Machine Toolspindleunits

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CIRP-595; No. of Pages 22
CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx
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CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology

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Machine tool spindle units

E. Abele (2)a,*, Y. Altintas (1)b, C. Brecher (2)c
a
Institute of Production Management, Technology and Machine Tools (PTW), Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany
b
Manufacturing Automation Laboratory, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
c
Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering (WZL), RWTH Aachen, Germany
A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T
Keywords: This paper presents the state-of-the-art in machine tool main spindle units with focus on motorized
Spindle
spindle units for high speed and high performance cutting. Detailed information is given about the main
Mechatronic
components of spindle units regarding historical development, recent challenges and future trends. An
Machine tools
overview of recent research projects in spindle development is given. Advanced methods of modeling the
thermal and dynamical behavior of spindle units are shown in overview with specific results.
Furthermore concepts for sensor and actuator integration are presented which all focus on increasing
productivity and reliability.
ß 2010 CIRP.
1. Introduction systems (motors and converters) have allowed the construction of

direct drive motor spindles which currently fulfill a wide range of
Machine tool spindles basically fulfill two tasks: requirements. A historical review of spindle technology is given in
Fig. 1.
rotate the tools (drilling, milling and grinding) or work piece
(turning) precisely in space 1.2. Principal setup
transmit the required energy to the cutting zone for metal
removal Today, the overwhelming majority of machine tools are
equipped with motorized spindles. Unlike externally driven
Obviously spindles have a strong influence on metal removal spindles, the motorized spindles do not require mechanical
rates and quality of the machined parts. This paper reviews the transmission elements like gears and couplings. A motor spindle
current state and presents research challenges of spindle mainly consists of the elements shown in Fig. 2.
technology. The spindles have at least two sets of mainly ball bearing
systems. The bearing system is the component with the greatest
1.1. Historical review influence on the lifetime of a spindle. Most commonly the motor is
arranged between the two bearing systems.
Classically, main spindles were driven by belts or gears and the Due to high ratio of ‘power to volume’ active cooling is often
rotational speeds could only be varied by changing either the required, which is generally implemented through water based
transmission ratio or the number of driven poles by electrical cooling. The coolant flows through a cooling sleeve around the
switches. stator of the motor and often the outer bearing rings.
Later simple electrical or hydraulic controllers were developed Seals at the tool end of the spindle prevent the intrusion of chips
and the rotational speed of the spindle could be changed by means and cutting fluid. Often this is done with purge air and a labyrinth
of infinitely adjustable rotating transformers (Ward Leonard seal.
system of motor control). A standardized tool interface such as HSK and SK is placed at the
The need for increased productivity led to higher speed spindles front end. A clamping system is used for fast automatic
machining requirements which led to the development of new tool changes. Ideally, an unclamping unit (drawbar) which can also
bearings, power electronics and inverter systems. The progress in monitor the clamping force is needed for reliable machining. If
the field of the power electronics (static frequency converter) led to cutting fluid has to be transmitted through the tool to the cutter,
the development of compact drives with low-cost maintenance adequate channels and a rotary union become required features of
using high frequency three-phase asynchronous motors. the clamping system.
Through the early 1980’s high spindle speeds were achievable Today, nearly every spindle is equipped with sensors
only by using active magnetic bearings. Continuous developments for monitoring the motor temperature (thermistors or thermo-
in bearings, lubrication, the rolling element materials and drive couples) and the position of the clamping system. Additional
sensors for monitoring the bearings, the drive and the process
stability can be attached, but are not common in many industrial
* Corresponding author. applications.
0007-8506/$ – see front matter ß 2010 CIRP.

doi:10.1016/j.cirp.2010.05.002
Please cite this article in press as: Abele E, et al. Machine tool spindle units. CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology (2010),
doi:10.1016/j.cirp.2010.05.002
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2 E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx
Fig. 1. Historical review.
Fig. 4. Spindles available on the market [PTW].
Fig. 2. Sectional view of a motor spindle [courtesy: GMN].
Fig. 5. Main trends in industry on spindle development.

The focus of this paper is the spindle technology. To clearly limit
the topics of this paper the chosen system boundaries are
illustrated in Fig. 3. Particular attention was paid to the increase of the reliable
reachable rotational speeds in the past. However, the focus has
1.3. State of the art changed towards higher torque at speeds up to 15,000 rpm.
Because of Increased requirements in reliability, life-cycle and
Current spindle manufacturers offer wide variety of spindle predictable maintenance the ‘condition monitoring’ systems in
solutions for the application areas shown in Fig. 4. motor spindles have become more important. Periodic and/or
Spindles with high power and high speeds are mainly continuous observation of the spindle status parameters is
developed for the machining of large aluminum frames in the allowing detection of wear, overheating and imminent failures.
aerospace industry. Spindles with extremely high speeds and low Understanding the life cycle cost (LCC) of the spindles has
power are used in electronics industry for drilling printed circuit steadily gained importance in predicting their service period with
boards (PCB). maintenance, failure and operational costs.
1.4. Actual development areas in industry 2. Fields of application and specific demands
Current developments in motor spindle industrial application Spindles are developed and manufactured for a wide range of
focus on motor technology, improving total cost of ownership machine tool applications with a common goal of maximizing the
(TCO) and condition monitoring for predictive maintenance (see metal removal rates and part machining accuracy. Fig. 6 gives an
Fig. 5). Another central issue is the development of drive systems overview regarding the application areas, material grades and the
which neutralize the existing constraints of power and output resultant requirements concerning rotational speed, power, torque
frequency while reducing the heating of the spindle shaft. and accuracy.
The work materials range from easy to machine materials like
aluminum at high speeds with high power spindles, to nickel and
Fig. 3. Overview of the spindle system and its integration into the machine tool. Fig. 6. Application areas and branches.
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E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx 3
titanium alloys which require spindles having high torque and

stiffness at low speeds. Cutting work materials with abrasive
carbon or fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) content need good seals at
the spindle front end.
Spindles for drilling printed circuit boards operate in the
angular speed range of 100,000 to 300,000 rpm. The increase in
productivity and speed in this application field over the last few
years was possible with the development of precision air bearings.
Spindles used in die and mould machining have to fulfill the
roughing operations (high performance cutting, HPC) at high feed
rates as well as the finishing processes (high-speed cutting, HSC) at
high cutting speeds. Depending on the strategy and the machinery
of the mould and die shop either two different machine tools
equipped with two different spindles are used or one machine is Fig. 7. Flowchart of spindle analysis.
equipped with a spindle changing unit. Another possibility is to use
a spindle which can fulfill both, HSC and HPC conditions, but this
still remains a compromise regarding overall productivity. machining application. The objective of cutting maximum material
Aerospace spindles are defined by high power as well as high at the desired speed without damaging the bearings and spindle is
rotational speeds. Today’s spindles allow a material removal rate the main goal of spindle design while maintaining all other quality
(MRR) of more than 10 l of aluminum per minute. and performance metrics, e.g. accuracy and reliability.
Grinding is a finishing operation where high accuracy is
necessary, which requires stiff spindles with bearings having 3.1. Experimental modeling
minimum runout. The present internal cylindrical grinding
spindles have a runout requirement of less than 1 mm. The dynamic behavior of an existing spindle is most quickly
Spindle units which are used mainly for boring and drilling obtained by measuring its frequency response function (FRF)
operations require high axial stiffness, which is achieved by using between force and displacement at the tool tip. The measured FRF
angular contact bearings with high contact angles. On the contrary, can be curve fitted to estimate the natural frequencies, damping
high-speed milling operations use spindles with bearings having ratios and stiffness values at a range of frequency where the
small contact angles in order to reduce the dependency of radial spindle structure may cause vibrations during machining. The
stiffness on the centrifugal forces. experimental measurement of FRFs is practical to assess the
Contemporary machining centers tend to have multi functions dynamic stiffness and identify chatter free cutting conditions in
where milling, drilling, grinding and sometimes honing operations process planning of part machining operations. However, the
can be realized on the same work piece. The bottleneck for the following difficulties need to be kept in mind:
enhancement of the multi-technology machines is still the spindle,
which cannot satisfy all the machining operations with the same only a small part of the rotating shaft is accessible for testing,
degree of performance. Reconfigurable and modular machine tools hence modeling of entire spindle is not possible
require interchangeable spindles with standardized mechanical, operational speed and temperature mainly influence the
hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical interfaces. eigenvalues, but the measurement of FRFs when the spindle
rotates is quit difficult
3. Spindle analysis curve fitting or other methods to extract parameters out of the
measured input and output data does not always lead to accurate
The aim of modeling and analysis of spindle units is to simulate identification of the spindle’s dynamic parameters.
the performance of the spindle and optimize its dimensions during
the design stage in order to achieve maximum dynamic stiffness Traditionally, the FRF is measured by exciting the spindle at the
and increased material removal rate with minimal dimensions and tool tip by impact hammers or shakers manually. There have been
power consumption. Modeling of the cutting process and the several attempts to measure the FRFs automatically. The authors in
prediction of chatter stability can be found in previous key note [20] use a piezo actuator connected in series with a force
articles [10] and are not covered in this article. The mechanical part measurement sensor and a displacement sensor to estimate the
of the spindle assembly consists of hollow spindle shaft mounted FRF at tool tip at standstill. The authors in [2,121] use an
to a housing with bearings. Angular contact ball bearings are most electromagnetic actuator to excite the shaft and measure the
commonly used in high-speed spindles due to their low-friction displacement with a non-contact probe at various rotating speeds.
properties and ability to withstand external loads in both axial and Various authors use an impact hammer for exciting the shaft. This
radial directions. The spindle shaft is modeled by beam, brick or type of excitation is also used for hitting the rotating shaft under
pipe elements in finite element environment. The bearing stiffness high speeds as presented in [80]. In this work a special mechanism
is modeled as a function of ball bearing contact angle, preload was designed to hit the shaft with the impact hammer under
caused by the external load or thermal expansion of the spindle repeatable conditions.
during operation. The equation of motion is derived in matrix form The measured data can also be used to verify or update the
by including gyroscopic and centrifugal effects, and solved to results from theoretical models especially to adjust damping
obtain natural frequencies, vibration mode shapes and frequency coefficients as shown in [87]. Direct methods to achieve parametric
response function at the tool attached to the spindle. If the bearing models for further simulations are an issue of system identification
stiffness is dependent on the speed, or if the spindle needs to be and cause problems like selecting the order of the model, models
simulated under cutting loads, the numerical methods are used to without minimum phase and stability issues [123].
predict the vibrations along the spindle axis as well as contact
loads on the bearings. The model allows the simulation of 3.2. Theoretical modeling
interaction between the cutting process and spindle structure
(Fig. 7). Theoretical models are based on physical laws, and used to
Spindle simulation models allow for the optimization of spindle predict and improve the performance of spindles during the design
design parameters either to achieve maximum dynamic stiffness at stage. The models provide mathematical relation between the
all speeds for general operation, or to reach maximum axial depth inputs F (force, speed) and the outputs q (deflections, bearing
of cut at the specified speed with a designated cutter for a specific loads, and temperature). The mathematical models can be
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expressed in state space forms or by a set of ordinary differential

