Current Trends in

s Smith High-Speed Machining

J. TllJSty
Dept. of Mech. Engr.,
Univ. of Florida,
Gainsville, FL 32611
The focus of the majority of high-speed machining research has been directed toward
improving metal removal rates. Tool materials capable of withstanding high cutting
speeds have become available (silicon nitride for cast iron, solid carbide for alumi-
num, and superabrasives for hardened steels), and the focus of research has shifted
to maximizing the cutting performance of the machine tool. Measurement of cutting
performance, chatter avoidance, structural design, tool retention, and axis control
have become important research topics. The purpose of this paper is to provide an
overview of the state of the art in high-speed machining and to provide our view of
the emerging research areas.

Definition of High-Speed Machining regeneration of waviness (Tlusty 1985) mechanism. It is diffi-

We start with the most basic question about high-speed ma-
chining: What is it? In the literature, there are many different
definitions of high-speed machining. A rather comprehensive
summary has been provided in Lewis (1995), and we will
mention a few of them here. Many sources use the absolute
spindle speed (for example, defining any speed greater than
8000 rpm as high speed). However, this is misleading because
it does not indicate the size of the spindle. It is much easier to
achieve a high absolute speed with a small diameter spindle. A
more accurate representation of high speed from a spindle de-
sign point of view is the DN number, which has been used by
spindle designers for many years. DN is the spindle diameter
in mm multiplied by the spindle speed in rpm. There are a
number of commercial machines available with DN numbers
in the 1.5 million range. There are a few (mostly laboratory)
spindles in existence with DN numbers in excess of 2 million.
The definition we will use is related to the tool and spindle
dynamics. This definition depends on the natural frequency of
the dominant (most flexible) mode of vibration. This kind of
definition is used to select sped ranges for cutting performance
tests in the ANSI/ASME Standard (Hocken, 1991). We can
segregate the entire spindle speed range into the following 4
categories, as illustrated in the stability lobe diagram of Fig. 1.
This figure shows permissible stable axial depth of cut versus
spindle speed for a particular radial depth of cut.
Low-speed machining occurs whenever the wavelength of
vibration in the dominant mode becomes so short that process
damping effects occur, as indicated by section A of Fig. 1. This
might typically happen when the wavelength of the vibration
becomes shorter than 3 mm. For example, if the dominant natu-
ral frequency were 1000 Hz, and the tool used were a 25 mm
diameter 2 flute end mill, the low speed machining would occur
at spindle speeds below about 2300 rpm.
Midrange machining occurs at higher speed where process
damping effects do not occur, but where stability lobe effects
are not obvious either, as indicated by section B of Fig. 1. The
upper limit to this range occurs where the tooth passing fre-
quency is approximately \ of the dominant natural frequency.
For the tool described above midrange machining would happen
above 2300 lpm and below 7500 rpm. In the midrange, the
limit of stability looks almost constant. In this range the stability
can be improved by spindle speed variation and non-propor-
tional tooth spacing (Tlusty, 1983; Sexton, 1978; Takemura,
1974; and Lin, 1990). Both of these techniques disturb the
This paper was submitted in response to an invitation to publish papers in the
75TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE OP THE JOURNAL OF MANUFACTURING SCIENCE AND
ENGINEERING. Manuscript received Oct. 1996.
cult to use spindle speed variation at higher speeds, because as
the speed gets higher it becomes harder to make enough of a
spindle speed change. This is not a problem for nonproportional
tooth spacing, but nonproportional spacing means that some of
the teeth are under utilized. Additionally, both of these tech-
niques preclude the use of the stability lobe effects which be-
come apparent at higher speeds.
High-speed machining occurs whenever the tooth passing
frequency can approach a substantial fraction of the dominant
(most flexible) natural frequency (Smith, 1987), as indicated
by section C of Fig. 1. For the tool defined above, the high-
speed range would extend from 7500 rpm to approximately
45,000 rpm. In this range, stability lobe effects are obvious, and
the depth of cut which can be achieved depends very strongly on
the selection of the correct spindle speed. At spindle speeds
where the tooth passing frequency is an integer fraction of
the dominant natural frequency, substantial increases in metal
removal rates are possible. The most stable speed is the one
where the tooth passing frequency is equal to the dominant
natural frequency.
Ultra high-speed machining would occur at speeds where the
tooth passing frequency is greater than about 2 to 3 times the
dominant natural frequency, as indicated by the remainder of
Fig. 1 above section C. For our example, this would happen at
spindle speeds greater than about 60,000 rpm. Such spindle
speeds are higher than the minimum of the highest stability
lobe. Above this speed, the permissible depth of cut increases
as the spindle speed increases. This speed range is usually not
feasible with current spindle designs.
Prediction of Stable Cutting Conditions
When milling in the high speed range, it becomes obvious
that a knowledge of the machine tool dynamics is important for
achieving a high metal removal rate. For some time in the
high-speed machining field, the approach was to measure the
dynamics of the machine-tool-workpiece system, calculate the
stability lobes using simplified formulae (Tlusty, 1983; Merritt,
1965; and Tobias, 1958), and then to select cutting conditions
which took advantage of the stability lobes. However, the sim-
plified formulae make assumptions which are not true (using
an average orientation of the cutting force for example), and
more accurate estimates have been obtained with case-by-case
time domain simulation (Tlusty, 1981a; Tlusty, 1981b; Smith,
1991; Smith, 1993; Sutherland, 1988; and Shin, 1994). The
global nature of the simplified lobing diagram and the greater
accuracy of time domain simulation were combined in the Peak-
To-Peak (PTP) diagrams (Smith, 1991; and Smith, 1993),
which summarize the results of many simulations. Recently, a

