cutting process using twist drill is shown in Fig. 18. This cutting tool normally has two cutting edges, each
of which ideally removes an equal amount of workpiece material. Drilling using the tools presented herein can
also be performed on a lathe. The difference is that in lathe, the primary rotating motion is provided to the
workpiece, while the tool is fed into the workpiece.
For convenience, the cutting speedV in drilling is generally defined in mm/min as the speed at the outside
diameter of the twist drill:

V = πDN

where D is the diameter of the twist drill in mm and N is the spindle rotational speed in rev/min. It is defined so
for convenience, although much cutting process also occurs at lower speed close to the axis of tool rotation. The
cutting speed is zero at the tip of the twist drill, which is in the form of a short chisel edge. In drilling a new

Fig. 18 Drilling mechanism

60
 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

hole, this
hole, thischisel
chisel edge
edgemust
must force
force its
its way
way through
through the
the workpiece,
workpiece, resulting
resulting inin a
a poor
poor
cutting condition. However, because this contact area is going to be
cutting condition. However, because this contact area is going to be removed, it has removed, it has
little effect on the quality of the hole produced by the cutting edges. The chips
hole, this chisellittle
edgeeffect
must on theits
force quality of the hole
way through produced by
the workpiece, the cutting
resulting edges.
in a poor The condition.
cutting chips However,
removed by
removed by the
thecutting
cutting edges
edges take
take aa helical
helical form
form and
and travel
travel upup the
the helical flutes.
helical flutes.
because this contact area is
Feed ff in
going to
in drilling
be removed,
is specified in
drilling is
it has
in mm/rev.
little
mm/rev. The
effect on
The machining
the quality
machining timetime is
of the
is given
given by
hole
by
produced by the
cutting edges. TheFeed chips removed by specified
the cutting edges take a helical form and travel up the helical flutes.
Feed f in drilling is specified in mm/rev. The machining time is given by
LL ¼
ttmm ¼ Nf
tm = L/Nf
Nf
where LL is
where is the
the distance
distance traveled
traveled by
by the
the cutting
cutting tool
tool in
in mm.
mm. The
The material
material removal
removal
rate (MRR) can be obtained by multiplying the cross-sectional area of the produced
where L is the rate (MRR)
distance
hole
can beby
withtraveled
thefeed
obtained by multiplying
the cutting
feed rate:
rate: tool in [Link] cross-sectional
The area rate
material removal of the produced
(MRR) can be obtained by
hole with the
multiplying the cross-sectional area of the produced hole with the feed rate:
π
MRR ¼ π D2 fN
MRR ¼ 4 D2mmfN
4
where Dm is the diameter of the machined surface in mm. If an existing hole of
where Dm is the diameter of the machined surface in mm. If an existing hole of
diameter
where Dm is the D of
diameter is to
thebemachined
enlarged:surface in mm. If an existing hole of diameter Do is to be
diameter Doo is to be enlarged:
enlarged:
π
MRR ¼ π D2 D2 fN
MRR ¼ 4 D2mm D2oo fN
4
Several other machining operations can be performed on a drilling machine. The
Several other machining operations can be performed on adrilling machine. The
most common ones are illustrated in Fig. 19:
Several other machining operations
most common can illustrated
ones are be performed on a 19:
in Fig. drilling machine. The most common ones are
illustrated in Fig. 19:
(a) Reaming. The cutting tool, the reamer, is similar to a drill but has several
(a) Reaming. The cutting tool, the reamer, is similar to a drill but has several
cutting edges with straight or helical flutes. It is intended to remove a small
cutting edges with straight or helical flutes. It is intended to remove a small
amount of workpiece material, but it improves the accuracy and surface finish
amount of workpiece material, but it improves the accuracy and surface finish
of a previously drilled hole.
of a previously drilled hole.

Fig. 19 Machining operations related to drilling

(a) Reaming. The cutting tool, the reamer, is similar to a drill but has several cutting edges with
straight or helical flutes. It is intended to remove a small amount of workpiece material, but it improves
the accuracy and surface finish of a previously drilled hole.
(b) Counterboring. Counterboring provides a stepped hole, in which a larger diameter hole concentrically
follows a smaller diameter one. A counterbored hole is used to seat bolt heads into a hole so that the heads do
not protrude above the surface.
(c) Countersinking. This process is similar to counterboring, but a countersunk hole is cone shaped to seat
flat head screws and bolts.
(d) Center drilling. This process is also called centering, which is to produce a shallow, conical hole with
clearance at the bottom. This center hole can guide the subsequent drilling to prevent the drill tip point from
wandering as the hole is started.
(e) Spot facing. It is intended to provide a flat surface around the end of a hole, which is perpendicular to
its axis. This flat surface is used to seat a washer or nut.

To drill many holes on heavy workpieces using larger drills, a radial-arm drilling machine, shown in Fig. 20, is
normally used. The workpiece is located on the base of the machine. The drilling head and motor can be
positioned along an arm. Further, this arm can be positioned along the vertical column and swung in a
horizontal plane about the column, allowing the tool to reach significant distance.

Taps and Dies

Internal screw threads on an existing hole are produced by tapping. A tap is a threading tool with multiple

61
 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

cutting teeth, as shown in Fig. 21. Each cutting edge removes a small layer of material to form the thread. The
fully shaped thread on the tap serves to clear away the chips. Similar to drilling process, tapping operation is
performed by providing rotating primary and linear feed motions either on the cutting tool or workpiece.
Thus, this operation can be done on a drilling machine or a lathe, respectively. However, since most tapping
operations require low rotational speed, they are often performed manually, in which the tap is attached to a T-handle
tap wrench, either via a chuck or a gripper, as shown in Fig. 22.

Fig. 20 Radial drill press (Courtesy: Knuth Machine Tools USA, Inc.)