equations. In both cases linear or nonlinear behavior of the
spindles can be modeled.
3.2.1. Mechanical modeling of shaft and housing

Finite element (FE) methods are most commonly used to model
structural mechanics and dynamics of the spindles. The method is
based on discretization of the structure at finite element locations
by partial derivative differential equations. The analysis belongs to
the class of rotor-dynamic studies where the axis-symmetric shaft
is usually modeled by beam elements, which lead to construction
of mass (Me) and stiffness (Ke) matrices.
Timoshenko beam element is most commonly used because it Fig. 9. Comparisons of experimentally determined tool-tip FRF and simulated FRF
considers the bending, rotary inertia and shear effects, hence leads [7].
to improved prediction of natural frequencies and mode shapes

[165] of the spindle and was applied by the authors [48,128, [47,99] describe this term as spin-softening effect. The skew
156,161,177]. The element PIPE16 of the commonly known FEA symmetric matrix CV in case of rotating reference frame carries the
software ANSYS is also an implementation of the Timoshenko damping of the rotating parts and in the other case carries the
theory and use the mass matrix from [178] and stiffness matrix damping of the non-rotating parts.
from [120]. One way to match the model to the physical system is to solve
As an example in the finite element model in Fig. 8, the black the eigenvalue problem of the undamped system and then fit the
dots represent nodes, and each node has three Cartesian analytical solution to the experimental data by adding empirical
translational displacements and two rotations [7]. The pulley is modal damping ratios [87] and/or by changing geometrical
modeled as a rigid disk, the bearing spacer as a bar element, and parameters to match the natural frequencies which result from
the nut and sleeve as a lumped mass. The spindle in this case has experimental measurements described in the previous section
two front bearings in tandem and three bearings in tandem at the [7,99]. Therefore the system can be rewritten in state space
rear. The five bearings are in overall back-to-back configuration. notation and transformed to a Jordan canonical form.
The tool is assumed to be rigidly connected to the tool holder Fig. 9 shows the result of the modeled FRF at tool tip as
which is fixed to the spindle shaft rigidly or through springs with compared with the experimentally measured FRFs for the spindle
stiffness in both directions translation and rotation. The flexibility given in Fig. 10. The closeness of the experimentally measured and
of the spindle mounting has to be reflected in the model of the simulated FRFs determine the accuracy of the theoretical models in
spindle-machine system. Springs are also used between the analyzing the spindle behavior during the design stage. Several
spindle housing and spindle head, whose stiffness is obtained researchers have developed FE packages dedicated to the virtual
from experience. design and performance analysis of spindles [26,7,27].
2
M q̈ þ ðC VGÞq̇ þ ðK V M V þ VC V Þq ¼ F
3.2.2. Mechanical modeling of tool–spindle interfaces
The vector q is the generalized displacement vector which The FRF at tool tip is important for stability predictions of the
includes the movement of all nodes in the chosen degrees of machine tool. The flexibility of the assembly/interface tool-holder
freedom. The reference frame of the vector q can be fixed to the and spindle usually dominates the dynamics of the spindle. Due to
rotating shaft of the spindle or be an inertial frame fixed to space. the large number of spindle, holder, and tool combinations that
The symmetric matrices M and K are assembled out of the single may be available in a particular production facility, the required
element matrices Me and Ke as described in detail in [49]. These testing time for experimental modeling can be significant. There
matrices are independent of the chosen reference frame. The are approaches to model the shaft and housing with finite element
stiffness matrix KB of the bearing support is also added in K. The theory as mentioned above and to couple different tool holder and
symmetric matrix C is also independent of the chosen reference tools. Ertürk et al. [41,42,108] use a receptance coupling and
frame and contains structural damping of the shaft (rotating) and structural modification method to connect the tool-holder to the
the damping of the housing (non-rotating). The skew symmetric spindle shaft. Schmitz et al. [135] presents a receptance coupling
matrix G is often named as gyroscopic matrix but in fact only substructure analysis method for modeling a shrink fit tool holder.
includes the case of inertial reference frame for pure gyroscopic This work considers distributed springs and dampers between the
effects. In the case of rotating reference frame, the matrix G also tool and holder along the interference contact surface. In difference
includes the coriolis acceleration coupling terms which are to that the conventional modeling uses one concentrated spring
proportional to the mass as shown in [99]. The term V2MV only damper element between the portions of the tool inside and
exists in the rotating reference frame and adds centrifugal forces to outside the holder.
the system. The matrix MV is symmetric and positive definite and
so reduces the stiffness of the system. Therefore the authors in 3.3. Modeling of angular contact ball bearings
Angular contact ball bearings (Fig. 11) are commonly used in

high-speed spindles. The bearings require preloading to prevent
skidding in order to maintain rotational accuracy and sufficient
Fig. 8. The finite element model of the spindle-bearing-machine-tool system from

