A High Performance CNC Machine for Grinding Camshaft Profiles

G. N. Portas and D. R. Perkins, Cranfield Institute of Technology - Submitted by J. R . Crookall (1)

T r a d i t i o n a l l y t h e p r o d u c t i o n g r i n d i n g o f c a m s h a f t q r o f j l e s h a s been m e c h a n i c a l l y c o p y i n g from a m a s t e r
campack. T h i s h a s t h e d i s a d v a n t a g e of c o s t and l e a d t i n e t o m a n u f a c t u r e t h e m a s t e r cam and ? l a c e s re-
s t r i c t i o n s 3n a c c u r a c y and p r o d u c t i o n r a t e . E x i s t i n g c o m n e r c i a l l y a v a i l a b l e CNC machines f o r cam g r i n d -
i n g o r e v e r s a t i l e j n o p e r a t i o n b u t o p e r a t e a t v e r y iow p r o d u c t i o n r a t e s . The p a p e r d e s c r i b e s t h e
r e s e a r c h , d e s i g n and development f o l l o w i n g t h e e a r l y r e s e a r c h d e s c r i b e d i n YcKeown and D i n s d a i e ' s p a p e r
on t h i s s u b j e c t (CIRP Annals 1'01. 2 3 / 1 / 1 9 7 4 pp 1 1 5 and 1161. A new h i g h n e r f o r m a n c e machine t o g r i n d
c a m s h a f t 7 r o f i l e s u n d e r CSC c o n t r o l a t economic p r o d u c t i o n r a t e s and enhanced a c c u r a c y h a s now been
b r o u g h t t o commercial f r u i t i o n . F e a t u r e s d e s c r i b e d i n c l u d e : h i g h p e r f o r m a n c e s e r v o d r i v e wheel i n -
f e e d s y s t e n , v a r i a b l e w o r k s p i n d l e r o t a t i o n s?eed t o m a i n t a i n u n i f o r m s u r f a c e c u t t i n g s p e e d c o n d i t i o n s ,
s o f t w a r e compensation f o r x h e e l r a d i u s c h a n g e s , d i r e c t d a t a i n n u t from l i f t f i g u r e s , and g e n e r a t i o n of
m a s t e r camnacks w i t h o u t n e e d f o r a d d i t i o n a l d a t a i n v u t . R e s u l t s from o r o t o t y q e machines show t h a t con-
s i s t e n t l y a c c u r a t e z a m s h a f t s can b e nrnduced w i t h e x c e l l e n t s u r f a c e f i n i s h a t c o r n - e t i t i v e o r o d u c t i o n
rates.

The t r a d i t i o n a l method f o r t h e p r o d u c t i o n g r i n d i n g of The workhead s p i n d l e

c a m s h a f t p r o f i l e s r e l i e s on t h e u s e of a m a s t e r cam-
pack which i s m e c h a n i c a l l y c o a i e d . T h i s method h a s
a number of s e r i o u s l i m i t a t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g :
The need t o g e n e r a t e an e x p e n s i v e , a c c u r a t e
m a s t e r campack f o r e a c h new p r o f i l e t o b e p r o -
duced.
The ilorkhead s _ n i n d l e i s s u p n o r t e d on h i g h p r e c i s i o n
? r e - l o a d e d a n y l a r c o n t a c t b e a r i n g s and i s d r i v e n w i t h
a d i r e c t d r i v e DC t o r q u e motor w i t h a s p e e d r a n g e o f
0 - 600 r y m . The workhead a n g l e i s c o n t i n u o u s l y
measured u s i n g a r a d i a l Moird f r i n g e g r a t i n g s y s t e m
x i t h a r e s o l u t i o n of 0 . 0 1 degrees.