Fig. 21 Tap (Courtesy: Ridgid Tools)

A die is shown in Fig. 23. It has the same cutting action as a tap but is designed to produce external threads
on a cylindrical surface. Most of these operations are also performed manually. The die wrench is shown in Fig.
24. Nonetheless, external threading using a die can be carried out on a lathe, in which the tailstock is replaced with
a turret that holds the cutting tool (i.e., the die).

Milling Machine
Milling is considered as the most versatile machining process capable of producing various three-
dimensional shapes. In milling, the rotation of the multipoint cutting tool, which is the primary motion, has an
axis that is perpendicular to the direction of the feed motion. This is a main distinction of this process from
drilling. The cutting tool in milling is called a mill. The cutting edges are called teeth, which can be either a
solid extension of the mill or indexable inserts attached to the cutter body. Milling is an interrupted cutting process
as revealed by the generated short chips.

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Fig. 22 T-handle tap wrenches

Fig. 23 Dies

Fig. 24 Die wrench

On the contrary, the previously described machining processes are fairly continuous ones that produce
long chips. Thus, the material and geometric properties of mills are to be designed to withstand repetitive cycles
of impact forces and thermal shocks.

Fig. 25 Two basic milling operations: (a) peripheral milling and (b) face milling

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Based on the orientation of the mill with respect to the machined surface, milling operations can
be categorized as peripheral and face millings, which are shown in Fig. 25. In peripheral milling, the axis of
the tool is parallel to the machined surface. In face milling, the axis of the tool is perpendicular to the
machined surface.
Based on the direction of the feed motion with respect to the rotation of the cutting tool, milling
operations can be categorized as up and down millings, which are shown in Fig. 26. In up milling, also known
as conventional milling, when cutting the workpiece, the teeth motion is in the opposite direction to the feed
motion. In down milling, also known as climb milling, the teeth motion is in the same direction as the feed
motion during cutting.
Consequently, the chip formed in up milling increases in thickness, while the one in down milling reduces
throughout the cut. Despite exaggeration in Fig. 26, the chip of up milling is longer than that of down milling.

Fig. 26 Two basic milling operations: (a) up milling and (b) down milling

Fig. 27 Horizontal milling machine (Courtesy: CNC Establishment)

Column-and-knee-type machines are the most commonly used ones for general purpose milling. Herein “column”
and “knee” refer to the two main components of these machines. They can be classified as either horizontal
or vertical milling machine based on the orientation of the main spindle. The aforementioned catego- rizations of
milling operations in Figs. 25 and 26 remain valid for these two machines. A horizontal milling machine is shown
in Fig. 27. The key components of this machine, which serve the same functions as those of the vertical milling
machines are:

• Worktable, on which the workpiece is mounted. The worktable moves longitu- dinally with respect to
the saddle.
• Saddle, which supports the table. The saddle moves transversely.
• Knee, which supports the saddle. The knee moves vertically to adjust the depth of cut.

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Fig. 28 Peripheral milling operations

• Column, which support the spindle.

• Head, which contains the transmission system (e.g., belts and pulleys) from the spindle motor to the
spindle nose.
The arbor is a shaft that supports the mill and driven by the spindle. If necessary, some spacers can be
mounted on the arbor to separate two or more mills. The overarm is to support the arbor. For a horizontal milling
machine, the table provides the X’ motion, the saddle provides the Z’ motion, and the knee provides the Y’
motion.
The horizontal milling machine is well suited for peripheral milling. Several processes related to peripheral
milling can be performed on this machine based on the size and position of the mill with respect to the workpiece.
The operations, in which the feed motion is either into or out of the paper, are shown in Fig. 28:
(a) Slab milling. This is the simplest form of peripheral milling, on which the width of the tool extends
beyond both sides of the workpiece.
(b) Side milling. The mill, which can either be wider or narrower than the work-
piece, is used to machine the side of the workpiece.
(c) Slot milling. The mill, which is narrower than the workpiece, is used to create a slot in the workpiece. If
a thin mill is used to cut the workpiece in two, the process is called saw milling.
(d) Straddle milling. This process is the same as side milling, but two mills are used at the same time to cut
both sides of the workpiece.

Fig. 29 Mills for peripheral milling (Courtesy: Tool Masters)

The shape of the mill determines the shape of the machine surface, which is referred as form milling. Various
shapes of mills that can be mounted on the arbor of a horizontal milling machine are shown in Fig. 29. Cylindrical

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

mill in Fig. 29a is suitable to create flat surfaces, angle mill in Fig. 29b is suitable to create angular surfaces (e.g.,
chamfers and serrations), convex mill in Fig. 29c is suitable to create concave surface, and concave mill in Fig. 29d
is suitable to create convex surface.
The cutting speed V for milling in mm/min is the peripheral speed of the mill, which is defined as

V = πDN

where D is the diameter of the mill in mm and N is the spindle rotational speed in rev/min. The feed f in milling
is usually defined in feed/tooth, which represents the size of chip removed by each tooth measured parallel to the
feed direction (i.e., the chip load). The relationship between feed/tooth and feed rate fr, which is the linear speed
of the workpiece in mm/min, is defined as

where n is the number of teeth.

Fig. 30 Relative motion between a slab mill and the workpiece

The machining time of a workpiece of length L in mm must consider the distance traveled by the mill before fully
engaging the workpiece. For a slab milling with depth d in mm, as shown in Fig. 30, the distance for the center
of the mill to reach the closest edge of the workpiece is given by

Thus, the machining time is

The material removal rate in milling is determined by the product of the machined cross-sectional area and the
feed rate. For a slab milling in Fig. 30 cutting a workpiece of width w in mm, the material removal rate (MRR) is
defined as

It is important that the MRR formulation neglects the initial entry of the mill before the full engagement with
the workpiece because it is based on the assump- tion that l is much smaller than L, which is not generally true.
This equation can be applied to the other milling operations by making the proper adjustment in the
computation of the machined cross-sectional area.
A column-and-knee-type vertical milling machine is shown in Fig. 31. The table provides the X’
motion, the saddle provides the Y’ motion, and the knee provides the Z’ motion. Similar to its horizontal
counterpart, these degrees of freedom allow machining of horizontal, vertical, and inclined surfaces.