Fig. 10 [7]. Fig. 10. Example of a spindle sketch for modeling [7].
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Fig. 11. Geometry of an angular contact ball bearing [27].
stiffness in both the radial and axial directions to support the basic
operational requirements. Basically, there are two types of bearing
Fig. 12. Radial stiffness changing with cutting forces for spindle-bearing-system
preloads: rigid preload and constant preload (see Fig. 22). Fig. 10 [25].
Modeling of the bearing support of the spindle shaft is
important in predicting the spindle’s structural deformations
during machining. The bearing parameters can vary during the [25,2,99,121]. Fig. 13 shows one result of experimental measure-
operation, which in turn affect the stiffness. For example relative ments of the dynamic behavior of a motorized spindle over a range
displacement of raceways curvature centers, relative speed of speed.
between inner and outer ring, axial and radial load, temperature
difference between inner and outer rings and contact angles may 3.3.1. Thermal modeling of motorized spindle units
vary during cutting. Limits of a spindle’s speed, reliability and performance are
The basic equations to evaluate the tangential stiffness matrix usually constrained by properties of its bearings, which are
KB for each bearing under working conditions are based on the affected by the uneven thermal expansion of spindle parts and
models proposed by Jones [76] and De Mul et al. [33]. The theory of degraded condition of lubricants due to high temperature [22].
contact between balls and rings was based on Hertz [61]. The The product of mean bearing diameter Dm [mm] and the speed n
effects of cutting loads [25,78], frictional moments [112,157] and [rpm] called the specific speed coefficient is commonly used for the
thermal deformations [63,95] have been incorporated to the estimation of limiting speed of rolling bearings. When the product
classical bearing models by spindle researchers [64,81,25,100, Dm times n exceeds 0.5 106 mm/min, the operation is considered
60,11]. as high-speed and the spindle design must be able to deal with the
The bearing models considers the following conditions: heat produced and subsequent thermal expansion. In extreme
cases, the Dmn value can be as high as 4 106 mm/min (jet
relative speed between inner and outer rings lubrication). The limiting speed of each application depends on the
speed-related centrifugal forces and gyroscopic moments acting amount of heat produced by a particular design and on the
on rolling elements mechanical ‘‘sensitivity’’ of the design to already developed
relative displacement of centers of ring groove curvatures due to temperatures (thermal expansion affecting bearings). The impor-
thermal expansion tant factors are: bearing type/size, lubrication, bearing configura-
tion, type of preload and overall heat management within the
The resulting bearing stiffness KB depends on the size of the spindle.
bearing balls or rollers, curvature of the bearing rings, and contact There is a link between thermal and mechanical behavior of
angle. However, the bearing dynamics changes with preload, spindles. Uneven thermal expansion changes the mechanical
cutting forces, spindle speeds and thermal expansion. These factors condition of bearings which in turn affects the amount of heat
lead to a nonlinear modeling of the spindle system. The tangential produced, which is fed back to the system and further increases the
stiffness matrix KB of the bearings is only valid at one operating
condition; hence the system dynamics become nonlinear and
appear non-repeatable.
Because of the nonlinear dependency of the radial bearing
stiffness on the axial or radial load, the bearing stiffness changes
with cutting force dynamically. In [25] it is shown that the axial
force has a larger effect in the bearing stiffness than radial forces
and therefore the variation of bearing stiffness is matched with the
frequency of cutting forces in axial direction. It can be shown that
in case of periodic cutting loads the matrix KB(t) is periodic at the
harmonics of the shaft speed. In Fig. 12 this effect is shown for
different preload mechanism.
Besides the aspects of preload and load of bearings in high
spindle speeds, the bearing ball centrifugal forces and gyroscopic
moments can be of significant magnitude such that inner ring
contact angles tend to increase and outer ring contact angles tend
to decrease. The natural frequency of the system is related to the
bearing stiffness, hence it increases with preload due to increased
bearing stiffness, but decrease with spindle speed due to Fig. 13. Experimentally estimated 1st (––) and 2nd (–*–) radial eigenfrequencies
centrifugal forces as experimentally demonstrated in of a motorized spindle vs. spindle speed [2].
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thermal load and heat. The system can be unstable, and increasing as a function of spindle speed. In such cases dedicated nonlinear
thermal expansion and resulting bearing preload can damage the thermal resistance elements with properties based on heat transfer
bearings (see also Fig. 20). Spindle builders use three basic theories must be created [69].
principles to avoid excessive preloading of bearings: Heat sinks are usually caused by convection, conduction and
radiation on spindle surfaces with the following sources:
Constant preload of bearings by springs, hydraulic or piezo
actuators ([158,36,105]) convection to coolant fluids (motor and bearing cooling)
Rigid preload, theoretically thermally symmetric design convection and radiation to surrounding air or oil–air lubrication
Radial flexible housing [104] conduction through the housing flange to the spindle head
3.3.2. Heat sources in spindles Specifically the coefficients of heat convection between
Principally, there are three main sources of heat in spindles: surfaces and fluids (air, coolant) are difficult to predict and
depend on many parameters, hence care must be taken to specify
friction within the bearings these boundary conditions according to established thermal
power losses by the motor – depends on type (asynchronous or theories [69].
synchronous) motors and frequency converter [127]
cutting power – since most heat is transferred to the chip or 3.3.4. History of ‘thermal preload’ prediction
localized at the tool’s cutting edge, it usually does not play an There has been a need to predict temperatures and thermal
important role. This is a more significant effect in materials with stability in the past, e.g. to avoid thermally induced seizure of
low thermal conductivity like titanium bearings. In 1967 Burton and Staph [22] derived a general theory of
friction in tool clamping device thermal stability of angular contact ball bearings where the
authors distinguished temperatures of various parts of a simple
The heat generation in bearings is challenging to predict. bearing assembly as stabilizing or destabilizing factors. In 1970
Theories presented in [115,55] and [74] distinguish three main and 1972 Carmichael and Davies [29,28] investigated experimen-
sources of friction which occur in ball-groove contact: tally the effect of cooling of stationary outer parts of a two-bearing
rigid assembly on preload experimentally. In 1974 Sud and Davies
load friction caused by rolling and proportional to contact forces [153] investigated the effect of speed and the similarity of thermal
viscous friction caused by viscosity of lubricant – nonlinearly preload with displacement of mechanical systems in time. They
proportional to speed and mean diameter of bearing [115] suggested a first order differential equation and a method to
spinning friction (spin/roll ratio) caused by kinematics of rolling calculate its constant terms. These terms are based on thermal
elements. If contact angles differ from ‘‘zero’’ value, the rolling capacity, conductivity and convection as well as geometry and
element necessarily spins in one of the bearing grooves. thermal expansion coefficients of a particular assembly. In 1983
Lacey et al. [92] conducted extensive experimental research on
Currently none of these theoretical analyses have predicted the operational preload of rigid spindles. They investigated the effect
temperature distribution and resulting thermal deformations of of speed, lubrication and initial preload and indicated various types
the spindle bearings with sufficient accuracy. Some authors tried of behavior based on the most important parameter, speed.
to derive dedicated formulations by using ‘coast tests’ [19,62] (see
Fig. 14), or by other experiments [77] measuring passive moments 3.3.5. Current models to predict thermal effects
of bearings. However, generalized models applicable to a wide There have been several groups of authors investigating and
range of bearings, lubrications and operating conditions have not publishing results on the thermo-mechanical behavior of high-
yet been developed. speed spindle units:
3.3.3. Heat sinks and heat transfer 1. Stein, Bossmanns, Lin, Tu, Harder: In 1994 they presented a
Heat transfer by conduction within spindle parts can be predictive model of a simple two-bearing assembly [149]. The
modeled using 2D or 3D FEM elements, once the boundary mechanical part of the model was based on simplified
conditions are known. It is difficult to model heat transfer correctly calculation of relative distance of bearing rings. The paper
at thermal joints – between surfaces mounted with clearance was followed by more detailed investigation of heat transfer in
which changes during thermal expansion, for example the spindles [19] and its interface with bearing ring model [99].
interface between the bearing outer race and the inner diameter 2. Jörgensen, Li, Shin determine the steady state heat transfer by
of the housing. The authors in [104] show an example of the gradually introduced boundary conditions [77,96,97]. They use
relationship between bearing temperature and working clearance deMul’s bearing model [33] for calculating condition and
properties of bearings.
3. Kim-Lee focused on the effect of radial bearing fit [82,83].
4. Kowal, Jedrzejewski, Kwasny, Winiarski: program based on FEM
and FDM [71,88,89,73]. The papers showed the results with
comments, but the adopted bearing models were not presented.
5. Zverev, Eun, Chun, Lee: their model published in [180] and [181]
has the same approach to the mechanical part of the problem as
in [27], but they added a simplified heat transfer and thermal
expansion model based on beam elements.
6. Holkup, Holy: model [63] and [62] used Jones’ bearing model,
axis-symmetric heat transfer in 2D finite elements, effect of
bearing and spacer radial fit, transient heat transfer (see Fig. 15).
The common structure of the past models can be listed as:
Rolling bearings are modeled with Jones’ or deMul’s bearing

formulations (Groups 2, 5, 6).
Fig. 14. Frictional moment measured on a single SKF 7010CD bearing, constant Steady state and transient analysis which also captured preload
preload Fa0 introduced by springs [62]. peaks are considered by all groups except (2).
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Modeling, prediction and optimization of spindles with respect

to thermal issues has not been studied sufficiently in the
literature.
It is possible to [62] to build a model which performs a closed
loop thermo-mechanical simulation using best available theories
in each field.
Special care must be taken when introducing thermal boundary
conditions of such model (bearing friction and surface-fluid heat
convection).
Thermal displacements resulting from thermo-mechanical
simulation can be passed to nonlinear ‘bearing models’ of purely
mechanical models [27] and provide improved prediction of
structural dynamic behavior of spindles.
4. Mechanical design
Fig. 15. Example of heat transfer model in mounted bearing [62].
Depending on the machine tool application area, the spindle-

Good model of heat transfer and thermal expansion based on bearing systems are subject to a complex array of requirements.
FEM with 2D or 3D elements – all groups except (5). For example, in high-speed cutting (HSC) applications on
The nonlinear effect of bearing and spacer radial fit, radial aluminum components, there is a need to combine high speeds
flexibility of supporting structure (rings, housing, shaft) influen- with low stiffness [67] whereas heavy-duty machining of
cing heat transfer between parts as well as mechanical stiffness titanium- or nickel-based alloys require that the bearings must
(3, 6). be able to absorb high cutting forces at low speeds of rotation
[167]. Apart from the choice of a suitable type of bearing, optimum
In principal, the structure of a predictive thermo-mechanical design of the bearing configuration makes a decisive contribution
model must be integrated to simulation which updates mechanical to the performance and service life of the main spindle [65].
as well as thermal nonlinearities during transient simulation [63]
as shown in Fig. 16. 4.1. Bearing solution
Boundary conditions of thermal models are crucial for the
correct prediction of thermal loads on the spindle. Since no general The following bearing types are used depending on the
theory has been proven to be applicable for the estimation of application requirements as shown in Fig. 18 [65]:
bearing heat sources, they still need to be identified experimen-
tally as performed by groups 1, 2 and 6. rolling bearings,
The displacement distribution in the spindle assembly caused electromagnetic bearings,
by the temperature fields in the system is also studied in high- aerostatic bearings,
speed machining centers as shown in Fig. 17 [75,72]. hydrostatic bearings,
hydrodynamic bearings.
3.3.6. Summary on thermal aspects
4.1.1. Ball bearings

