An Optimized Design of the Bearing in Machines for

UItrason ic Machin ing Processes

U. Heisel ( I ) , D. Klotz
Institute for Machine Tools, University of Stuttgart,
Stuttgart, Germany

Abstract
In high-power ultrasonic manufacturing processes, the design of the bearing of the components
transmitting ultrasound is of particular importance, since the position of the nodal planes in the vibrating
structure is altering as a consequence of changing coupling conditions during the process. A special
bearing, which reduces the residual vibrations at the fixing ring by a system of several resonators, has
been developed for the use in ultrasonic production processes, such as tube drawing and wire drawing
but also drilling and welding.Since the transmitted longitudinal vibrations always involve radial
components as well, the dynamic stiffness of the coupling on the interface between the components
transferring energy and the components deleting vibration is very important. In the method described in
this paper, an optimization of dynamic behavior is attained by stiffness-reduced coupling.

Keywords:
Ultrasonic manufacturing, bearing, vibration insulation

1 INTRODUCTION inside the ultrasound-transmitting components. In the

Ultrasonic vibrations can be used for improving process following picture of the process simulated by FEM, this is
sequences and for increasing the quality of the shown by the example of ultrasonic tube drawing with
workpiece in many production processes. The frequency actuated mandrel.
range of such applications is usually between 20 kHz
and approx. 40 kHz. The vibrations produced by
piezoelectric or magnetostrictive actuators are induced
into the process via a chain of energy-transferring
components.
Previous works on ultrasonic production processes were
concentrated mainly on the mode of action of the
vibrations induced into the process and on the results
achieved in the machining of the workpiece [ I ] [2] [3].
Only a few people have looked intensively into the
design and the analysis of ultrasonic tools suitable for
the corresponding vibrations [4] [5] [6].
However, the bearing of the ultrasound-transmitting
components is of decisive importance for stabilizing the
production process, especially in high-power processes
with difficult coupling conditions between tool and
workpiece. Here, the bearing elements serve the Figure 1: Comparison of dynamic conditions on the
purpose of taking up the forces of the process. mandrel actuated by ultrasound at idle running and
Simultaneously they ensure the undisturbed energy flux under load.
of the ultrasonic vibrations, without shifting the nodal
planes within the transmission components in the course
of this. Consequently, the frequency of the vibrations rises from
approx. 20 kHz to 20.6 kHz at the beginning of the
process.
2 ULTRASONIC VIBRATIONS IN MACHINES
2.2 Bearing of ultrasound-transmitting components
2.1 Basic rules for the design of ultrasound-
Ultrasound-transmitting components have to be held by
transmitting components bearing elements, in order to couple the ultrasonic
When designing ultrasound-transmitting components, vibrations into the process. These bearing elements
one has to observe a few basic rules for a safe operation serve the purpose of decoupling the actuator from the
and a high efficiency of ultrasonic production lines. Thus static power flux on the one hand, and on the other hand
the transmitted longitudinal vibrations must always have they ensure that ultrasound is induced, keeping the
maxima of motion at the assembly joint within the chain losses as low as possible. The simplest design of
of en e rgy-transferring corn pone nts. bearing consists of a direct fixing at one vibration node
In order to produce a favorable effect of ultrasound on of the energy-transferring elements. However, this is not
the process, the tool also has to be designed in a way sufficient for the use in high-power production processes
that there is a maximum of motion at the tool tip. because of the above-mentioned shiftings in the nodal
However, at the beginning of the process a drastic planes.
change in the coupling conditions occurs due to the This is why the following component, shown in figure 2
contact of the tool with the workpiece. This results in a has been inserted as a bearing in a test stand for tube
shifting in the maxima and the minima of the vibrations drawing with an ultrasound-actuated mandrel.

