Suppression of thermal deformation of machine tool spindle using TiC-Fe composite

The minimization of error generation in machine tool spindle is important because high-speed and ultra-precision machining are extensively utilized in industrial fields. The thermal deformation of the machine tool spindle generated by the frictional heat between the outer and inner bearings can deteriorate the machining accuracy. In this study, a TiC-SUS431 composite was fabricated using the liquid pressing infiltration method to suppress thermal deformation, and its thermal properties were obtained by thermal characteristic tests. For the transient thermal analysis with finite element analysis, the parameters of the machine tool spindle-bearing model were selected, and the boundary conditions were calculated. The temperature and thermal deformation of the analysis model were compared by applying SCM415 and TiC-SUS431 to the material of the machine tool spindle and changing the rotation speed. From the analysis results, it was demonstrated that the TiC-SUS431 machine tool spindle can improve the machining accuracy by minimizing the spindle thermal deformation.