Thermal issues significantly affect properties (stiffness, life, At specific speed coefficient (Dmn value) up to a maximum of
accuracy) of spindles. 3.0 106 mm/min (e.g. milling operations), main spindles with
high axial and radial stiffness are generally mounted on rolling
bearings. High-precision spindle bearings combine good radial
run-out and stiffness properties with low assembly and main-
tenance effort, and a good cost-effectiveness ratio [133,142,50].
Modern ball bearings produce less friction losses with easier
lubrication flow since they have smaller contact surfaces
[157,150]. Increased speed requirements have led to the devel-
opment of special types of high speed (HS) and hybrid bearings.
The HS bearings have a larger number of smaller balls. Frictional
Fig. 16. Closed loop of thermo-mechanical transient analysis. behavior improves due to the consequent improvement in contact
parameters.
Fig. 17. Measurements of displacements in Z-axis over time at different speeds on a

high speed machining center [72]. Fig. 18. Comparison of bearing system properties [167].
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Hybrid bearings possess silicon nitride balls (Si3N4) with a

lower density of 3.16 g/cm3 and a higher modulus of elasticity of
320,000 N/mm2 (as compared to the usual roller bearing steel
100Cr6 with a density of 7.85 g/cm3 and a modulus of elasticity of
210,000 N/mm2). The modulus of elasticity crucially affects
resilience. The higher modulus of elasticity results in increased
stiffness at the same preload for hybrid bearings, but also in higher
Hertzian stresses and lower acceptable loads. In order to keep the
Hertzian stresses in hybrid bearings at a level comparable to that
for steel bearings, preloading of the hybrid bearings is reduced. The
ceramic material has excellent tribological properties in combina-
tion with steel, resulting in lower friction and reduced wear
[133,142,50,16,173,151]. It is also possible to improve perfor-
mance by using special high-nitrided bearing steel (HNS). The
much finer microstructure of this stainless steel, combined with its
greater toughness as compared to 100Cr6 roller bearing steel,
Fig. 20. Events leading to failure of a cylindrical roller bearing [23].
enables a higher load level to be attained [162].
One of the most recent developments tends towards coating the
rolling surfaces with hard thin films. The coatings are intended to of the inner ring will change their axial distance until the new
improve the wear resistance further while reducing the friction equilibrium is achieved. This bearing is safeguarded against
coefficient of contact surfaces [40,132]. overload by springs. It is also possible to cool the outer ring
Despite their many advantages, the rolling bearings also have without endangering the bearing through a build-up of bracing
performance limitations, partly due to the geometry of the angular forces and bearing heat by mutual feedback (known as the ‘suicide
ball bearing. Radial displacement of the rolling bodies, or radial loop’, Fig. 20). The spring force, in all cases, must be larger than the
widening of the inner ring due to centrifugal forces or thermal maximum axial spindle load in the direction in which the rings are
expansion can lead to a relative axial displacement of the rings in pulled apart [147].
the case of a bearing adjustment with constant preload. In the case
of a rigid bearing configuration it will lead to rising internal bearing 4.1.2. Roller bearing
loads [157,55]. Any reduction in the bearing stiffness due to Cylindrical and tapered roller bearings with single or multiple
changes in the contact angle of the bearing will reduce the dynamic arrangements are most commonly used on machine tool spindles.
stiffness of the spindle, which will in turn reduce the chatter free High-precision cylindrical roller bearings have been used particu-
material removal rates [1,3]. Development of new bearing larly as movable bearings on spindles, but can likewise be mounted
concepts is aimed at countering the disadvantages of conventional to increase radial stiffness in the region of the spindle nose [102].
spindle bearings described above. These concepts are based on the Cylindrical roller bearings are radially preloaded via adjustment of
notion that axial and radial displacement of the balls (and also the bearing clearance in the installed state [133,23]. Due to much greater
inner ring) can be prevented by an additional rolling contact in the contact area between the rolling elements and the races, cylindrical
outer bearing raceway [147,172]. Bearing types with this kind of roller bearings are much stiffer than ball bearings, and are able to
inner geometry are being used experimentally, for example in the carry heavier loads [61,174]. However, the increased contact area
aerospace sector (aircraft engines). These applications, however, produces higher friction and is more difficult to lubricate. As
require different lubrication and rolling contact parameters. compared to that of balls in angular ball bearings, they rotate only
Fig. 19 provides an overview of concepts. Apart from the 3-point about one direction, which is kinematically favorable [139]. Critical
bearing with two rolling contacts on the outer ring, two variants of operating conditions occur especially when there are temperature
the 4-point bearing are shown. In the 3-point bearing, the gradients between the inner and outer rings. The outer ring can
problems associated with migration of the balls to the apex as usually dissipate heat significantly better via housing components
the speed of rotation rises are prevented by the double contact on than the inner ring via the spindle body and by convection.
the outer ring. Preloading of the inner ring by appropriate loading Thermally induced radial expansion of the inner ring directly
of the bearing continues to be necessary. The rigid 4-point contact changes the preload set during mounting. An increased preload in
can be used as a solid bearing. At high speeds, however, the loads at turn increases heat generation in the bearing. When a threshold
the contact points increase strongly due to elastic and thermal preload value is reached, the bearing is no longer able to dissipate the
expansion of the spindle, and limit the allowable spindle speed. generated heat quickly, especially from the inner ring. The bearing is
The elastically loaded bearings with 4-point contacts do not suffer in a ‘suicide loop’ (Fig. 20) which can result in destruction of the
from this drawback. If a change in contact kinematics due to bearing within a few seconds [23,22,163].
thermal expansion or centrifugal forces occurs the divided halves A number of different approaches have been adopted to
increase the reliability of cylindrical roller bearings [23,122,
118,119,56]. Systematic weakening of rollers, inner and outer rings
makes the bearing less sensitive to the changes in radial preloads.
Smaller roller-ring contact zones, profiled rolling bodies, and the
use of ceramic rollers are used to reduce the friction and hence the
excessive generation of heat in the bearings (Fig. 21). By optimizing
such design variables, it is possible to increase the operating
speeds of the bearings prior to reaching the suicide loop. The
reduction in radial stiffness for roller bearings which accompanies
modification of the bearing components may be regarded as
unproblematic from the viewpoint of statics and dynamics in a
spindle-bearing system [23] because its initial stiffness is always
higher than that for ball bearings.
4.1.3. Magnetic bearings

Spindles operating with electromagnetic bearings cover a wide
Fig. 19. New kinematic concepts for spindle bearings. range of applications at high speeds. Because of the relatively large
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Fig. 22. Preload mechanisms and influence of a temperature difference DT [167].

Fig. 21. Constructive increase of bearing compliance and reduction of friction [167].
therefore require additional cooling. The viscosity of the air is

air gaps between the rotor and stator of the axial and radial virtually independent of its temperature. At certain pressures, the
bearings, the friction is negligible, and the bearings can be operated compressibility of air causes pneumatic instabilities, meaning that
with minimal wear [65]. Because magnetic bearings are actively aerostatic bearings with feed pressures between 4 and 10 105 Pa
controlled, stiffness and damping properties can be adjusted as a should preferably be operated in the laminar flow range. The low
function of the feasible control loop dynamics [155]. Due to the pressures entail relatively low rated loads and stiffness, require
integral behavior of the controller, the maximum possible static much larger dimensions than hydrostatic bearings [15,175].
stiffness of a magnetic bearing is higher than that of a comparable
rolling contact bearing. However, the maximum load rating is 4.1.5. Floating bearing and preload mechanisms
significantly lower than that of rolling bearings. Even at high The properties of a rolling contact bearing and of the complete
speeds of rotation, the rotor in the magnetic bearing can be moved spindle-bearing system depend greatly on the chosen preload force
to eccentric paths, permitting a certain degree of self-balancing and preload mechanism [157,65].
[52]. Due to the high costs of a complex control system and In terms of design, the preload can be realized in different ways,
peripherals these spindles are currently used only in special a fundamental distinction being drawn between rigid and elastic
applications. In the research field, for example, magnetic bearings behavior. A rigid configuration is the simplest engineering design
are used as actuator for contactless application of static or dynamic solution, since the sole need is to fix the outer and inner rings
loads to the spindle-bearing system or as additional bearings axially, either by direct opposition of the two bearings or by means
mounted with conventional spindle bearings to provide an active of matched spacer rings. Depending on the orientation of the
influence on the bearing of a motor spindle [81,94]. bearing, one differentiates between X and O arrangements. In an X
arrangement, an axial thermal expansion of the shaft is trans-
4.1.4. Fluid bearing formed into an increase in internal loads, and may lead to failure of
Depending on the desired speed of rotation, spindles with the bearing. Analogously, in an O arrangement the preload is
hydrostatic or hydrodynamic bearings are frequently used for high relieved (Fig. 23).
precision production tasks in the metalworking sector. By Elastic preloads keep the bearing preload constant, even when
comparison with rolling contact bearings, and given good damping thermally induced relative movements take place between the
and high stiffness, these have the advantage of achieving minimum
radial and axial runout. As a result of increased heating of the fluid,
due to internal shearing effects, there is, a limit on the speeds with
spindles having larger tool interfaces (e.g. HSK 63; approximately
10.000 min1) [65,124]. Recent developments show the use of
water as the hydrostatic bearing fluid to minimize frictional losses
and optimize rotational speed performance [43]. Compared to
hydrostatic bearings, hydrodynamic applications in machine tool
construction have lost much interest. Hydrodynamic bearings are
used only where operation conditions are in the purely fluid
friction range without speed variations. On slow running spindles
or spindles with frequent starts and stops (e.g. tool changes),
operation in the mixed friction range causes increased wear and
large frictional losses [65].
Aerostatic bearings are employed when much higher rotational
speeds need to be achieved. These work on the same principle as
liquid-lubricated bearings, but the active medium is gaseous air,
with a lower viscosity than that of the liquids by two to three
orders of magnitude. In order to realize a high load capacity and
stiffness, very small clearances must be used within the bearings.
The air fed into the system is blown off to the surrounding
environment by balancing the design of the bearing land for
the correct flow resistance for stiffness and length for load
carrying capacity. Due to the low mass flows and small specific
thermal capacity of air, the frictional heat produced by shear forces
cannot be dissipated completely at high relative speeds of the
bearing components. High-speed spindles with aerostatic bearings Fig. 23. Arrangements of movable bearing units [167].
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spindle and the housing. This can be achieved by using disk springs,
by distributing coil springs around the circumference, via
hydraulic or pneumatic pistons or via high dynamic piezo-
actuators.
When designing an elastic bearing mounting, space must be left
for the bearing rings to move axially. The simplest solution is the
use of slide bushings, which are inserted in the housing, where
they contain the outer rings of the spindle bearings. To perform the Fig. 24. Layout of an oil–air lubricating system for machine tool spindles.
function of a movable bearing, it is necessary to provide a