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Fig. 31 Vertical milling machine

The vertical milling machine is well suited for face milling. Several processes related to face milling,
which can be performed on this machine, are shown in Fig. 32:
(a) Conventional face milling. In this process, the diameter of the mill is longer than the width of the
workpiece.
(b) Shoulder milling. The mill overhangs at the side of the workpiece on which the machining takes place.
Hence, this process creates a shoulder feature.
(c) End milling. The diameter of the mill is less than the width of the workpiece, creating a slot in the
workpiece.
(d) Profile milling. The periphery of the mill is used to machine the outside periphery of the workpiece.
In contrast to the previous three milling process, the end of the mill does not touch the workpiece.
(e) Pocket milling. This is a derivative of end milling, in which the end mill is used
to mill shallow pockets.
(f) Surface contouring. This process uses a ball-end or ball-nose mill to machine three-dimensional
surfaces (Dhupia and Girsang 2012). To do so, this end mill is fed with respect to the workpiece across
a curvilinear path at close intervals.
The cutting tools for the vertical milling machine come in various shapes and configurations. Each tool is
specially designed to optimize a specific milling operation on certain materials.

Fig. 32 Facial milling operations (d), (e), and (f)

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Fig. 33 Face mill

A face mill in Fig. 33 consists of a cutter body and replaceable inserts. The inserts act as the cutting edges
to be mounted on the cutter body. For conventional face milling, the machining mostly occurs at the end of the mill.
To minimize the overall machining time, some cutter bodies are of large diameter and can accommodate up
to 10 or 12 inserts. Long edge mill in Fig. 34 is optimized to perform shoulder and profile milling operations.
The design of this mill is in contrast with that of the face mill because most machining of this process occurs at
the cutting edges on the periphery of the mill. Solid end mills, such as shown in Fig. 35a, are versatile because

end mills can be used to perform almost all the previously mentioned face milling operations.

Fig. 34 Long edge mill (Courtesy: Sandvik Coromant)

Fig. 35 End mills (Courtesy: Kennametal, Inc.)

However, due to design and cost considerations, such end mills do not generally come in large sizes. Square-end

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

and ball-end mills are the two most commonly used end mills.
Indexable end mills, shown in Fig. 35b, are cheaper alternatives for the solid end mills, which are
specialized for end milling operations. Possible relative motions between the mill and workpiece in face
milling oper ation are shown in Fig. 36. It is customary to allow for some distance l in mm for the mill to approach
the workpiece and some distance k in mm for the mill to leave the

Fig. 36 Approach and overtravel distances for two cases of face milling operations

workpiece. In both possible motions, k= l. The first motion is when the mill is centered over the rectangular
machined surface. Thus, as shown in Fig. 36a

The second one is when the mill overhangs at one side of the workpiece. As shown in Fig. 36b

For either motion, the machining time is given by

Besides column-and-knee-type milling machines, there are bed-type and planer-type milling
machines suitable for larger workpieces and higher production

Fig. 37 Vertical broaching machine

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

rates. In bed-type machines, the worktable is directly mounted on the base or bed. Thus, there is no knee and the
workpiece can only be moved in longitudinal direction. However, these machines have high stiffness,
allowing higher feed rates and depths of cut; thus, higher material removal rates. Single-spindle bed-type
machines are called the simplex mills, and the spindle can be either horizontal or vertical. Two-spindle bed-
type machines are called the duplex mills, and the three-spindle ones are understandably called triplex mills.
Multiple spindles allow simultaneous machining of two or three workpiece surfaces. Planer-type mills
are similar to the bed-type ones, but for even larger workpiece and higher production rate. Their general
appearance resembles that of the planing machine shown in Fig. 15, but for milling instead of planing.
Accordingly, one or more spindles for mills are mounted instead of toolheads for single-point tools.

Broaching Machine
Broaching machine uses a broach, which is a multipoint cutting tool that is moved linearly with respect
to the workpiece in the direction of the axis of the broach. The workpiece is held stationary throughout the
machining process. Most broaching machines can be classified as either horizontal or vertical machine based on the
tool axis, along which the direction of the primary motion of the tool is. A manually powered vertical broaching
machine, or a broaching press, is shown in Fig. 37. For higher production rates and harder materials, hydraulically
powered broaching machines are normally used. The mechanism of a broaching process is shown in Fig. 38.
Broaching is most often utilized to machine keyways. A variety of features can be machined through either
internal or external broaching. External broaching is performed on the outside surface of the workpiece. Internal
broaching is to machine internal surface of a hole. For internal broaching, a starting hole must be present so hat the
broach can be inserted. Some possible features from internal broaching are shown in Fig. 39.

Fig. 38 Broaching mechanism

Fig. 39 Shapes machined from internal broaching

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 Fig. 39 Shapes machined from internal broaching

Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

that the broach can be inserted. Some possible features from internal broaching are
shown in Fig. 39. Similar features can also be applied on the external surface.
In broaching, the feed f is provided by staggering of the teeth on the broach, in
which each tooth removes a thin layer of material or cut per tooth. As the machined
Similar features can also be applied on the external surface. In broaching, the feed f is provided by staggering of
surface is usually produced during one pass the tool, the machining timetm in min is
the teeth on the broach, in which each tooth removes a thin layer of material or cut per tooth. As the machined
given by
surface is usually produced during one pass the tool, the machining timetm in min is given by
L
tm ¼
V
where L is thewhere
lengthLofis the
thebroach
length in
of mm and V isinthe
the broach mmspeed of is
and V thethe
broach
speedinofmm/min.
the broach in
mm/min.
Machine with Grinding Wheels

Grinding is a material removal process that uses a wheel containing abrasive particles. Every grinding
machine has a spindle which is rotated at high speed and on which the grinding wheel is mounted. The spindle
is supported by bearings and mounted in a housing. This assembly is called the wheel head. The grinding wheel
is usually disk shaped, although it also comes in a cup shape. Besides abrasive particles, the wheel also
consists of bonding material that holds the particles in place and establishes the shape and structure of the wheel.
An interest- ing property of the grinding wheel is that it is self-sharpening. As the wheel wears, the abrasive
particles become dull. Then, these dull particles either fracture creating fresh cutting edges or are pulled out of the
wheel surface exposing new grains.
Grinding wheels are rarely used in rough cutting where material removal rate is
the important factor. They are more commonly used to finish parts, which have already been machined by other
operations. In this stage, the resulting surface finish is the criterion. Grinding wheels are also used in tool rooms to
form the geometries on cutting tools. Four major grinding machines are discussed in this section, based on the
orientation of the workpiece and the grinding wheel.