The dynamic e r r o r s i n t h e m a s t e r camnack f o l l o w - The workhead s p e e d i s v a r i e d w i t h i n one r e v o l u t i o n i n

i n g mechanism a r e r e p r o d u c e d i n t h e w o r k o i e c e .
The a c c u r a c y o f t.ie ?reduced p r o f i l e i s depen-
d e n r on t h e s i z e <I f g r i n d i n g w h e e l , i . e . t h e
m a s t e r campack o n l y p r o d u c e s t h e t h e o r e t i c a l l y
c o r r e c t form f o r one p a r t i c u l a r v a l u e o f g r i n d i n g
wheel d i a m e t e r .
o r d e r t o k e e p t h e m e t a l removal r a t e c o n s t a n t . The
b a s e c i r c l e and n o s e o f e a c h cam l o b e a r e ground a t
a h i g h workhead speed and t h e r i s i n g and f a l l i n n
f l a n k s a t a reduced speed. These s p e e d v a r i a t i o n s
a r e c a l c u l a t e d i n t h e c o n t r o l s y s t e m comnuter i n r e a l
t i m e a c c o r d i n g t o t h e cam y e o n e t r y and t h e l o b e
?hasing angle.

The g r i n d i n g wheel h a s l i m i t e d l i f e due t o The wheelhead c a r r i a g e