minimum radial clearance, whose size depends on the collective
load and on the construction of the spindle. If the clearance is lower improve high-speed performance and service life in grease
than this minimum size due to thermal expansion of the sleeve, or lubrication systems, relubricating systems, in which fresh grease
if fretting corrosion occurs, sliding may become impossible or is introduced via feed lines to points near the bearings or to the
moves in a slip-stick fashion, the bearing may be destroyed. bearings themselves, are also commonly used in addition to
Possible solutions are to use non-ferrous metal or to coat the sleeve lifetime lubrication.
or the housing bore. The advantages of the bushings are simplicity Oil–air lubrication (Fig. 24) can be used for applications with
of design and good heat dissipation from the bearing to the speed coefficients of up to 3.0 106 mm/min. The principle of
housing. To make the movable bearing with sliding bushing lubrication is based on continuous dosing of compressed air mixed
insensitive to radial seizing, a hydraulic counter-pressure bushing with oil to the bearing. Depending on the size of the bearing,
can be inserted. Here the housing and bushing are separated from quantities of oil lower than 60–200 mm3/h per bearing are
one another by an oil film. Additional pressure is applied to sufficient lubrication. Oils with viscosities between 32 and
compensate thermally or kinematically induced ball counter- 100 mm2/s can be used and the pressure range is between 2
forces which could lead to radial seizing. Design effort is increased and 6 bar, depending on the manufacturer’s recommendations and
as opposed to a simple sliding bushing. design [133].
In order to reduce friction between the elements of the movable In these assemblies, pressure is previously built up in a
bearing unit which move in relation to one another, it is also distribution system by a pump, or static pressure is exerted by the
possible to employ an axially mobile ball-bearing linear bushing. It reservoir weight applied to the dosing valves. The valves feed a
should be noted, that if the sleeve expands radially due to heating defined quantity of oil (usually 10 mm3) to a mixing chamber,
or centrifugal force, high Hertzian stresses may occur in contact which is then passed via lubricant feed lines to form a streak of oil
with the housing, due to the small diameter of the balls. This can in a constantly passing air flow in a narrow tube. This is then fed
make the balls exceed the allowable stresses and penetrate the axially or radially via a feed nozzle to the bearing. In oil–air
surface of the housing, leading to failure of the linear bearing lubrication, the volumetric flow rate is determined by the cycle
function. Another disadvantage is poor heat dissipation due to the time, which establishes the length of time between individual
reduced surface contact. lubricating pulses or valve switching times. If the selected period
A completely different design solution is to integrate the between cycles is too long, the streak of oil may be interrupted.
movable bearing in a membrane spring bushing, consisting of two Some systems in use currently, use sensors to monitor the oil level,
nested but radially independent sleeves supported in the housing oil pressure and air pressure, together with the dosing valves and
by radially stiff but axially compliant membrane-spring-type oil streak themselves [111,21].
elements. The axial and radial stiffness of the movable bearing can The lubricant feed to the rolling contact differs depending on
be influenced via the spring characteristic. A disadvantage of this the type of bearing concerned. Lubricant can either be provided by
solution is the greater difficulty in dissipating heat loss induced by a reservoir directly on the bearing itself (capped bearing for
the bearing [23]. If it is possible to dispense with spindle bearings, lifetime lubrication) or supplied to the vicinity of the bearing by
the use of cylindrical roller or floating displacement (FD) bearings feed lines. Lubricant is fed axially or radially to the bearing through
provides a very simple option to realize movable bearings in terms a hole. In the case of spindle bearings, different types of feed are
of engineering design. Thanks to the flat outer or inner ring, an employed, varying in their geometries and surrounding compo-
axial compensating movement for thermal expansion of the shaft nents. Fig. 25 provides an overview of the types in use [133].
can take place in the form of spiral rolling directly in the bearing
itself. Disadvantages are the complex mounting procedure and 4.2. Cooling
high sensitivity to radial seizing [65,23].
4.2.1. Motor cooling
4.1.6. Lubrication Motor spindles are equipped with high power motors which
The tribology system of a rolling contact bearing is character- produce a large amount of lost heat. Therefore, in most
ized by a heavily loaded rolling contact and, in the normal case, low applications the spindle housing is flown through by a liquid
loaded sliding contacts (rolling body/cage, cage/bearing ring). cooling medium in a closed cooling circuit (see Fig. 26, top).
The main task of the lubricant (interfacial medium) in a rolling
contact bearing is to form a lubricating film in the respective
contact zones of the rolling bodies, bearing rings and cage, so that
contact between surfaces – resulting in friction and wear (DIN
50322) – is reduced [167]. It also serves to reduce corrosion and to
dissipate frictional heat [142]. In principle, methods are available
for lubricating the main spindle of a machine tool, depending on
the range of speeds involved: grease lubrication and grease
relubrication, oil–air lubrication and oil injection lubrication.
Roughly 90% of all rolling contact bearings are operating with
grease lubrication [86,17]. In this form of lubrication, the bearings
are filled with grease prior to mounting, and it is also referred to as
lifetime lubrication. Speed coefficients of up to 2.0 106 mm/min
can be achieved by optimizing the chemical composition of the
greases and adjusting lubrication to the ceramic ball materials
employed in modern high-speed spindle bearings [133]. To Fig. 25. Lubrication variants.
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with minimal leakage [46]. He also provides discussions on

emerging techniques for rotational speeds up to 90,000 rpm [45].
Sykora [154] points out that many sealing materials utilized in
non-contact rotary unions are designed for operating with either a
cooling lubricant or minimum quantity lubrication (MQL). Chan-
ging the type of lubrication supply may damage the seals. In such a
case a solution is provided which allows switching between both
cooling systems.
MQL has grown in popularity in recent years in an effort to
minimize environmental impact. Different works illustrate that
the inner supply with pre-mixed aerosol is quite problematic:
Schneeweiß et al. [136] as well as Aoyama et al. [13] noticed that
an increasing rotational speed leads to demixing of the aerosol.
This is mainly the result of the centripetal force acting on the oil
Fig. 26. Motor and bearing cooling [courtesy: GMN].
droplets which leads to an oil dispersal at the walls of the
lubrication circuit [13]. For analyzing the influence of the
Hence this cooling method is quite complex due to its centripetal force Aoyama et al. [13] also concentrated on the
peripherals (cooling unit, circulating pump). Newly developed droplets size; the smaller the droplets the lesser the forces.
solutions like [126] suggest a different consideration with an Furthermore the decomposition is less intense. At the same time
angular spindle housing. The housings backend is extended and the lubricating effect is influenced because the droplets poorly
equipped with a separately driven fan. The housing has drains in its stick to the cutting edge.
corners where an air flow in axial direction is generated caused by Schneeweiß et al. [136] and Palm and Fuchs [114] identified
the fan. An additional cooling effect is achieved by generating an volatile changes in cross-section, dead spaces and leakage as
air flow through the air gap of the motor. reasons for a significant oil losses inside the spindle. Aoyama et al.
[13] invented a solution with a pivot-mounted pipe inside the
4.2.2. Bearing cooling spindle. While the spindle rotates the pipe stands still. In this
To minimize the thermal deformation of an aerostatic spindle manner the aerosol inside of the pipe is not affected by centripetal
system, the control of supply air temperature based on the concept forces. A contactless rotary union provides for the transfer of the
of thermal balance has been proposed [179]. The system developed medium to the rotating tool. Air and oil are led through two
provides the thermal balance between heat generation in bearing separated ducts within the spindle and mixed just before the tool
clearance and the cooling effect of supply air, therefore, it is possible as shown in Fig. 28 [32].
to eliminate the thermal deformation of the overall aerostatic
spindle system including the surrounding parts of the system. 4.4. Tool clamping and release mechanism
4.2.3. Shaft cooling In most instances the clamping force is provided by axially
A newly developed spindle (Fig. 27) is based on an interior stacked disk springs or spiral springs. However these springs are a
cooled shaft [137]. The central component is a rotary union with at source of unbalance in operation because the allocation of the
least three separate connections. Cooling can be applied through masses may vary. One possibility is to use gas-pressurized springs
an axial interface and dissipated by a radial hand-over-point. By instead of steel springs as shown in [70]. The benefit of this
this means a cooling circuit through the shaft is realized. A variation is the homogeneous mass distribution. One problem with
substantial advantage of this system is the noticeably shortened gas springs is the loss of pressure resulting in a loss of clamping
time till a steady thermal condition is achieved and through this a force. Hence it is necessary to monitor the spring load permanently
reduced heat input from the spindle into the tool is reached. [70].
Therefore a thermally induced spindle extension is noticeably A system which realizes the tool clamping with an electrical
reduced [166]. linear motor instead of a hydraulic system or spring assembly was
introduced in [90,103]. In addition to shortened tool change times
4.3. Internal coolant supply and increased balance quality of the spindle being achieved, the
clamping force can be monitored continuously (see Fig. 29).
So-called rotary unions are needed for passing a liquid medium
through the rotating shaft to the cutting tool. There are basically 4.5. Interfaces
contacting and non-contact solutions. On the one hand Frisch
[46,45] describes a contactless rotary union for use in motor 4.5.1. Spindle/tool interfaces
spindles equipped with an air seal. This system is suitable for a The tool holder is the interface between tool and spindle. In
rotational speed up to 60,000 rpm and media-pressure upto 4 MPa addition to high stiffness, adequate damping and the ability of
transmitting the required forces/torques, these systems should
Fig. 27. Shaft cooling [courtesy: Fischer AG]. Fig. 28. Avoidance of aerosol demixing by separated ducts for air and oil [32].
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4.5.3. Hollow shaft taper, HSK