Surface Grinding Machine

Surface grinding is normally used to grind flat surfaces, using either the periphery or flat face of the
grinding wheel. The workpiece is normally held horizontal, and the relative motion of the workpiece is achieved
either by reciprocating the work- piece or by rotating it. Four possible combinations of wheel orientations and
workpiece motions are shown in Fig. 40.
A horizontal spindle grinding machine with reciprocating table, shown in Fig. 41, is the most
common grinding machine. The horizontal spindle provides the primary motion (C motion). The reciprocation
of the worktable, on which the workpiece is mounted (X’ motion), provides the feed motion. This motion is
called the traverse motion. Further, feed motions can be applied either by moving the wheel vertically with
respect to the column (Y motion), which is known as infeed motion, or by moving the worktable parallel to
the machine spindle (Z’ motion), which is known as cross-feed motion. The cross-feed motion of this machine
is intermittent, applied after each pass of the feed motion of the table. The definition of these motions for other
surface grinding operations is shown in Fig. 40.
There are two grinding operations based on the relative motion of the wheel with respect to the machined
surface, as shown in Fig. 42. Traverse grinding operation is when the wheel is fed parallel to the surface being
machined. Plunge grinding operation is when the wheel is fed perpendicular to the surface being machined.
Plunge grinding is normally applied using a formed grinding wheel to impart the shape of the grind wheel on
the workpiece.
Rotary table obviates the need of traverse motion. The rotary table is more commonly coupled with vertical
spindle because this configuration can achieve higher material removal rates owing to the relatively larger
surface area between the wheel and the workpiece. An example of this machine is shown in Fig. 43.

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Fig. 40 Different types of surface grinding operations

Fig. 41 Horizontal spindle surface grinding machine with reciprocating table

Cylindrical Grinding Machine

Cylindrical grinding is normally used to grind cylindrical surfaces. The surface can be either an external or an
internal surface, as shown in Fig. 44. An external surface cylindrical grinding machine is shown in Fig. 45. The
cylindrical workpiece is supported and rotated between the headstock and tailstock. This assembly is mounted
on a worktable that is reciprocated horizontally (Z’ motion).

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Fig. 42 Horizontal spindle grinding operations:

(a) traverse grinding and
(b) plunge grinding

Fig. 43 Vertical spindle grinding machine with rotary table

Fig. 44 Cylindrical grinding operations: (a) external surface and (b) internal surface
This table provides the traverse motion. The headstock provides low rotational speed (C0 motion)

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

to the workpiece. The axis of the wheel head is horizontal, parallel to the axis of the workpiece. The wheel head
provides high rotational speed to the grinding wheel (C motion). Motion can be applied to the wheel head in the
direction normal to the axis of the workpiece (X motion), which is the infeed motion. For this machine,
traverse grinding operation moves the wheel head perpendicular to the axis of the workpiece, resulting in workpiece
with smaller radius or thickness as shown in Fig. 44a. In contrast, plunge grinding operation forms a groove on
the external surface of the workpiece as the wheel is moved only in the infeed direction without any traverse
motion.
An internal surface cylindrical grinding machine is shown in Fig. 46. It is designed to produce an internal
cylindrical surface. The wheel head supports a horizontal spindle, on which a relatively small cylindrical grinding
wheel is mounted. To accommodate the small wheel diameter, the spindle must rotate at very high speed (C motion).
Reciprocated motion can be provided to the wheel head parallel to the spindle axis (Z motion), which acts
as the traverse motion. Horizontal motion can also be applied to the wheel head normal to the spindle axis (X motion),
which is the infeed motion. The workpiece is mounted in a chuck and rotated by the head stock at low speed (C0
motion). For this machine, traverse grinding operation moves the wheel head perpendicular to the axis of the
workpiece, resulting in workpiece with smaller thickness (i.e., longer internal radius). Plunge grinding operation,
which has no traverse motion, forms an internal groove in the workpiece.

Fig. 45 External cylindrical grinding machine

Fig. 46 Internal cylindrical grinding machine

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Centerless Grinding Machine

This machine is an alternative for grinding external and internal cylindrical sur- faces. The main
difference is that the workpiece is not held between centers (i.e., this machine has no headstock nor tailstock).
This yields in reduced work handling time, which promotes this machine for high production rates. An external
centerless grinding machine is shown in Fig. 47. Its setup, from end and side views, is depicted in Fig. 48. Besides a
grinding wheel, it has a regulating roll, which rotates at much

Fig. 47 External centerless grinding machine

Fig. 48 Setup of external centerless grinding machine

(a) end view and (b) side view

Fig. 49 Setup of internal centerless grinding machine

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

lower speed. This roll can be slightly inclined to certain angle θ to control the through feed of the workpiece,
which rests on a rest blade. The through feed f in mm/min can be estimated as (Kalpakjian and Schmid 2010)

f = πDr Nr sin θ

where Dr and Nr are respectively the diameter in mm and rotational speed in rev/min of the regulating roll.
The setup of a typical internal centerless grinding machine is shown in Fig. 49. Instead of a rest blade,
a holding roll and a support roll are used to maintain the position of the workpiece. The position of the
holding roll can be adjusted to accommodate the size of the workpiece. The regulating roll is tilted at a
small inclination angle to control the feed of the workpiece. For this machine, it is not possible to feed the
workpiece through because one end is occupied by the wheel head.