a c c u r a c y dependence on s i z e .
The set-uir t i m e f o r a new p r o f i l e i s v e r y l o n g .
The m e t a l removal r a t e v a r l e s by a f a c t o r of
500:l round a t y p i c a l p r o f i l e due to t h e geometry
o f t h e wheel-to-work i n t e r f a c e .
The d i r e c t g r i n d i n g o f c a m s h a f t s u s i n g a CNC machine
e l i m i n a t e s all of t h e s e Droblems. Such a machine c a n
o n l y b e r e a l i z e d by a s y s t e m t h a t can c a r r y o u t d a t a
p r o c e s s i n g on t h e c a m s h a f t p r o f i l e a t a v e r y h i g h r a t e
d u r i n g t h e g r i n d i n g p r o c e s s and can c o n t r o l t h e
machine a x e s t o q e n e r a t e t h e c o r r e c t 9 r o f i l e a t h i g h
speeds with zero following e r r o r .
N o s t a n d a r d CNC s y s t e m c u r r e n t l y a v a i l a b l e m e e t s
e i t h e r of t h e s e requirements, b u t t h e C r a n f i e l d Unit
f o r ? r e c i s i o n E n g i n e e r i n g h a s d e v e l o ? e d such a s y s t e m
which h a s been a n p l i e d t o a ?reduction and p r o t o t y p e
c a m s h a f t and m a s t e r campack g r i n d i n g machine. A new
machine ? r o d u c t h a s been d e v e l o p e d i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h
a l e a d i n g UK g r i n d i n g machine m a n u f a c t u r e r and i s now
i n f u l l series ?reduction.
The s y s t e m u s e s advanced CNC t e c h n i q u e s t o e l i m i n a t e
t h e p h y s i c a l m a s t e r cam and c o p y i n g hardware. The
r e q u i r e d form i s now g e n e r a t e d by t h e CNC s y s t e m from
i d e a l cam form d a t a q e n e r a t e d by a CAD s y s t e m . Advan-
t a g e s of t h i s approach i n c l u d e :
Removal o f t h e need t o m a n u f a c t u r e an a c c u r a t e
m a s t e r cam and t h e c o n s e q u e n t l e a d t i m e when
p r o d u c i n g a p r o t o t p e b a t c h of a new cam d e s i g n .
Elimination of following e r r o r s associated with
t h e m a s t e r cam.
A u t o m a t i c compensation o f component s i z e and form
c a u s e d by d i m i n i s h i n g wheel s i z e d u r i n g t h e
g r i n d i n g and d r e s s i n q n r o c e s s .
The p r o v i s i o n o f a u t o m a t i c c o m ? u t a t i o n o f s u r f a c e
s p e e d v a r i a t i o n s and hence t h e u s e o f v a r i a b l e
work r o t a t i o n s p e e d t o p r o d u c e more c o n s t a n t
surface soeed. T h i s f e a t u r e is o a t e n t e d .
A b l o c k d i a g r a m o f t h e machine i s shown i n F i g . 1.
The machine c o n s i s t s o f t h r e e s e r v o c o n t r o l l e d m o t i o n s
namely t h e workload r o t a t i o n , t h e wheel i n f e e d s y s t e m
and t h e t a b l e t r a v e r s e s y s t e m .
'The g r i n d i n g wheel s p i n d l e and d r i v e motor a r e mounted
on a c a r r i a g e which h a s h y d r o s t a t i c b e a r i n g s a n d i s
a c t u a t e d by a b a l l s c r e w d r i v e n by a d i r e c t d r i v e
t o r q u e motor. The wheelhead c a r r i a g e ? o s i t i o n i s
c o n t i n u o u s l y measured u s i n g a l i n e a r :doirk f r i n g e
g r a t i n q s y s t e m w i t h a r e s o l u t i o n of 0 . 5 I'm.
The s e r v o s y s t e m h a s a v e r y wide bandwidth ( 2 9 0 Hz)
and employs s p e c i a l h a r d w a r e / s o f t w a r e t e c h n i q u e s t o
e n a b l e t h e c a r r i a g e t o f o l l o w t h e computer g e n e r a t e d
master p r o f i l e x i t h f o l l o w i n g e r r o r s i n t h e sub-micron
region.
The t a b l e t r a v e r s e
T h i s motion i s a s i m p l e ? o s i t i o n c o n t r o l l e d c a r r i a g e
which s e r v e s t o i n d e x t h e c a m s h a f t a l o n g t o b r i n g
e a c h l o b e a d j a c e n t t o t h e g r i n d i n g wheel i n t u r n .
The c o n t r o l s y s t e m
The c o n t r o l s y s t e m i s b a s e d on a 16 b i t h i g h s p e e d
mini-computer. 16 b i t m i c r o p r o c e s s o r s a r e now
a v a i l a b l e w i t h adequate performance f o r t h i s type of
system.
The m a s t e r cam h a s been r e p l a c e d by a t a b l e o f t h e o r e -
t i c a l l i f t s and a n g l e s which may b e s u p p l i e d on mag-
n e t i c t a p e o r d i s c and l o a d e d i n t o t h e computer
memory. Data on 1 0 t y p i c a l comuonents c a n b e s t o r e d
a t any one t i m e . when a component i s t o be g r o u n d ,
the t h e o r e t i c a l data is converted to a t a b l e of l i f t s
and a n g l e s r e q u i r e d t o g e n e r a t e t h e form a c c u r a t e l y
w i t h t h e c u r r e n t wheel r a d i u s . When t h e wheel i s
d r e s s e d a n d i t s r a d i u s i s t h e r e f o r e changed, t h i s
t a b l e i s r e c a l c u l a t e d u s i n g t h e new v a l u e f o r wheel
radius. The machine t h e r e f o r e g e n e r a t e s a c c u r a t e
p r o f i l e s w h a t e v e r t h e s i z e of t h e wheel. The com-
p u t e r also c a l c u l a t e s t h e c o r r e c t i n s t a n t a n e o u s m e e d
f o r t h e workhead s p i n d l e t h a t w i l l g i v e a v p r o x i m a t e l y
c o n s t a n t m e t a l removal r a t e c o n d i t i o n s , and t h i s
s p e e d p r o f i l e i s o u t p u t t o t h e workhead s p i n d l e s e r v o
system.
S i g n a l s g e n e r a t e d from t h e workhead a n g u l a r g r a t i n g
measurement s y s t e m c a u s e computer i n t e r r u p t s a t
r e l a t e d a n g u l a r i n c r e m e n t s ( e . g . 1 d e g r e e ) and t h e
computer t h e n c a l c u l a t e s a n d o u t p u t s t h e c o r r e s p o n d -
i n g demand t o t h e wheel s e r v o .
With t h e e x c e p t i o n o f t h e c o m p u t e r , t h e c o n t r o l
system is c o n s t r u c t e d almost e n t i r e l y o f s t a n d a r d
C U P E e l e c t r o n i c modules which a r e uroven u n i t s
a l r e a d y a ? p l i e d t o a wide r a n g e of n r o d u c t i o n and
i n s p e c t i o n machinery.