For many years the HSK interface can be considered as standard
in HSC milling. The static and dynamic characteristics of the HSK
tool interface have been analyzed by many institutions and
researchers. The basic performance of the HSK shank, such as
positioning accuracy, stiffness and bending load capacity, were
analyzed in Germany by WZL [171]. Later Aoyama and Inasaki [12]
showed that in worst case of diameter tolerances the taper surface
of a HSK A 50 tool holder at spindle speeds over 24,000 rpm can
lose contact and so the radial stiffness decreases. It is proposed to
Fig. 29. Electrical clamping system [90,103]. increase the taper oversize as well as the pull-in-force [12]. Hanna
et al. [53] also observed that the deviation in dimension of the
tapers is of great importance for the characteristics of the HSK
allow a quick, accurate and reliable tool changing process. Very interface. They also show that an increased axial pull force
comprehensive overviews of spindle/tool interfaces are given in a positively affects the rigidity of the system as well as the ability to
CIRP keynote paper [125] and by Weck and Reinartz [170]. transfer the required torque.
The authors in [70] have investigated theoretical FE analysis
4.5.2. Steep taper, SK taper and measurements to show the dependencies of the mechanical
The main drawback of conventional steep tapers is the minor stresses due to the rotating speed. Strain gauges were applied to
contact area between the tapers of the tool holder and the spindle. the clamping assembly and analyzed via a contactless telemetric
Compared to HSK tool holders (HSK = Hohlschaftkegel) there is a system. Fig. 31 shows results that stress increases with higher
noticeably lower rigidity. A commercially available steep taper is speeds and demonstrates an increased pull-in-force.
called ‘Big-Plus’. These tool holders eliminate the mentioned
disadvantages of SK tool holders through different optimizations of 4.5.4. Coromant Capto
the taper and the tool clamping. An additional flange contact Sandvik Coromant company developed a system called
surface is added as shown in Fig. 30(top). On the one hand this ‘Coromant Capto’, which was originally designed for the modular
leads to high repetition accuracy in tool clamping. On the other construction of very long tools. The system is mainly characterized
hand a remarkable stiffness increase is achieved compared to usual by a very flat taper (cone pitch 1:20) with a polygonal shaped outer
steep tapers (see Fig. 30, bottom) [18]. contour [130]. The hollow taper is deformed during the drawing
Other references can be found on how the flange contact can be into the spindle until the flange surface of the tool holder contacts
realized with short tapers. One possibility is to shorten the taper the spindle. Due to its good symmetrical characteristics, the high
and to use a longer retention knob [113,152]. It is also suggested to stiffness and the high torque transfer, this system is also adequate
insert adjusting washers. This may affect the rigidity of the as an interface between spindle and tool holder [125].
connection but it improves the damping [125]. One further option
for setting flange contact as well as taper contact is to use oversized 4.5.5. Spindle/machine tool interfaces
and axially slotted tapers. This allows a taper deformation caused The development of reconfigurable machine tools needs new
by the pull force till the flange surfaces touch [54,57,143]. concepts for spindle/machine tool interfaces. Abele et al. [6]
compiled different interface requirements for reconfigurable
machine tools and suggested an interface which is based on a
modular concept where – according to stiffness demands – up to 9
coupling mechanisms could be used. With this interface a change
of different spindle modules is possible within less than 30 min
(Fig. 32).
Further requirements for spindle-machine-interfaces are pre-
sented by Heisel and Meitzner [58]: All ports (for energy or
information) should be included into the interface. All components
should offer a high stiffness and damping.
Heisel and Tonn developed a new model of a lathe main spindle
[59]. The interfaces inside the spindle were adjusted so that even
the machine operator himself can perform the exchange and
Fig. 31. Measured mechanical stress via strain gauges at the clamping set of a HSK
Fig. 30. SK-Slot ‘Big Plus’ and rigidity advantages [18]. 100 A [70].
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composite material. In addition to the analysis of the mechanical

characteristics the optimization of fiber layers is considered. For
mounting a tool at the one end of the spindle-shaft and an electric
motor on the other end steel flanges are glued on both ends of the
spindle.
5. Drive concepts
5.1. Motor design
The present multi-functional machine tools demand motor

spindles suitable for HSC-applications with high rotational speeds
and lower torques as well as spindles for heavy roughing with
comparatively low rotational speeds and high torque. These
requirements are fulfilled with various solutions. It was suggested
Fig. 32. SST60 interface (according to [6]).
to connect the shaft of the motor spindle through a shiftable
coupling to an additional electric motor as shown in Fig. 34. While
alignment. For this purpose a self-centering device with appro- the main drive works at high rotational speeds and rather low
priate profile in the area of the rear bearing was built (Fig. 33, top). torques, the second electric motor is switched on at low rotational
In the newly developed spindle module a conventional counter speeds and high torque. This construction offered different
spindle was combined with an adjusting device (Fig. 33, bottom). advantages, the functional range (torque, speed) of the spindle
This allows alignment of the two spindles. This method allowed enlarges and a reduction of torsional vibrations of the spindle and
the exchange of a spindle with the eccentric spindle module in the tool is achieved [146].
under two hours.
5.2. Frequency converter
4.6. Light weight design
Frequency converters are required to convert the constant
For the utilization in small and fast moving applications like three-phase supply into variable three-phase supply. Integral
printed circuit board applications, Ban and Lee [14] developed an motor spindles are usually fed by a three-phase two level inverter
aerostatic spindle with a shaft consisting of a carbon fiber with pulse width modulated (PWM) output. A wide field of
problems emerges from the inadequate supply through the
inverter. Because of the switching operating mode, the output
voltages are not purely sinusoidal and contain switching harmo-
nics. These harmonic voltages induce currents which do not
contribute to torque formation but solely to an undesirable heating
of the various spindle elements. To reduce the harmonic content in
the supply voltages and currents three-phase three-level inverters
were introduced [93]. Due to additional power semi-conductors
these inverters have the ability to apply an additional voltage
potential to the motor. This significantly reduces the harmonic
content of the supply voltage. Fig. 35 shows the set up of the two
different inverters and the achievable voltages and currents [127].
Another possibility to overcome the mentioned problems
which arise from inadequate voltage supply is to apply a LC
output filter between frequency converter and motor. These
second order filters damp the harmonic content in the supply. This
results in voltage and current which are very close to the ideal
sinusoidal form. In this filter application one must pay attention to
the characteristic resonance frequency of the filter is not excited by
either the inverter or by the motor, as this could destroy the
inverter, the filter or the motor. Hence, a control system for the
Fig. 33. Installation of the plug-in motor spindle into the headstock and developed
counter spindle module with double eccentric units:(source: IfW, University of
Stuttgart/INDEX-Werke Esslingen). Fig. 34. Motor spindle with auxiliary drive [146].
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chatter detection index g. This index gives information about the

detection accuracy and the permissible computational efficiency;
hence it is appropriate for online implementation. Suitable thresh-
old values of g for turning and milling operations are presented.
Kuljanic et al. [91] tested several sensors like rotating dynam-
ometers, accelerometers, acoustic emission and electrical power
sensors. The sensors were compared in terms of accuracy and
robustness. The best results were achieved with a multisensory
system composed of axial force sensor and accelerometers. The
research of [34] concluded that microphones, which are placed in
the ambience of the milling machine to record the ideal noise
emission, achieved the best results compared to other sensors.
6.1.4. Displacement meter

Another method for measuring and identification of chatter
during milling is described in [129] where a laser displacement
meter is used in a prototype of a milling system. A laser beam is
Fig. 35. Setup, phase-to-phase voltages, phase currents of two-level (top) and three aimed at the cutting edge and reflected. The intensity and the angle
level inverters (bottom) [127].
of incidence of the reflected laser beam are recorded and used to
interpret the occurring vibrations and to monitor the tool
filter voltages and currents is introduced to make sure that the geometry during the milling process.
resonance frequency of the filter is sufficiently damped [4,5].
The influence of the inverter design concept on the temperature 6.2. Spindle integrated force measurement sensor system
behavior of a single integral motor spindle with a permanent
magnet synchronous motor is depicted in Fig. 36. The highest Another method of chatter detection is presented in [116],
temperatures are achieved with the two-level inverter while the which is based on piezo-electric force measurement sensors,
filter control achieves lower temperatures. which are integrated into a spindle.
6. Sensor integration/condition monitoring 6.2.1. Chatter detection during the grinding process
There are several methods for process monitoring to identify
6.1. Vibrations/chatter detection chatter during the grinding process. Laser triangulation sensors,
pneumatic, radar and waviness sensors are used to measure the
6.1.1. Chatter detection during the milling process geometry of the grinding disk, its wear and the surface [68].
In conjunction with the detection of chatter vibrations several Another possibility for monitoring and diagnosing machining
methods have been developed over the years to improve the processes is to record the acoustic emissions during the grinding
stability of milling. A comprehensive overview is given in [10,141]. process. A sensor-integrated grinding disk and an acoustic
The use of microphones and accelerometers are successfully emission (AE) sensor are used for this purpose in [160]. The
applied in detection chatter in milling operations [34,35,107]. different AE sensor integrated in the control loop of grinding
machines, are shown in Fig. 37.
6.1.2. Dynamometers The two automatic identification methods of chatter, which are
For measuring the cutting force during the milling process two presented in [51], have the following indicators: Entropy and
variations of dynamometers are often used: Plate dynamometers, coarse-grained information rate (CIR). Signals from piezo-electric
which are placed under the workpiece (used by [8,34,145, and acoustic emission sensors, which capture the normal grinding
31,131,134]), and rotating dynamometers, which are located force and the acoustic emissions, are stored for further analyses.
between the tool clamping and the milling spindle [134,91]. During this sequence the entropy is counted from the service
First the sensor signals are analyzed for determining the spectrum. The CIR is obtained directly from the fluctuation of the
characteristics of the sensor signals in stable and unstable cases. recorded signal.
Secondly chatter indicators and the critical values are composed
and finally the characteristics are compared. 6.3. Preventive detection of bearing damages
6.1.3. Accelerometers One of the main problems which suspend the production line is
According to [31,34,91] the acceleration based chatter detection the early failure of the spindle bearings. Characteristically this
is carried out with accelerometers. The characteristics of accelera-
tion signals are similar to cutting force signals: The signals are
periodic in stable and non-periodic in unstable machining processes.
Choi and Shin [31] use the measured signals for estimating the
Fig. 36. Stationary temperatures of motor and front bearing with three different
frequency inverters (according to [127]). Fig. 37. Sensor concepts for acoustic emission [160]].
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involves high costs for repairs and downtime. Detection and