Creep Feed Grinding Machine

Creep feed grinding machine has the same exact configuration as the ones in Figs. 41 and 45. Thus,
it can be applied in both surface and external cylindrical grindings. Creep feed grinding allows machining at
very high depths of cut, from 1,000 to 10,000 times greater than in conventional surface grinding. However, to
accommodate such depths, the grinding is performed at very low traverse speeds, reduced by about the same
proportion as the depths of cut; hence, it is referred as “creep feed” grinding.

Machining Centers

The machine tools in the preceding discussions are designed to perform limited (often only one) types
of operation, either manually or with certain level of automation. However, manufacturing products or parts
usually require different

Fig. 50 Tool changer

consecutive machining operations, such as milling, drilling, or threading, on vari- ous surfaces. None of the
machine tools described so far is capable to individually produce such parts. In a highly automated manufacturing
floor, those parts are achieved by transferring them through a transfer line, in which a number of machine tools are
arranged in sequence. The parts are transferred from one machine tool to another until all required operations are
completed. This methodology is commonly used in high volume productions.
For some types of product and in certain situations, such as for the type of products that change
rapidly, the prescribed transfer lines with dedicated machine tools are not feasible or economical. To tackle this
problem, machining centers were introduced in the late 1950s. A machining center is a highly automated
machine tool capable of performing multiple machining operations on different surfaces and along almost all
directions on a workpiece. The high level automation is generally achieved by computer numerical control (CNC).
Several key features of the machining centers are automatic tool and pallet changing and positioning.
Each machining center is equipped with a tool storage, which generally can take more than 15 cutting tools.
Each tool is mounted on its own tool holder and equipped with certain identification (e.g., bar code, tag code,
and memory chip). The cutting tool must be changed so that within this center either a tool with different
dimension can be used or one machining operation can be performed after another. Tool exchange and

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

attachment to the spindle are done automatically by the tool exchange arm, as shown in Fig. 50. Further,
some machining centers are equipped with more than one pallet, on which the workpiece is placed in a machining
center.
Multiple pallets with automatic changing allow the machinist to unload the machined part and load the
next part while the current part is being machined. In both tool and pallet changing, the cutting tool is automatically
positioned with respect to the workpiece. Machining centers are generally equipped with touch probes, which can
be loaded into the spindle, to determine the reference surfaces of the workpiece or to inspect the machined
surfaces online. Some machining centers are also equipped with sensors for monitoring purposes, such as to
indicate if the tools are worn or to monitor force and vibration experienced by the spindle.

Fig. 51 Turning center

Machining centers can be classified as vertical, horizontal, or universal machin- ing center, based on the
spindle orientation. Vertical and horizontal machining centers typically utilize rotating multipoint cutting tools,
such as drilling and milling. Vertical machining centers are suitable to machine flat top surfaces and deep
cavities on a workpiece. Horizontal machining centers are suitable to machine a number of surfaces on the side
of the workpiece. Another type of horizontal machining center is turning center, which is a numerically
controlled lathe with multiple turrets (i.e., tool storage) and multiple horizontal spindle heads as shown in Fig. 51.
This machining center is specialized in performing various turning-related operations, as illustrated in Fig. 5.
Universal machining centers are equipped with both vertical and horizontal spindles, which are capable of
machining all surfaces of the workpiece as the spindle can be swiveled to any angles between horizontal and vertical,
as shown in Fig. 52.

Machine Tool Structures

Machine tools consist of stationary and moving bodies, as well as the drives. The stationary bodies
include the machine base or bed, columns, and housings. These bodies are to support, cover, and protect the moving
bodies, such as the worktables, spindles, gears, and bearings. In general, the dimensions of machine tool structures are
overestimated to provide high rigidity, thermal stability, and damping. These proper- ties are necessary to minimize
static and dynamic deformations during machining.

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Fig. 52 Universal Machining Center

Machine tool drives provide motion to the moving bodies. The drives can be categorized into two main groups,
which are the spindle and feed drives. This section describes the building components of each drive and the
numerical control system that regulates the motions of each drive.

Spindle Drives

As discussed in the previous section, the spindle drives are to rotate either the cutting tools, as in the case of
drilling, milling, and grinding, or the workpiece, as in the case of turning. The machine tool spindle drive provides the
relative primary motion between the cutting tool and the workpiece, which is necessary to perform the material removal
operation. The spindle drive must provide sufficient angular speed, torque, and power to the spindle shaft, which is held
by roller or magnetic bearings in the spindle housing. Therefore, the characteristics of the spindle have significant
impacts on the machine tool performance and quality of the machined parts.
Industrial spindle drives commonly come in three designs, as shown in Fig. 53. Active cooling is often
required, generally implemented through air or water cooling. Conventional spindles are popular in machine tools
due to their modular integration to machine tools. It consists of a motor externally driving the spindle shaft
through either a V-belt or a coupling. There may be a single-step gear reducer and a clutch between the electrical
motor and spindle shaft. This design is normally applied for low to medium spindle speed up to 15,000 rev/min.
The developments in rolling element materials, bearing design, lubrications, elec- trical drive, and power electronics
have allowed the construction of compact direct

Fig. 53 Spindle drive designs

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Fig. 54 Internal components of motor spindle

drive spindles, which do not require mechanical transmission elements. These spin- dles are also called as motor
spindles, which consists of elements shown in Fig. 54. The reduced inertia and friction, as well as rigidity and lower
vibration of this compact design, encourage its implementations for high-speed machining. Recent trends in design
and development of spindle drives are reviewed in (Abele et al. 2010).
Industrial spindles are equipped with sensors for condition monitoring. The key measurements include temperature
of the motor stator, temperature of the bearings temperatures, rotational speed, mechanical torque, motor currents, and
electrical power.

