Vibrations are a normal part of high-speed machining (HSM) operations. After all, you’re dealing with rotational equipment that’s removing material at an incredibly high rate of speed. Usually, the material is removed through a process that involves milling, girding, or cutting, to name a few. Vibrations are going to be expected, especially if the material being removed is from metal or some type of superalloy.
What isn’t expected in HSM operations, and what you want to avoid and correct if discovered, are unusual or abnormal vibrations. The obvious way to discover an unusual or abnormal vibration is through contact during operations. This can be done through contact with the operator, who realizes something doesn’t “feel” right through pulsing or shuddering equipment. Or it can be through contact between the tool and the material that leaves tell-tale signs like damaged tools and substandard products.
According to Fischer Precision Spindles, if any of the above are noticed, the vibration is already causing damage, and the problem needs to be repaired. However, these results may be able to be avoided through the use of vibration analysis. This predictive tool can perform preventive and corrective maintenance by identifying abnormal vibrations before they become larger problems that lead to severely damaged equipment and products.
Vibration Analysis in a Nutshell
As we mentioned, vibration analysis is a predictive tool. In other words, it’s a monitoring system that examines the frequency and amplitude of a spindle’s vibrations during operations. The analysis it provides can display an expected range of acceptable vibrations compared to real-time data.
Anything a vibration analysis shows that may be considered out of range may be an early indication of a problem with spindle imbalances, misalignments, or potential bearing issues. These indicators can help operators determine if an inspection and repair is warranted, even if it means shutting down operations in the short term.
The process of vibration analysis is straightforward and involves:
- Equipment Monitoring
- Data Collection
- Vibration Analysis
- Irregularity Identification
- Diagnostic and Corrective Actions
Problem Detection
No HSM operation wants to lose valuable production time due to machine repairs. Repairs usually mean:
- Downtime for your equipment and workforce
- Increased cost due to repairs and rework
- Increased cost due to loss of production and playing “catch up”
None of the above is pleasant. However, another alternative is to suffer a major equipment failure that leads to catastrophic damage and potential long-term problems for your operations.
As a result, catching potential problems with your spindles as early as possible is critical to minimizing downtime, increased costs, and loss of equipment. The shorter and more minimal the repairs to your spindles, the better.
Even better is if, through vibration analysis, you can effectively predict a potential problem before it ever causes a serious issue. At this point, it becomes a planned repair rather than an emergent one, and you can prevent major problems that can dramatically impact your operations.
Reduced Equipment Costs
By utilizing vibration analysis, you’ll also be able to reduce your long-term equipment costs and maximize your return on investment. Again, this is achieved by detecting potential problems early. This saves time and money on repair parts and extends the lifespan of your spindles and machines. Abnormal wear and tear can be reduced while improving equipment efficiency and reliability.
Predictive and planned maintenance also allows for better planning, ensuring proper repair parts are stocked in advance to maintain both production and maintenance schedules without impacting product delivery to customers.
Efficient Production Rates
Vibration analysis and equipment monitoring allow operations to run their machines at high speeds without sacrificing time and effort to needless repair work. Production rates are maintained by employing a predictive and planned maintenance program, and their efficiency is increased. This is achieved through optimizing the production schedule with planned equipment downtime that doesn’t interfere with normal operations.
This type of planning also ensures worn tools or damaged spindles don’t negatively impact final products. Instead, damaged equipment is minimized, ensuring the final quality of the manufactured products is never impacted, and rework is avoided.
Improved Safety
High-speed machines are designed to work hard. High-speed machines that work hard mean they also rotate at a high rate. High-speed machines that suffer damage, especially while operating, can lead to major equipment damage. This can also have a serious impact on the safety of the workforce.
Any manufacturing operation is an inherently dangerous work environment if safety isn’t treated with the utmost respect and seriousness. The goal of any safety program, of course, is to reduce the potential for harm to the workforce wherever and whenever possible. One way of doing this is to ensure the equipment is maintained in the safest condition possible. Another way is to make the appropriate repairs to restore those safety conditions.
Vibration analysis not only allows for the early detection of problems or potential damage to spindles, but it also ensures that such issues are corrected in a way that doesn’t lead to incidents that negatively affect the workforce. By correcting the problem early, safety problems are avoided before they ever become a real issue.
In Conclusion
High-speed machining involves using high-speed spindles to remove material at rapid speeds. This means there will be vibrations throughout the equipment, especially concerning spindle operations. This is normal.
What isn’t normal is irregular and abnormal vibrations. These vibrations can indicate potential or existing damage to a spindle or other components of a machine. Whatever the case, these vibrations can eventually lead to equipment failure, product damage, safety issues, and increased costs due to repairs and downtime.
By using vibration analysis, high-speed machining operations can detect spindle problems early, reduce repair costs, increase equipment service life, improve efficiency, and improve safety. This can all be done while minimizing downtime or sacrificing precision, accuracy, and quality.
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