prevention of bearing damage can be taken as precaution.
A simple and low cost method for predicting the right time for
the replacement of the bearing is to monitor the geometrical
damage occurring at the rolling surfaces of the ball bearings [66].
Sinking into and out of a cavity creates an acceleration signal which
is analogous to a pulsed sine wave shown in Fig. 38(top).
The vibration signals emitted by the rolling motion of the
bearing elements (outer and inner rings, cage and balls) are
analyzed. A piezo-electric accelerometer is attached at the spindle
housing to sense the mentioned acceleration signal. The construc-
tion of the test bench is shown in Fig. 38(bottom). After converting
the signal it is monitored by a failure prediction processor. This
processor transmits a failure prediction alarm when a reference
value is exceeded.
With measuring the temperature of the outer bearing race
during the acceleration of the spindle Spur and Feil [148] assess the
actual status and the aging of the bearing as well as the
contamination of the lubrication. Damage of the bearing running
surface can also be estimated.
For detection of axial forces in the fixed bearing a specific force
measuring ring was developed by [24,84,134]. This force ring
Fig. 39. Force measuring ring based on piezo-electric force sensors [134].
consists of a distance tube equipped with piezo-electric force
sensor elements which are circularly adjusted at its front (Fig. 39).
This device delivers information about the axial cutting force, the
dynamic bearing forces during the operation and the actual
preload force during the assembly process. Excessive load on the
bearings which causes destruction can be detected. The arrange-
ment can be completed by using a flange sensor ring for measuring
the forces in three directions.
The project ‘Intelligent Spindle Unit (ISPI)’ [169] links sensors
for bearing cooling, stator temperature, spindle rotational speed
Fig. 40. ‘Intelligent Spindle Unit’ ISPI with exemplary sensors and actuators.
and outer load conditions. A CAD-model of the spindle is shown in

Fig. 40. A microcontroller is used to evaluate the sensor data.
Another application is presented in [109]. Sensors for detecting
bearing temperature, vibrations and axial displacement of the
spindle shaft and tool change control are included.
6.4. Collisions and tool fractures
Collisions, tool fractures or overload at high-speed applications

can cause serious damage in today’s high-speed machining centers
with high feed rates.
Spindle integrated force sensing rings can be used as shown in
[134,4,85,79] for monitoring the machining process. In [85] a
piezo-electric force ring is integrated into the spindle housing as
shown in Fig. 41 to capture the force signals with minimum time
Fig. 38. Top: Acceleration signal (R: amplitude, L: time duration, P: time period).
Bottom: Bearing test bench with variable axial load (according to [66]). Fig. 41. Installation of the force ring within the spindle [85].
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lag. Typically, the structural dynamic modes of the spindle reduce

the measurement bandwidth of the force rings. Altintas et al.
developed a Kalman filter to compensate the structural modes, and
increased the measurement bandwidth of the spindle integrated
sensors significantly [117,9]. As a result, the dynamometers and
spindle integrated force sensors can be used to measure milling
forces at high rotational speeds.
For the detection of a broken tool an acoustic emission sensor is
added to the machine table. A peak in the amplitude of the
recorded signal shows the breakage of the tool. In this context a
force ring is compared with a table dynamometer in [79]. The ring
is composed of eight uniaxial piezo-electric force sensors
contained in a circular frame using a special epoxy-material to
measure the axial and radial force components. The result is that
the force ring is as good as a table dynamometer. Its use is
recommended if a table dynamometer is not applicable due to the Fig. 43. Test bed for evaluation of the thermal model [30].
workpiece size or its geometry.
In [24] two piezo-electric force sensing rings (bearing sensor Commercially available products are introduced in [44,109]. In
ring and flange sensor ring) are developed and integrated into a [109] a sensor for measuring the axial displacement of the shaft
direct driven motor spindle for the online process monitoring of (called ‘AMS’, Step-Tec AG) is added to the front part of the spindle.
machining processes. With this method it is possible to detect the The CNC-unit enables the compensation of this axial extension. For
process forces during drilling with tool diameter of less than 4 mm. determining the thermal growth of a spindle it is common practice
A spindle integrated data logging unit can be utilized to identify to measure the bearing temperature and to perform the needed
and to avoid spindle damage quickly [38]. A thumb-sized data correlations and corrections. The thermal expansion is just part of
logger is permanently integrated into the spindle. The unit records the problem. For operations with high-precision spindles, it is also
the signals of acceleration, temperature and tool change sensors. necessary to include the shift caused by speed dependent motion
Connecting the device through a serial port to a computer allows of the bearing to predict more precisely the displacement. The
the reading and the parameterization of the logging unit. This displacement measurement device DMD, developed by Fischer
simple and safe measuring device enables the detection of spindle [44], allows for measuring the displacement of the spindle relative
irregularities for avoiding serious damages. Operational hours are to the housing. Attaching a special sensor into the tool flange
recorded in relation to the rotation speed which is useful for the enables detection of displacement within 1 mm accuracy. The
prediction of the maintenance interval. measured deviation is subsequently automatically transmitted to
the CNC.
6.5. Axial displacement
The spindle’s axial displacement consists of a speed dependent 7. Mechatronic concepts

axial displacement of the bearing races and thermal expansion of
the spindle. Fig. 17 illustrates these concepts. An overview of 7.1. Active balancing
measuring axial displacements is given in Fig. 42.
In [30] Chen and Hsu characterized the thermal growth of a HSC High-speed spindles used for grinding or milling demand a
spindle. Compared to a conventional spindle, the HSC spindles are higher degree of balance of the spindle system, especially, tool
subject to complex dynamic and speed-dependent influences. A holders and tools. The higher quality and precision can be observed
thermal error model is developed to show the mechanical growth in workpieces and a longer life of the machines components is
and the scheme of Fig. 43 is used. Six sensors are attached to the common. For achieving these goals it is necessary to lower the
housing near the bearings and the cooling, and to detect the vibrations caused by unbalance.
thermal expansion of the cutting tool and the front-end-cover. In addition to the ‘classical’ method of balancing by removing or
Another procedure for improving the machine accuracy by adding mass in two planes, spindle integrated balancing systems
means of temperature control is described in [138], where have been developed [110,106]. For reducing vibrations during the
temperature and flow rate of the cooling are monitored and operation of the spindle, an active balancing program using
controlled simultaneously. influence coefficient method is used to calculate the optimal
position of the correction masses and an active balancing device
can be used [106]. Fig. 44(bottom) shows the schematic of the
device. The active balancing program controls the device by
measuring vibration magnitude, phase angle, rotation speed, the
position of the balancing rotor and calculates the adjustments to
set the correction masses appropriately for balancing the spindle
during the operation. Without power the balancing rotor retains its
position and circulates with the rotation axis. The pole plate
rotates along with the rotation axis and has a magnetized surface.
It serves as a pathway for the magnetic flux which is created by the
coil flow. For moving the attached unbalance mass the stator is
supplied with a current. The operating principle of the device is
shown in Fig. 44(top). Exciting current on the driver coil increases
the upper-side magnetic flux and decreases the lower-sides flux as
well. The rotor is impacted by the downward force normal to the
magnetic flux (a). Positioning the permanent magnet at center of
the pole plate leads to the greatest density of the magnetic flux and
the smallest magnetic resistance (b). Removing the current
temporarily brings the rotor into the next step due to the inertia
Fig. 42. Three methods for spindle’s axial displacement compensation. (c).
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Fig. 44. Top: Principle of the rotor mechanism for active balancing. Bottom:
Schematic representation of the active balancing device [106].
The dual plane balancing system depicted in Fig. 45 is used for

