Design and experimental study of the SPKM165, a five-axis serial-parallel kinematic milling machine

A five-axis serial-parallel kinematic milling machine, the SPKM 165, is introduced. This machine consists of a three-degree-of-freedom parallel module and a two-degree-of-freedom serial table. The SPKM 165 is capable of five-face machining. A discussion of the inverse kinematics of the five-axis control is provided. A dimensional synthesis procedure is presented in terms of motion/force transmissibility. Finite-element analysis was used to evaluate the stiffness of a CAD model before the machine was manufactured. Kinematic calibration was implemented to improve the accuracy of the end effector. The results of a calibration experiment are presented. The stiffness of the developed machine was then measured. Milling experiments were conducted, and the test piece showed that the developed machine has satisfactory performance.