Annals of the CIRP Vol. 32/1/1983 331

System s o f t w a r e h a s been d e v e l o v e d t o n r o c e s s t h e cam
d a t a , c o n t r o l t h e main s e r v o d r i v e s and s u b s i d i a r y
machine f a c i l i t i e s and o r o v i d e an e a s i l y l e a r n e d u s e r
i n t e r f a c e t h r o u g h a keyboard t o p e r m i t e n t r y of s e t -
u!) d a t a and, i f r e q u i r e d , d i r e c t e n t r y i e d i t i n n 0 5 cam
data.

Machine
- structure

The main machine bed i s c o n s t r u c t e d u s i n g a s y n t h e t i c

g r a n i t e m a t e r i a l , G r a n i t a n SIOO. F i g 2 i s a p h o t o g r a p h
of t h e main bed showing t h e s t r u c t u r e complete x i t h
guideways v h i c h have been r e - i l i c a t e d from an a c c u r a t e -
l y machined rnould t o o l .

The a d v a n t a g e s of u s i n g S y n t h e t i c g r a n i t e i n c l u d e a
v e r y h i g h s t i f f n e s s o b t a i n e d by t h e use of a c l o s e d
box t y p e s t r u c t u r e , and a v e r y h i g h i n t e r n a l d a n n i n g
due t o t h e m a t e r i a l n r o o e r t i e s .

The dampin9 c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a r e p a r t i c u l a r l y advan-

t a g e o u s i n a g r i n d i n g machine a p p l i c a t i o n , a s t h e y
a s s i s t w i t h t h e s u ? p r e s s i o n of machine i n d u c e d v i b r a -
t i o n s which i n t u r n g i v e s a g r e a t l y improved s u r f a c e
finish.

In s e r i e s p r o d u c t i o n , t h e s y n t h e t i c g r a n i t e b e d s a r e
a p p r o x i m a t e l y 4 0 % c h e a p e r t h a n c a s t i r o n b e d s , due t o
t h e e l i m i n a t i o n of t h e h e a t t r e a t m e n t c y c l e s for
stress r e l i e f and t h e manual machining n r o c e s s e s , a s
a f i n i s h e d bed can b e g r o d u c e d w i t h o u t t h e need f o r
slideway grinding.

_-Resu 1 t s
F i g . 3 i s a ?hotogra?h of one o f t h e com:>leted
machines. I t can c o n s i s t e n t l y g r i n d cam p r o f i l e s
t o w i t h i n 2 2 . 5 pm of t h e o r e t i c a l n r o f i l e s a t r a t e s
of 9 0 s e c o n d s p e r l o b e .
The machine can produce model cams a n d , w i t h o u t t h e
n e c e s s i t y f o r f u r t h e r d a t a i n p u t , w i l l produce master
cam?ncks f o r e x i s t i n g c o p y i n g t y p e machines t o a much
h i g h e r d e g r e e of a c c u r a c y t h a n was p r e v i o u s l y p o s s i b l e .
S u r f a c e f i n i s h , which is a n o t e n t i a l problem i n CNC
c o n t o u r g r i n d i n g machines, i s e q u a l t o t h a t obt ai ned
u n d e r optimum c o n d i t i o n s on c o n v e n t i o n a l q r i n d e r s .

The mdchine is now i n s e r i e s n r o d u c t i o n .

i-"
C.N.C . CAM GRINDING MACHINE
FINISHED 'R AND '0'
INFORMATION

OPTICAL GRATING

OPTICAL GRATING
ROTARY
TRANSDUCER

-&GRINDING WHEEL

FIGURE 1 PAZL21 G N P
9 3 83

332
FIGURE 2: SYNTHETIC GRANITE BED

FIGURE 3: FINISHED MACHINE

333