The Finite Element Analysis on Static and Dynamic Performance for the Welded-
Structure Column of a Certain Horizontal Machining Center
Shan Dongri
School of Mechanical Engineering
Shandong Institute of Light Industry
Jinan PR China
shandongri@126.com
AbstractThe static and dynamic performance for the welded-
structure column of a certain horizontal machining center is
analyzed using the finite element analysis software ABAQUS.
The stress, deformation distribution, natural frequency and
mode of vibration of column under the different conditions are
analyzed. The analytical results show that: the maximum stress
is 2.40MPa and the maximum distortion is 11m, both of them
can meet the accuracy requirements; the lowest vibration
mode frequency is 87.0 Hz, vibration isolation measures can be
properly used. This type of welded structure can withstand a
greater internal stress, bending stress, but also improve the
structural stability. Through analysis, the welded structure
column has many advantages, such as high stiffness, good
Connectivity, greater compact structure, high strength, low
production processes, high production efficiency, etc. So this
design can be called a better structure.
Keywords-Finite Element Analysis; Welded-structure
Horizontal Column; the Static and Dynamic Performance
I. INTRODUCTION
The high-speed machine center is one of the hotspots of
the development of machine tool. As the high-speed
machining center develops to the direction of high-precision,
high-quality and high-efficiency, its structure is more and
more complicated. The column is an essential part of the
machining center, the structural property of the column has a
great effect on the performance of the machining center,
especially affects its processing precision, vibration-resistant,
etc. In addition, the good or bad of its strength, stiffness also
influence the lifetime of machine tools. Therefore, how to
accurate the components of column precisely, reasonably,
scientifically and feasibly, is an important issue that the
machine tool need to be urgently solved in the structural
design process.
In the Finite element calculation of the machine tool
design, there are two key difficulties which are accurately
modeling and huge workload. Most of scholars simplify the
machine as the centralizing quality model or and the
distributing quality model.
Static tests for a small amount of pieces of faying surface
have been carried out since 1960s in china [1-3]. In 1980s,
static and dynamic performance for faying surface of unit
sample or some other typical connections has been studied
systematically. In recent years, researches of Zhejiang
University study the dynamic performance for fixed junction
of a machine tool together with the dynamic performance of
a column machining center bed and parameter identification.
Li Yandong
School of Mechanical Engineering
Shandong Institute of Light Industry
Jinan PR China
yandong89632356@126.com
Huazhong University of Science and Technology has
analyzed and compared the welded EQD18 and cast PM50A
types. The finite element model of the two machine centers
are built with the finite element software ANSYS. The static
stiffness, the dynamic stiffness and the natural frequency of
the two types of machine centers are calculated in the
different situations. Experiment shows that the finite element
model presented in this thesis is proved to be an efficient and
valid way to analyze the machine centers, and it is reliably
provided for the design of the high-speed machine centers
[4].
A certain type of high-speed horizontal machining center
is being developed by a company. The structure of its
column utilizes the welded form of steel plate. The headstock
is hanged on the column. And it can be driven up and
down(Y axis). The column can be driven around (X axis)
through the screw rod of the base. In this paper, the stress
and deformation distribution under the different conditions
are simulated by the finite element software ABAQUS. The
parameters of column are analyzed to check up whether they
are reasonable. Then the structure of column is optimized
and analyzed in order to advance the machining accuracy
and working lifetime.
II. FEA MODEL
A. 3D Model
The FEA Model of the column is the foundation which of
mechanical analysis and optimization. The model is
reasonable or not directly affects the precision of results and
the cost, etc.
As the structure of column is complicated, only load-
bearing parts are considered. Ignore screw holes, chamfer,
installing support and other the small parts which have little
effect on the overall performance [5]. A large number of
steel plates, whose thickness is small compared with its
length and width, are widely utilized in the column. We use
the plane with the actual dimensions take the place of them.
The simplified model of column is shown in figure 1.
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978-1-4244-5265-1/10/$26.00 2010 IEEE
 Figure 1. The simplified model of column Figure 2. The load on the column and the imposed boundary conditions
(drilling)
B. Material Properties
The material of the column is Q235, modulus of
elasticity is 210GPa, Poisson ratio is 0.3, and density is
7860kg/m3.
C. Constraints and Load
This column is welded structure, which is connected with
guide-rail together by bolts. So the rests of column are all
fixed.
As to the machining center, the force is caused by
reaction which through the spindle and spindle box delivered
to the column. In order to simulate the column's deformation
actually, add the force on the guide-rails by the equivalence
principle. According to the force characteristics of machining
centers, we analyzed the stress conditions by the two
different conditions are as follows: Figure 3. The load on the column and the imposed boundary conditions
1) Drilling (milling)
When the spindle is located in the highest point of its
journey, the column deformation is biggest, when we D. Creating Mesh
research use this condition as the limit condition. At this Creating mesh is a process which can make the whole
point, the distance between the spindle centerline and the structure dispersed. It is the basis of finite element analysis.
bottom plane is 1005mm. The pressure on the top is 3940N, It determines the accuracy of results. Disperse the plate with
resolve the force into the left and right bearings by the S4R unit. Disperse the solid with C3D8R. The dispersed
equivalence principle, the pressure of each bearing is 1970N. column is shown in figure 4.
The load in the Z-axis is 5800N; resolve the force into the
left and right guide-rails by the equivalence principle, so the
pressure of each guide-rail is 2900NEach guide-rail has
two anchor points. So the force of each anchor point is
1450N.
2) Milling
The machine center is affected by the torque in the XY
plane. The maximum power of the Motor is 31KW, rated
speed is 1100r/m, and the driving torque of main spindle is
P 31
M 9550 9550 N m 269.1N m
n 1100
Also 269.1N m ! 232N m , so it is 269.1N m .
Resolve the force into the left and right guide-rails by the
equivalence principle. Figure 4. The dispersed column
The load on the column (corresponding to the drilling
and milling) and the imposed boundary conditions is shown
in Figure 2 and Figure 3.
 III. STATIC ANALYSIS
The stress and deformation distribution under different
conditions are simulated by the FEA software ABAQUS.
1) Drilling
The column has a small deformation under the load. The
maximum stress on the bottom of the column is 1.97MPa
and the maximum deformation distribution on top of the
column is 11.0m. The results are shown in Figure 5 and
Figure 6.

