Recent Advances in the Thermal Error of Precision Machine Tools

Dear Colleagues,

In the last few years, the machining of complex precision parts has continuously increased to meet the requirements for the machining accuracy of machine tools. In this context, the machining accuracy of precision machine tools is becoming higher and higher. Geometric, thermal, and forced-induced errors are the main reason for the decrease in the machining accuracy of precision machines. The thermal error accounts for 40% to 70% of the total machining error, and thermal error caused by thermal deformation is one of the most significant factors influencing the accuracy of the machine tool. Moreover, the higher the precision of the machine tool, the greater the proportion of the thermal error in the total machining error is. To improve the geometric precision of the machined complex parts, the thermal error should be reduced. Simulation-driven and data-driven methods are used to establish thermal error models. The simulation-driven method can conduct the thermal analysis of precision machine tools to obtain the temperature field, stress field, and thermal deformation of the whole machine tool and the function components. Then, some suggestions and optimizations are provided in the design stage. Data-driven methods are used to predict thermal error prediction, and the data-driven thermal error model is embedded into the error compensation system to artificially create a compensation component equal to the size of the thermal error and opposite in the direction of the thermal error. The error compensation is a practical and efficient method to reduce the thermal error. The accurate modeling and prediction of the thermal error is pivotal because the effectiveness of the compensation is directly determined by the accuracy and robustness of the thermal error model. In this regard, the title of this Topic is “Recent Advances in the Thermal Error of Precision Machine Tools”. The aim of this Topic is to attract original and innovative works but also review articles that cover the latest advances in the thermal behavior simulation as well as thermal error modeling, prediction, and compensation. We look forward to and welcome your participation in this Topic.

Dr. Chi Ma
Dr. Hu Shi
Dr. Fuxin Du
Prof. Dr. Kuo Liu
Dr. Zhengchun Du
Dr. Weiguo Gao
Dr. Sitong Xiang
Topic Editors