Fig. 45. Top: Dual plane balancing system (a: balancer ring at the spindle, b: sensors
dynamic balancing which is necessary if long tools are used [110]. at the stator). Bottom: Schematic representation (a: balancer ring, b: stator with
As opposed to the single balancing plane method, this system sensors for speed and position, c and d: vibration sensor) [110].
measured the vibrations in a front and a rear plane at the spindle
for balancing, hence the vibrations can be reduced more
effectively. This active balancing system can be used for balancing establish an optimal working point if the spindle is overloaded
spindles at run time within a few seconds.
7.2. Active preload control
The preload has a wide influence on bearing life but also on the
dynamic runout and thus also impacts surface finish quality. The
objective of some research works was to define an ideal preload for
the spindle with an active preload-control, and to drive the system
near an optimal working point.
Prestressing spindles through passive mechanisms is the most
conventional method to preload bearings. The issue is that these
spindles cannot be adapted to changing conditions. To solve this
problem a test spindle was developed in [36] using a novel piezo-
electric based actuator module. By using a spindle with an active
preload-control as shown in Fig. 46(bottom) the optimal preload
for different operating conditions can be determined. A controlled
mechanism for preload adjustment has been developed to achieve
the preload values suggested by the manufacturer. It consists of a
piezo-electric based actuator module with integrated miniaturized
hydraulic transmission as shown in Fig. 46(top). In combination
with force sensors a continuously controlled preload shall be
obtained [36,159,158].
The actuator pushes against a membrane piston which
displaces a small part of the hydraulic fluid. The fluid pressure
is exerted on metal bellow piston which moves the push rod [36].
Temperature sensors are also integrated for indirectly detecting
the heat generation in the bearings. To compensate the thermal
deflections of the preloaded spindle the actuator module generates
a correlated force.
Within the joint research project ‘ISPI’ (see Fig. 40) a piezo-
actuator is used to achieve a constant preload force. This Fig. 46. Top: Design of the actuator module. Bottom: Test spindle (schematic view)
mechatronic concept allows adjusting the bearing preload to [36].
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Fig. 47. Speed dependant preload force with and without active preload control.
[169]. Fig. 47 shows the measured preload force at different

rotational speeds with and without active preload control.
In [164] a preload model is developed to describe how external
cooling (or heating) affects the bearing preload. Based on the
model, an active thermal preload regulation scheme is proposed
and its feasibility is validated experimentally. The proposed
preload regulation scheme is achieved by circulating a cooling
(or heating) flow around the spindle housing to manipulate the
housing and the outer ring temperatures.
7.3. Active tool deflection compensation
Increasing demands on productivity and consequently on

increasing feed rates can cause undesirable tool deflections.
Machining operations with long slender tools are especially
affected. Fig. 48. Active tool deflection compensation. Top: Prototype. Bottom: Tool
A mechanism for a multiaxial positioning of a HSC spindle and deflection (exaggerated demonstration) [37].
to correct tool deflections is invented in [176]. The combination of
a parallel kinematic basic drive arrangement and piezo-ceramic
actuators was developed. Complementary precision positioning the research, Abele et al. [2] developed a model for the
and additional movements like tilting the tool for deflection identification of the systems dynamics during machining.
compensation are possible benefits of this concept. Ries et al. [124] introduced a prototype of an active milling
Denkena et al. [37] also use piezo-actuators as active elements spindle. They integrated additional sensors and piezo-ceramic
for tool deflection compensation. The experimental setup consists stack actuators for the induction of forces into a common milling
of an adaptronic spindle-system which operates with three pre- spindle. Two piezo-ceramic stack actuators working perpendi-
stressed piezo-actuators. The schematic setup is displayed in cular to each other are attached to the outer bearing ring of the
Fig. 48. front bearing. With this construction it is possible to apply radial
Process forces in the x- and y-direction cause the tool loads in the range of 1 kN. The actuators are powered by two high-
deflection (Fig. 48, bottom). The static part of these forces is voltage power amplifiers. A modification of the front bearing
evaluated by averaging the process forces measured with a allows the generated radial movement. The prototype and the
dynamometer. Combined with the stiffness of the tool, the machine tool are shown in Fig. 50. An appropriate control scheme
deflection can be determined. Using the inverse kinematics the is used for driving the actuators in a way that additional damping
required position is converted into the needed actuator positions is provided.
to achieve the desired tool tip position. The actual position is A similar work was presented previously in 1998 by Shankar
steadily measured and corrected by the joint control of the piezo- et al. [140] discussing a ‘Smart Spindle Unit’ for active chatter
actuators.
7.4. Vibration damping/chatter control
The occurrence of chatter is the consequence of an unstable

cutting operation. Chatter in machine tools can lead to poor surface
finish, high loads and damage to spindles, tools and workpieces.
For suppressing these unwanted vibrations three basic approaches
are introduced: Active, semi-active and passive control of the
process.
7.4.1. Active compensation

Within the research project ‘AdHyMo’ Abele et al. [81]
developed a hybrid bearing motor spindle (Fig. 49). An active
magnetic bearing (AMB) is integrated in a HSC spindle in addition
to the conventional ball bearings. The AMB is controlled to increase
the damping of the spindle. An increase of 50% in MRR was reached
in a laboratory set up. Robust feedback and adaptive feed forward
control using m-synthesis improves the process stability. Based on Fig. 49. AdHyMo spindle [81].
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Fig. 50. CAD model and prototype of an active milling spindle with piezo stacks.
suppression. This system utilized a state-space model for active

Fig. 52. Designed damper [98].
control and demonstrated 100% increase in axial depth of cut.
The authors in [39] also use piezo actuators to control
vibrations during milling. In contrast to the concept of Ries analyzed by a finite element approach for the purpose of stability
et al. [124] the feedback for the control is the measured strain at prediction by [101]. The proposed approach indicates that spindle
the tool root as shown in Fig. 51 speed regulation is a necessary constraint to guarantee optimum
Some research was done in the field of spindle speed regulation stability during machining of thin-walled structures. The theore-
for stabilization of the cutting process [101,144]. The dynamic tical basics for the elimination of chatter in milling through the
interaction of a spindle-tool set and a thin-walled workpiece was automatic regulation of the spindle speed are presented in [144].
The system described here does not require knowledge of the
system dynamics, and it selects stable speeds where no chatter will
occur based on current dynamics.
7.4.2. Semi-active compensation

A semi-active method utilizing an intelligent material: Electro-
rheological (ER) fluid is explored in [98]. The medium is non-
conducting oil which contains dielectric particles. The fluid can
immediately convert its phase from liquid to solid upon exposure
to an electric field. A compact damper which contains the ER fluid
was designed (as shown in Fig. 52) and mathematical models were
developed. Furthermore a semi-active artificial intelligence (AI)
feedback controller was established.
7.4.3. Passive compensation

Placing the rolling bearings in an additional non-rotating
hydrostatic configuration is the procedure used in [168]. This leads
to an optimization of the damping characteristics of the spindle,
which improves the dynamic behavior of the spindle and tool
system.
8. Conclusions and further potentials
The heart of every modern machine tool is the main spindle unit
which is often designed as a motorized spindle. This core
component contributes heavily to productivity, precision and
quality of the machined products. Numerous projects have been
carried out and reviewed here which had the goal to increase the
performance, productivity and reliability of spindles.
Through these numerous research activities the topics mechan-
ical/thermal modeling, bearing and drives have been summarized.
Also many concepts were developed to integrate additional
sensors and actuators in the spindle unit. In general, it appears
the state-of-the-art is advancing in the recent past. Especially
apparent advances in modeling the dynamic behavior which
Fig. 51. Cross-section view of the Smart Spindle Unit [39]. indicates the potential to more accurately predict the real world.
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CIRP-595; No. of Pages 22

CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology

Machine tool spindle units

1. Introduction systems (motors and converters) have allowed the construction of

0007-8506/$ – see front matter ß 2010 CIRP.

2 E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx

Fig. 1. Historical review.

Fig. 4. Spindles available on the market [PTW].

Fig. 2. Sectional view of a motor spindle [courtesy: GMN].

Fig. 5. Main trends in industry on spindle development.

E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx 3

titanium alloys which require spindles having high torque and

4 E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx

expressed in state space forms or by a set of ordinary differential

3.2.1. Mechanical modeling of shaft and housing

to improved prediction of natural frequencies and mode shapes

Angular contact ball bearings (Fig. 11) are commonly used in

Fig. 8. The ﬁnite element model of the spindle-bearing-machine-tool system from

E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx 5

Fig. 11. Geometry of an angular contact ball bearing [27].

6 E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx

The common structure of the past models can be listed as:

Rolling bearings are modeled with Jones’ or deMul’s bearing

E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx 7

Modeling, prediction and optimization of spindles with respect

Depending on the machine tool application area, the spindle-

4.1.1. Ball bearings

Fig. 17. Measurements of displacements in Z-axis over time at different speeds on a

8 E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx

Hybrid bearings possess silicon nitride balls (Si3N4) with a

4.1.3. Magnetic bearings

E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx 9

Fig. 22. Preload mechanisms and inﬂuence of a temperature difference DT [167].

therefore require additional cooling. The viscosity of the air is

10 E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx

function of a movable bearing, it is necessary to provide a

E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx 11

with minimal leakage [46]. He also provides discussions on

12 E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx

4.5.3. Hollow shaft taper, HSK

E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx 13

composite material. In addition to the analysis of the mechanical

5.1. Motor design

The present multi-functional machine tools demand motor

14 E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx

chatter detection index g. This index gives information about the

6.1.4. Displacement meter

E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx 15

involves high costs for repairs and downtime. Detection and

and outer load conditions. A CAD-model of the spindle is shown in

6.4. Collisions and tool fractures

Collisions, tool fractures or overload at high-speed applications

16 E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx

lag. Typically, the structural dynamic modes of the spindle reduce

The spindle’s axial displacement consists of a speed dependent 7. Mechatronic concepts

E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx 17

The dual plane balancing system depicted in Fig. 45 is used for

7.2. Active preload control

18 E. Abele et al. / CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology xxx (2010) xxx–xxx

[169]. Fig. 47 shows the measured preload force at different

7.3. Active tool deﬂection compensation