Figure 2: Old design of actuator bearing
Since this bearing shows big differences in its dynamic
behavior in different radial directions due to its quasi
two-dimensional structure, a new bearing has been
deveIo ped.
3 DEVELOPMENT OF AN ACTUATOR BEARING
FOR HIGH-POWER PROCESSES
3.1 Bearing with rotationally symmetrical geometry
For the redesigning of this component, an FEM
simulation of the geometry initially designed analytically
was carried out. The result of this simulation is shown in
the figure 3 below.
Figure 3: FE-based design of actuator bearing
The principle of this bearing is based on the connection
of several resonators. The transmission chain's
cylindrical part, which is situated inside, is coupled at its
vibration node onto the second resonator, since no
relative motion arises lengthwise at this place. This is in
accordance with the ideal case that the whole
arrangement is optimally tuned and that no thrust arises.
The position of the nodal plane in the inside cylinder
does not now correspond exactly with the position of the
mechanical interface, in an off-resonance operation
outside the chain's self resonance or when a thrust is
summoned up. In this case, the elasticity of the outer
resonance tube provides enough flexibility in the
direction of vibration to facilitate, nevertheless, a
sufficient decoupling of the energy-transmission chain
from the machine table.
If merely the position of the nodal plane shifts in the
chain while the system is still vibrating at its designed
frequency, then the fork-shaped piece is able to
compensate this deviation entirely. This fork-shaped
piece is shown in the sectional drawing on the right in
figure 3 and is reminiscent of a tuning fork here. In this
case, the outside tube works as a second resonator at
the chosen frequency. The tube's length is calculated so
that at this frequency the nodal plane drops again to the
position of the outer fixing at the clamping ring. This
results in an even more extensive compensation of the
remaining residual vibration.
The resonant frequencies and the natural shapes of the
bearing component have been determined by means of
an FE modal analysis. Furthermore, the geometry of the
assembly has been optimized to the effect that the
desired eigenfrequencies arise and that the nodal planes
of the vibrations end up lying at the fixing points.
Figure 3 shows a longitudinal section through the
component (left) and the bearing's fundamental vibration
at the first longitudinal eigenfrequency is 19.986 Hz,
having its nodal plane in the middle of the inside cylinder
(right).
After the FEM design was accomplished, the new piece
was manufactured. This turned out to be extraordinarily
challenging due to the complicated geometry and the
material used, TiA16V4.
Table 1 shows a comparison between the experimental
results of the old bearing (22 kHz) and those of the new
one, which was designed for a resonant frequency of 20
kHz. Both components were measured under the same
conditions with free suspension, impact excitation on the
part of the actuator and tracing with a laser vibrometer.
Mobility of Mobility of
Tracing spot old bearing new bearing
[( mm/s)/N] [( mmvs 1
Coupling surface to
booster
I 31.9 I 50.3 I
I Nodal point I 2.86 I 0.263 I
I Fixing
I
I
I
1.96 I
I
0.104 I
I
Table 1: Frequency response functions of actuator
bearings.
Here the residual vibration at the vibration node of the
inner resonator that is on the energy-transmission chain
and the vibration at the fixing device are reduced by
more than one order of magnitude with the newly
designed actuator bearing. Thus a clear improvement
can be seen in regard to the dynamic conditions, and
consequently the transmitted ultrasonic waves remain
restricted far better to the machine's effective area
during operation. Obviously, this improved decoupling
from the machine frame also influences capacity for
energy transmission, as shown by the comparison of the
measured mobility in table 2.
A further criterion for the assessment of such decoupling
elements is the comparison between the dynamic
conditions with free suspension on the one hand, and
with measuring under realistic conditions on the other
hand. The results depicted in the table below show that
there is also a clear improvement of the newly designed
bearing in comparison with the currently used one.
Fixing conditions
during frequency [kHz]
measurement
Free Suspension 22.952 20.675 0.0050 0.0044
Realistic fixing 22.972 20.680 0.0070 0.0050
Table 2: Influence of fixing on resonant frequency and
damping of components.
With the new bearing, the resonant frequencies remain
almost stable under the different measurement
conditions, with a difference of only 5 Hz, whereas with
the old version a clearly higher difference of 20 Hz can
be found. These measuring results, being also reflected
in the damping ratios, signify that the back-couplings of
the process vibrations, which are induced into the
machine structure via the damping ring, can be reduced
considerably with an appropriately optimized bearing.
These improvements are also confirmed in the case of
assembled energy-transferring components for real
production processes. There the new bearing brings
about higher deflections at the tool tip and lower
dissipations, as the example of the ultasound-actuated
mandrel shows.
Mandrel with Mandrel with
old bearing new bearing
Dssipation at 10 pm at
the tip of the mandrel
6o
I 15w
Maximum longitudinal
oscillation amplitude
1 10pm 1 18vm
Table 3: Comparison of the ultrasound-actuated mandrel
with new and old bearing at idle running.
3.2 Analysis of further possibilities for optimization
It is not possible to measure the vibration behavior of the
real component under process conditions by means of
measuring techniques because of the unsteady
conditions during the machining process. However, the
behavior of the actuator bearing under different
operating conditions could be analyzed by means of
sequential harmonic response analyses on the basis of
the finite elements method. in order to find starting pants
for further measures of optimization. At the same time,
the sensibility of the transmission behavior was
examined with regard to different design variables. such
as core length, position of the connection to the outer
resonance tube, length of the resonance tube, and
position of the clamping ring. The excitation was effected
at point 4 on the bolt's remains of the actuator screw
joint (cf. figure 3) through a harmonic force with an
amplitude of IN. This kind of excitation allows a
deduction of the frequency response functions directly
from the displacement frequency responses on the
examined responding points 2. 3 and 5. The
disturbances in the structure subside quickly due to the
singular induction of force. The response behavior of the
component was simulated in a damped condition and
freely supported, corresponding to a filament suspension
in the experimental arrangement. An element film with
implemented material damping was modelled around the