Feed Drives

The feed drives move the machine structures, on which the workpiece or cutting tool is mounted to a
desired location. The structures are driven along a rail or a

Fig. 55 Feed drive designs:

(a) linear motor and rotary motor with (b) ball screw and (c) rack pinion

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

guide. Performance of the drives and guides in terms of speed and positioning accuracy plays significant role
in material removal rate and the product quality obtained from the machine tool.
Feed drives are powered by either linear motors or rotary motors with ball screw or rack pinion, as shown
in Fig. 55. The ball screw mechanism can be connected to the rotary motor directly or through gear reduction,
which is necessary to amplify the torque for large heavy-duty machine tools. Conventional machine tools have
multiple gear reduction steps to obtain the desired feed rate. In term of control, the reference feed rate specified in
the NC program is combined with the acceleration and jerk limits of the feed drives. A real-time trajectory
generation algorithm then sends discrete position commands to the feed drive. The corresponding digital
velocity commands are then converted into electrical signals, which are fed to the amplifier and motor of the
drive.
The guides or rails are to direct the motion of the moving parts in machine tools. The guides must be of a
high degree of accuracy as it directly affects the machining quality. Further, they should have good toughness,
damping, load capacity, and stiffness to withstand the loads, impacts, and vibrations during the machining process.
Finally, as moving components, they need to possess wear resistance and low friction characteristics to avoid
gripping, stick–slip

Fig. 56 Schematic of components of (a) open-loop and (b) closed-loop numerical controls

phenomena, and surface deterioration. There are various types of guides, some of which are friction guides (or
slideways), rolling guides, hydrostatic guides, and magnetic levitation guides. Different technologies of guides
and feed drive assembly designs are reviewed in detail in (Altintas et al. 2011).

Numerical Controls

Control in machine tool is achieved through numerical control, which utilizes coded instructions
in the form of alphanumeric (numbers and letter) commands to regulate the motion of machine components. The
control system interprets these commands and converts them to the appropriate control signals. There have been
two types of numerical controls, namely, direct numerical control (DNC) and computer numerical control
(CNC). In DNC, a central computer is used to directly control all machine tools in a manufacturing floor in a
step-by-step fashion. The main drawback is that all machines may stop if the main computer suffers from
faults. The development of CNC stems back from the availability of low-cost programmable
microcontrollers. In CNC, a microprocessor or microcomputer is an integral part of the control. This allows
each machine tool to have an onboard computer, through which the operator can independently prepare, store,
and exe- cute programs for the machine. CNC is the most widely used NC today because of higher flexibility of
the programmable controller and greater accuracy resulting from a higher sampling rate and computational
speed of dedicated controller. Distributed numerical control is now used in complex modern manufacturing
system, in which a central computer is used as to control and coordinate a number of individual CNC machine
tools.
Motion control in NC machine can be achieved through either open-loop or closed-loop system, as
shown in Fig. 56. In open-loop system, the controller delivers the signals to the drives, but the motion and
final position of the machine component are not checked for accuracy. In closed-loop system, the machine is
equipped with variety of sensors, transducers, and counters to give feedback

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 Manufacturing processes and equipment for automotive – Course Notes

Fig. 57 Movement of cutting tools in NC machine tools: (a) point-to-point and

(b) continuous

regarding the status of the machine component to the controller. Digital-to-analog converter (DAC) is essential
to interface the controller with the drives.
There are two basic types of NC system, which are point-to-point and continuous path, as shown in Fig.
57. Recent trends in design and development of NC for machine tools are reviewed in. In point-to-point, or
positioning, the component (spindle head or worktable) is moved to a programmed location without considering
the path from one location to another. Thus, the machine accelerates initially to maximum velocity to minimize
the machining time and then decelerates to reach the specified position. This system is appropriate in operations in
which positioning and machining take place sequentially, such as drilling.
In continuous path, or contouring, the moving component is controlled to follow a prescribed path. Thus,
this control requires accurate position control and synchronization of velocities. This system is widely used in
milling and turning operations. In building the path, the controller can compensate for the cutting tool geometry
(i.e., the tool shape, size, and wear). Also, the cutting tool location within the path, or the interpolation, occurs
incrementally. This interpolation can be linear, higher- order polynomial, or circular. Linear interpolation
moves the machine component along a straight line. Theoretically, linear interpolation can produce any path
profile by reducing the increment between adjacent points. However, this interpolation may require a large
amount of data point, which is computationally expensive. Higher-order polynomial interpolation estimates
the path using curves of higher polynomial equations (i.e., parabolic, cubic, or higher polynomials). Finally,
circular interpolation moves the component along a circular arc of different radius.

Nontraditional Machine Tools

Some alternative machine tool designs have emerged in recent decades, each of which comes up with certain
strength as compared to the dedicated machine tools or CNC machining centers described earlier. Research and
development on these machine tools have been active to promote industrial acceptance by tackling the limitations,
improving the reliability, and reducing the costs. This section aims to highlight a few important machine tool
technologies, which have established their presence and have been envisioned to have potentially high penetration
into the manufacturing floor.

Industrial Robots
An industrial robot is an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multifunctional, dextrous machine

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that is often designed following certain human- like features. The most apparent feature is the robotic arm,
which is called the manipulator. Combined with the use of intelligent control, the manipulator is able to perform
various tasks in manufacturing floor, such as picking up, moving, and placing down materials or tools, spray-
painting, spot welding, and certainly machining, which is the interest of this chapter. The basic components
of an industrial robot are manipulators, drives, end effectors, and control system.
The manipulator is the mechanical unit that provides the trajectory motion so that the end of the
manipulator can reach a point in space with certain orientation. It consists of joints and linkages. A joint allows
relative motion between the input and output links. The joints can be classified as linear or rotating. The
coordinated motion of these joints allows an industrial robot to move, position, and orient an object. For a
general industrial robot, an independent actuator provides the motion of each degree of freedom (DOF) of each
joint. The drives can be electric, pneumatic, or hydraulic.
There are five basic manipulator configurations, as shown in Fig. 58. They are
(a) Cartesian/rectilinear/gantry robot,
(b) cylindrical robot,
(c) polar/spherical robot,
(d) articulated/revolute/jointed robot, and
(e) SCARA (Selective Compliant Assembly Robot Arm).