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 a) X Force (kN)
2

Fig. 1 Stability lobe diagram with spindle speed ranges

15 25
Spindle Speed (krpm) 4 5
renewed attempt at accurate analytical computation of the stabil-
b) X Force (kN)
ity lobes has been reported (Altintas 1995). Once stable speed
and permissible depth-of-cut information became available, 2\¥
many researchers began to try to write NC programs which
were stable from the outset (Tlusty, 1990; and Tsai, 1991), by
referring to a computation or a database of acceptable cuts at
programming time.

Automatic Selection of Stable Conditions

The next major development for coping with machine tool
dynamics in the high-speed range was in correcting unstable
machining conditions on-line. In Week (1975) is described a
system which redistributes the passes in the machining opera-
tion based on a prior knowledge of the stability lobe diagram.
The Chatter Recognition and Control System (CRAC) (Smith,
1987; Smith, 1992a; and Smith, 1992b) is an on-line system
using the sound of the cutting operation, the measured spindle 25 45
speed, and the number of teeth on the tool to determine when Spindle Speed (krpm)
chatter occurs, and to automatically choose a new stable spindle
Fig. 2 Peak-to-peak diagrams for (a) 71 mm overhang and (b) 88 mm
speed. Because the CRAC system stabilizes high speed milling overhang
by spindle speed and feed changes, stability is achieved without
changing the basic NC program. Several refinements and ad-
vancements of the system have been reported (Delio, 1992; and
thin-walled parts. In such cases, as the machining proceeds
Smith, 1994).
pass after pass, the wall becomes more flexible. Eventually,
the forced vibration of the previously machined wall leads to
Recent Developments in High-Speed Machining unintended contact with the tool above the cutting zone. This
increase in axial depth of cut leads to chatter. The situation may
It soon became obvious that detecting chatter after its occur-
be remedied by providing a relief, or elimination of the cutting
rence was not the preferred mode of use of the CRAC system.
edges above the intended cutting zone. In such a situation the
A new technique was reported (Winfough, 1995a) for using
maximum metal removal rate is achieved by making the cutting
the CRAC system as a tool in an NC program to automatically
edge length as close as possible to the maximum stable depth
catalog the spindle speed and axial depth of cut combinations
of cut. The effect is illustrated in Fig. 3.
resulting in the highest metal removal rates. More recently
(Tlusty, 1996) a method has been described for changing the The dynamic stiffness of the tool-tool holder interface and
length of the tool so that the most stable region falls at the top of the tool-holder spindle interface has been the subject of much
speed of the spindle. Shown in Fig. 2 are two PTP stability
diagrams for the same tool, with an overhang of 71 mm and
with an overhang of 88 mm. The figures show the feed direction
cutting force versus spindle speed for a 2 fluted end mill in
slotting. Each line represents a constant axial depth of cut start-
ing at 0.5 mm at the bottom and increasing in 0.5 mm incre-
ments. The stable regions are seen where the force increases
linearly with the axial depth of cut. In Fig. 1 we see that if the
highest spindle speed were 25,000 rpm, then the achievable
stable axial depth of cut (and thus the metal removal rate)
would be greater with the longer tool, because a large stable
zone coincides with the maximum spindle speed. Essentially
this technique is manipulation of the tool dynamics to take
maximum advantage of the spindle capabilities.
In some cases, even if the knowledge of stable speeds and
depths of cut is used, chatter can occur due to the nature of the
A B
workpiece (Tlusty, 1996). One example is the machining of Fig. 3 Machining a thin rib with (a) conventional tool (b) relieved tool