fixing points, in order to receive a displacement
response at the damping ring (points 2 and 3) in the
clamped condition. This was done for adjusting the
coupling conditions to the machine base. In the
following. only the results of the investigation in the
installed condition are presented, since this condition
comes dosest to the realistic operating conditions. The
resonant frequency at the design point is 19986 Hz. for
both the free-free case and the installed condition.
3.3 Stiffness-reduced approach
A conflict of goals is comprised by the design of a
bearing for ultrasound-transmitting components and of
actuators that can decouple process vibrations from the
machine bed. The reason for this is that the connection
of the outer resonator has to be placed at one motion
node of the transmission chain. Here, however. a
maximum deflection in the radial direction exists in the
case of longitudinal operating vibrations, because of the
components' constant volume. This radial motion is
constncted by the outer resonator.
The considerations above have shown that the outer
resonator% position of connection to the transmission
chain is a delicate parameter. The less the resonance
tube is excited to its natural oscillation, the more
effective the decoupling of vibration turns out to be. If it
can be managed to diminish the stiffening effect of the
connection in the area between the core and resonance
tube and to make this zone smoother espeaally in radial
direction. the residual vibrations can be reduced even
further. This can be achieved for instance, by inserting
milling grooves around the perimeter, figure 4.
This measure to reduce stiffness and mass requires a
fundamental new tuning of the geometq, which was
carried out with the help of FE modal analyses.
I
I
Figure 4: FEM model of an optimized actuator bearing
with stiffnessreduced coupling.
When tuning the design to the frequency desired, it has
to be taken into consideration that the resonant
frequency of the Overall structure does not have to
correspond with the resonant frequencies of the parhal
structures, i.e. resonance tube and core. This is due to
the fact that the distnbution of mass and stiffness varies
according to the design. All the parameters of the
geometq influence each other. so that an exact design
of the component for the desired operating resonance is
only possible in an iterative process. Assuming ideally
that the structure is a one-dimensional multibody system
with longitudinal spring-masselements would lead to an
independence of the modal quantities of resonance tube
and core, in case that the resonance tube is connected
exactly at the core's vibration node. Moreover, this
assumption ignores the modal coupling of the two
structures. A design of the structures according to these
criteria would lead to wrong lengths. A three-dimensional
view, however, takes the coupling into account and leads
to correct lengths.
Comparing the previous FE model's flexibility on the
design frequency to that of the stiffnessreduced model
with grooves verifies that an improvement is attainable,
as figure 5 shows.
Change of coupling Change of
to machine bed transmissibility
Figure 5: Comparison between previous and stiffness
reduced design in FEM simulation with regard to
dynamic characteristic values.
A disadvantage of the stiffness-reduced design is that
further modes arise. Figure 6 shows the modes which
are in the direct vicinity of the operating vibration (here in
a three-dimensional FE model at 19959 Hz).
Figure 6: Modes of actuator bearing in direct vicinity of
ope ration frequency (t hree-dimensiona I FE moda I
analysis).
Since these resonant frequencies are only a few
hundred Hertz away from the design frequency and thus
still within the control range of an ultrasound generator,
problems may arise in practice with such a stiffness-
reduced design. However, by appropriately tuning the
length and the width of the tines, it should be possible to
shift at least the partial vibrations of the tines into
frequency ranges which possess enough safe distance
to the operation frequency.
But in principle, it is proved that stiffness-reduced
measures are effective in the resonance tube's
connection range to the core.
4 EXPERIMENTAL SCRUTINY OF THE RESULTS
A prototype out of aluminum was produced to verify the
design of the stiffness-reduced actuator bearing resulting
from the FE analysis. By this means, the question can
be answered whether the spurious resonances following
from the FE modal analysis have a relevant influence on
the longitudinal operating vibration at approx. 20 kHz,
during operation in a production process interfered by
ultrasound.
For this purpose the prototype of the stiffness-reduced
actuator bearing was measured under free suspension
conditions, and its frequency response function was
determined. Here, the excitation was effected by an
impact hammer, specially developed for high-frequency
measurements at the coupling surface to the actuator,
close to point 4. By tracing with a laser vibrometer, both
point 5 at the other end of the transmission chain and
point 3 at the fixing were measured as response signals
for determining the freq uency response fu nctions.
The frequency response function (mobility) along the
transmission chain is shown in figure 7. Here you can
see that, at a distance of +/- 500 Hz, there are no
relevant modes which would have a troublesome effect
on the operation frequency. The reason why the
longitudinal mode is over 20 kHz in this measurement is
founded on the fact that there are no bolt's remains of
actuator or booster in this measurement like it is in the
FE model. Consequently, the resonant frequency of the
bearing alone is higher than the resonant frequency in
assembled condition.
1
c
-
._
0,001
0
2 0,0001
0,00001
0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000
Frequency [Hz]
Figure 7: Frequency response function M54of stiffness-
reduced actuator bearing.
5 CONCLUSION
Different designs for the bearing of ultrasound-
transmitting components for high-power production
processes have been examined. Considerable
improvements in dynamic conditions could be achieved
together with an increase in efficiency when comparing
the new bearing to currently used ones. With regard to
the presented solution of the stiffness-reduced actuator
bearing, the inserted milling grooves are critical
construction features from the viewpoint of notch effect
and fatigue Iimit. However, cons idera ble improvements
can be achieved in the operation of such facilities with
the described method of a three-dimensional design,
considering all marginal conditions necessary. Thus, in
high-power processes a stable process sequence is
facilitated for ultrasonic production processes as well.
6 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The investigations were supported by the German
Research Council (DFG) within the framework of the
special field of research No. 543, Ultrasound-Interfered
Forming of Metallic Materials.
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