Influence of feed rate and spindle speed on referencing laser tool-setters

Abstract

The use of CNC machines has been increasingly intensive in industry. Sophisticated characteristics and resources have been implemented into these machines in order to achieve higher production rates and better dimensional quality. One of these resources is the laser tool-setter, used to automatically measure the main dimensions (diameter and length) of the tools used in the machining process by means of the interruption of a laser beam located in a predetermined position. However, the feed rate and the spindle speed used during referencing of the tool-setter (when the tool approaches the laser beam position) can influence the results of the measurements of a tool-setter due to the processing delay of the information by the CNC machine controls. This paper discusses these influences and identifies the most adequate values for the feed rate and the spindle speed to reach an optimized measurement of the tools. For that purpose, two experimental procedures were conducted to obtain the values of tool diameter and length under diverse feed rate and spindle speed settings (a nominal Ø16 mm × 15 mm length referencing pin mounted into the tool holder was used). Statistical analyses were performed to identify the most adequate conditions based on the results of the experiments. These analyses indicated that the minimum tool measurement variations occurred when the spindle speed remained idle and the feed rate was kept at values typically around 0.25–9.5 mm/min.