The end of the manipulator is attached with an end effector to perform the required task on an object.
If a robot manipulator is designed as having a function of the human arm, the end effector is designed having one of
the hand. The location of the end effector for each manipulator configuration in Fig. 58 is marked by the black
surface.

Fig. 58 Anatomies and workspaces of commercial industrial robots

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For machining, the manipulator is to provide the relative motion between the cutting tool and
workpiece. The end effector can be equipped with either a single- point or multipoint cutting tool. If required, a
spindle can be attached on the end effector, as shown in Fig. 59a. Another option is to mount the workpiece on the
end effector, while the cutting tool (on a spindle) is mounted on a worktable, as shown in Fig. 59b.

The control system receives input, either from sensors or programmed codes, and delivers commands to the
actuators to regulate the movement of the robot. Industrial robots can be classified based on the commanded
input.

(a) Sequence robot is the traditional pick-and-place robot, which can be programmed for a specific
sequence of operations. The input only contains a cycle of motion from one location to another that must be
repeated.
(b) Playback robot repeats the motion performed by the user. The user can teach the motion to the robot by
either directly handling its end effector of the robot or using other inputs (e.g., joystick). The control
system records the path and corresponded motion of each joint and then repeats them continuously.
(c) Numerically controlled robot receives user-defined inputs and operates much like a numerically
controlled machine tool.
(d) Intelligent, or sensory, robot utilizes various sensors, such as visual and tactile
sensors, to observe and evaluate its environment based on perception and pattern recognition. The robot makes
decision on the next move in real time based on these inputs.
An important consideration of an industrial robot is the size of its workspace. Workspace is defined
as the space or volume within which a manipulator can position its end-effector. In general, the workspace is
important to determine whether a robot is suitable for certain application. The workspace of different
manipulators is shown in Fig. 58.

Fig. 59 End effector for robotic machining: (a) spindle and tool holding and (b) workpiece holding.

The major drawback of conventions machine tools is their limited workspace. For example, a typical

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three-axis milling machine resembles the Cartesian robot in Fig. 58a, which has a workspace in the shape of
a rectangular prism. This imposes limits on the shape and dimension of the machined workpiece. Other DOFs
must be added to machine tool to enlarge its workspace. On the other hand, industrial robots for machining
generally take a form of articulated robot of Fig. 58d, which also has three DOFs. Not only does this robot have
larger workspace, but also, due to its extensive flexible kinematics (i.e., higher accessibility), it is often capable
of machining parts with intricate details and complex shapes, which would require special fixtures and
techniques to produce using conventional machine tools.
Nonetheless, the biggest shortcoming of industrial robots to carry out machining operations is their
structural flexibility. The links and joints of an industrial robot are much less rigid than those of the conventional
machine tools. Therefore, the accuracy and repeatability of the movements of a robot are inferior to its machine
tool counterpart. This flexibility also results in a low structural natural frequency of the industrial robot, which is
easily excited during typical machining operations and creates large amplitude vibration due to resonance. This
resonant vibration is unwanted because it produces poor surface quality, breaks the cutting tool, and damages
the robot.

Parallel and Hybrid Kinematic Machine Tools

As discussed previously, industrial robots utilize serial kinematic architecture, which is a series of links
or body connected by joints from the base to the end effector. The main advantages of serial mechanism are
its large workspace and simple kinematics. CNC machine tools are also built based on the same architec- tures,
where every additional DOF is mounted on the previous one. The main difference is that CNC machine tools
are built using massive structures and wide bases to ensure rigidity and thus, accuracy at the cutting tool tip.
However, the limitations of this mechanism can no longer be concealed as the trend moves toward high-speed
machining. It is because the heavy structures of the serial mechanism are still susceptible to bending loads and
vibrations when they move at high speed.
In a parallel kinematic architecture, all links (i.e., the struts) are connected to the
fixed base and to the same moving platform, which acts as the end effector. The architecture provides higher
stiffness and lower moving masses, which is an attractive design for demanding tasks such as high-speed machining.
Most existing parallel kinematic machine tools (PKMTs) can be classified into two main categories based on the
joint between the links and ground (or base), as shown in Fig. 60. The one in Fig. 60a has multi-DOF joints and
variable-length struts while the one in Fig. 60b has fixed length struts with gliding joints.
PKMTs have been promoted for several advantages. They have greater load
carrying capacities as the total load can be shared by a number of parallel links. Further, the links can be
lightweight and very stiff to minimize inertia, increase structural rigidity and payload-to-weight ratio, and
improve dynamic performances as higher bandwidth can be achieved. PKMTs are intrinsically more accurate
because the errors reflected at the end effector are the average error of the joints instead of the cumulative error
as in the case of their serial counterparts. The abundant use of multi-DOF (i.e., spherical and universal) joints
in PKMTs ensures that the links experience only compressive or tensile loads, but no shear forces and no bending
nor torsional moments. This reduces the deformation of the platform, even under high loads. Fully/purely PKMTs
have as many degrees of freedom as the number of struts. An example of which is shown in Fig. 61. The
spindle is mounted on the platform, which are moved by three parallel struts. This configuration is widely used
in high-speed drilling or tapping.
Parallel kinematics is also referred as the closed-loop kinematics, while its serial counterpart is called
the open-loop kinematics. Consequently, the kinematic relationships of PKMTs are considerably more complex.
The presence of passive (i.e., no actuator) and multi-DOF (or universal) joints further complicates the
kinematic analysis. Thus, the control and calibration of PKMTs suffer from a heavy computational burden.
PKMTs are also prone to either serial or parallel singularities. Singularities are scenarios in which achieving
a platform trajectory requires extreme values of either joint velocities or joint forces. Serial singularities are
machine configurations where a finite platform velocity requires infinite joint velocities. In these scenarios,
the velocity amplification is null while the force amplification is infinite. Parallel singularities are
configurations where

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Fig. 60 Two categories of parallel kinematic mechanisms

Fig. 61 Purely parallel kinematic machine tool

the platform becomes uncontrollable. In these scenarios, the velocity amplification is very large, while the force
amplification is close to zero. On top of these drawbacks, the PKMTs have irregular workspace and limited
range of motion, particularly the rotational one. This limits the part size and shape that can be machined.
To solve the issues pertaining to the fully PKMTs, hybrid kinematic or serial- parallel kinematic machine tools
are introduced. They combine the fully parallel mechanisms with additional serial mechanism. Figure 62
shows a widely used hybrid configuration for 5-axis milling tools. In this configuration, a two-DOF serial
mechanism is mounted on a parallel mechanism resembling the one shown in Fig. 61.