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 research. In the tool-tool holder interface, substantial increases
in stiffness and shortening of the overhang have been achieved
using shrink-fit tooling (Winfough 1995b). There are a number
of competing designs in the tool holder-spindle interface. The
traditional taper interface tends to open as the spindle speed
increases, and either the grip force is reduced, or the tool is
pulled further into the spindle. The HSK design (Week, 1994)
uses interior clamping, which becomes stronger as the speed
increases. However, the HSK design requires a hollow tool
holder, prevents the use of shrink fit tooling, and requires a
longer overhang. A modification of the traditional taper design
has been reported in Agapiou (1995). In this system, the taper
is used for location, while the stiffness is achieved mainly
through face contact.
Future Trends in High Speed Machining
There are several areas of intense active research in high-
speed machining. As spindle speed get higher and higher, the
axis speed must increase as well. If we consider a 2 fluted tool
rotating at 30,000 rpm, then to achieve a chip load of 0.1 mm,
a feed rate of 6 m/min is required. The feed control must be
capable of accurately following the desired path, but at such
feeds the dynamics of the feed drives and machine components
begin to cause problems. In addition to high speed, the machine
axes also require high acceleration. The vast majority of ma-
chine operations (pocketing for example) require machine mo-
tions in at least 3 axes. A machine with high feed rates, but
low accelerations could spend the majority of the machining
time well below the top feed. Many researchers (Tlusty, 1995;
Koren, 1991) are using feedforward control schemes to attack
these problems. Additionally, attempts are being made to use
active and passive dampers to improve the dynamic structural
stiffness of the high-speed machine tools.
Recent developments in tool materials have opened the door
to high-speed machining of hard materials. There have been
reports in the literature (Schultz, 1992; Schultz, 1995) of suc-
cessful high-speed machining of hardened steels (as in dies and
molds). This technique holds the promise to replace the more
traditional processes of machining in the soft state, hardening,
and then grinding, or EDM. Much higher metal removal rates
than EDM are achieved in the roughing operations, and very
high speeds (up to 100,000 rpm) deliver very high quality in
fine finish milling.
In spindle design, substantial progress has been achieved by
the use of bearings with ceramic balls, and by the use of constant
preload arrangements. In such arrangements one of the pre-
loaded sets of bearings is set in a floating mount, e.g. in a
roller bushing. At this stage, the main problem is obtaining an
improvement in motor performance in the sense of reducing
the heat generated in the rotor and passed via the shaft through
the bearings. Vector drives offer better performance and projects
are underway to develop and build brushless DC motors which
can operate at high speeds.
Conclusions
As a field of research, high speed machining is not new, and
there has been a substantial amount of research published. The
reference list at the end of this paper is by no means comprehen-
sive. However, it is only relatively recently that high speed
machining has emerged as a commercially viable technology.
Attempts to make practical use of high speed machining have
led to important developments in the diverse areas of tool mate-
rials, spindle and machine design, tool retention mechanisms,
controller design, chatter avoidance, structural dynamics of ma-
chine tools, and cutting strategies, to name a few. It is clear
that despite the impressive advances which have been made,
high-speed machining will continue to provide a wide array of
challenges to the machine tool community. High-speed machin-
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ing has become an economically significant process, and the
field of applications is continuing to rapidly expand.
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Transactions of the ASME