Reconfigurable Machine Tools

Today’s competitive markets are marked by a trend toward short product life cycle and rapid change in
the customer’s demand for product type and quantity. This requires a rapid response from the manufacturing
system. The earliest manufacturing systems, which are known as the Dedicated Manufacturing Systems (DMS), are
no longer suitable to meet this trend. This is because such systems are built to optimize the manufacturing process
and tools around a specific part or product. Often, such systems produce a single part by operation of several
machine tools at the same time. Consequently, they are economical for high volume and high production rates, but
cannot be converted to handle new products. On the other hand, the flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) use
multipurpose CNC machine tools. These machine tools are able to accommodate a large variety of parts, which
may have not been specified at the design stage. Thus, the systems may produce a wide range of different products
at changeable volume. However, FMS are expensive and handle relatively smaller capacity. Industrial experiences
have also shown that the flexibility of the machines is often underutilized over their life cycle. FMS generally
lack the efficiency and robustness compared to DMS and wasted resources make FMS uneconomical for many
production situations. In summary, DMS have high productivity but low flexibility, while FMS have the opposite

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characteristics, which are low productivity and high flexibility.

Fig. 62 Hybrid kinematic machine tool

The reconfigurable manufacturing system (RMS) is a new concept that bridges the gap between the DMS
and FMS. It is defined as a system “designed at the outset for rapid change in structure, as well as in hardware
and software components, in order to quickly adjust production capacity and function- ality within a part family
in response to sudden changes in market or regulatory requirements.” In other words, this system is designed
to provide just enough flexibility (i.e., functionality) to produce an entire part family and to grow and

Fig. 63 Cylinder head family: (a) V6 and (b) V8

change within the scope of its lifetime to respond to market changes relatively quickly. The aim of RMS is
to achieve “exactly the capacity and functionality needed, exactly when needed.”
While a 3-axis CNC machine can be the basic module for reconfiguration for many manufacturing
systems, the Reconfigurable Machine Tool (RMT) can bring the principle of reconfiguration to the component
level for a manufacturing system.
Consider an example of choosing a machine tool for the finishing milling process of automotive
cylinder head with inclined surfaces. Various parameters in this process, including tooling tolerances and process
parameters, were the same for all inclined surfaces. However, the surfaces to be milled are at different angles with
respect to the horizontal: 30o (for V6 cylinder head) and 45o (for V8 cylinder head), as shown in Fig. 63. A
dedicated machine tool solution would need a customized station for each angle. Thus, considering the product
varieties and changing product demands, one will most likely lean toward the CNC machines. However, a

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commercial CNC machine tool solution would require a 5-axis CNC machine tool with orthogonal kinematics.
As an alternative, one now can consider a reconfigurable solution where the machine tool is capable of 3-axis
kinematics with one additional passive DOF available for reconfiguration depending on the surface inclination.
Figure 64 shows several possible RMT configurations based on a three-DOF kinematics. The first row
shows the pivot-type RMTs in which the axis can be rotated along a certain axis. The second row shows the
arch-type ones in which the spindle can be oriented along an arch. These various machine concepts were
evaluated based on lowest natural frequency and workspace. The pivot-type RMTs had the advantage of having
lower moving mass and, therefore, were stiffer. The lowest natural frequencies obtained for pivot-type RMTs
were higher than those of the different arch-type RMTs. However, the workspace of pivot-type RMTs was
restricted at large reconfiguration angles.

Fig. 64 Various reconfigurable machine tool configurations

Fig. 65 An arch-type reconfigurable machine tool

(ERC/RMS) at the University of Michigan to machine a part family of products with inclined surfaces, which
exist in some automotive engine blocks or cylinder heads. The machine tool has three controlled DOFs along
its column, along the spindle axis and along the table axis. One manually reconfigurable passive motion is the
angular reconfiguration motion of the spindle, which allows reconfiguring the spindle’s angular position into five
predesigned locations, at -15o , 0o , 15o , 30o , and 45o . Thus, this machine can be used on different inclined surfaces.

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The arch-type RMT is a non-orthogonal machine that may have different characteristics at each
configuration of the machine. The machine is designed to drill and mill on an inclined surface in such a way that
the tool is perpendicular to the surface.
There are two main principle of all machining process. The first principle is to provide suitable
relative motions between the cutting tool and the workpiece to produce the characteristic geometry. The second
one is to impart the shape of the cutting tool to the workpiece in order to create part geometry. This chapter
has discussed the commercially available machine tools and machining processes based on these two principles. The
majority of machine tools can be differentiated based on the employed cutting tools. In specific, this chapter has
highlighted the machine drives and control, which are responsible to provide and regulate the necessary motions
of the machine tool components. The development of machine tools has been moving toward increasing
productivity and versatility. This chapter has also discussed a few promising nontraditional machine tools, namely,
industrial robots, parallel and hybrid kinematic machine tools, and reconfigurable machine tools. Each of these
designs has entered today’s manufacturing floor bringing certain superiority as compared to the conventional
machine tools.
Machining and machine tool will always be key components of a manufacturing system. Thus, research
and development in this area will remain relevant and impactful to improve the efficiency, improve the
reliability, and reduce the cost of machine tools and machining processes.

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