Figure 8. The deformation distribution of the column

From the static Analysis, it can be seen that the stress of

the column is lager when drilling. Its value is 2.40MPa. The
material of column is Q235, and the tensile strength and
compression strength reach 300MPa and 1100MPa. It is far
beyond the stress that column can bore. Therefore the
problems of the structure cant be considered.
IV. DYNAMIC ANALYSIS
The dynamic performance of columns reflects the
Figure 5. The stress distribution of the column structure of the vibration-resistant capacity under the
dynamic cutting force, which have a direct impact on the
machining accuracy of machine tools [6]. The natural
frequency and mode of vibration can be determined by the
dynamic analysis of the column. And they are all important
parameters on structural design which can withstand the
dynamic load [6]. At the same time the results can be used for
structural improvement of the column.
In order to avoid the resonance phenomena of the column,
the dynamic characteristics are analyzed, the natural
frequencies within 500Hz and the corresponding mode of
vibration are obtained. Its natural frequencies are shown in
Table I.
Figure 6. The deformation distribution of the column
TABLE I. THE FORMER SEVEN-ORDER NATURAL FREQUENCY OF THE
COLUMN STRUCTURE
2) Milling
The column has a small deformation under the load. The Oder 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
maximum stress on the bottom of the column is 2.40MPa Natural
87. 153 216 303 387 451 474
and the maximum deformation distribution on top of column Frequen
0 .6 .7 .0 .5 .9 .1
is 9.40m. The results are shown in Figure 7 and Figure 8. cy (Hz)
The corresponding mode of vibration is shown in Figure
9 and Figure 15.

Figure 7. The stress distribution of the column

Figure 9. The mode of vibration of first order

 Figure 14. The mode of vibration of sixth order
Figure 10. The mode of vibration of second order

Figure 15. The mode of vibration of seventh order

Figure 11. The mode of vibration of third order
According to table 1 and the figures of the mode of
vibration, the first and second frequencies are relatively low.
The vibration mode of first order results from the column
swing side to side. And the vibration mode of second order
results from the column swing back and forth. The results
can be used for choosing a suitable motor and taking some
measures to isolate the vibration. From figure 11 to Figure
15, the vibration mode frequencies are gradually increasing
from the third order to seventh order. The vibration mode
frequencies are relatively high. The results can be used for
structural improvement of the column.
Figure 12. The mode of vibration of forth order V. OPTIMAL DESIGNS AND ANALYSIS
It is shown from the above data that the design for the
column of the horizontal machining center is very reasonable.
This structure of the column is Q235 welded steel plate
parts, and the column is installed in the sliding seat, which is
moved with the column and slide with the horizontal
movement. The bottom of the four docks is connected with
guide-rails by bolts, and the ribs are allocated. The
comprehensive performance of bendingresistant, torque
resistant and the stiffness of the column are improved, at the
same time, the partial distortion and flutter of the column
avoided effectively.
Figure 13. The mode of vibration of fifth order Compared with the casting structure, the advantages and
disadvantages of the welded structure column are as follows
(1) Because the strength of steel is three times higher
than cast iron and the stiffness of steel is 2.5 times higher
than cast iron, the welded structure column can save a lot of
metal materials under the same conditions of strength,
rigidity and other properties, etc.
(2) Welded structure ensures greater stiffness;
moreover, it can also ensure greater compact structure, high
strength, low production processes and high production
efficiency, etc.
(3) Connectivity is good, weld seam has good
mechanical properties, pressure-resistant, good sealing,
corrosion-resistant, etc.
(4) Simplify the complex parts and large parts of the
manufacturing process.
(5) However, there has welding stress while welding,
and how to reduce the welding stress should be noticed in
designing. Post-weld, heat treatment should also require
eliminating stress and deformation.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
(1) From the results of the static analysis, it can be
seen that the deformation is lager when the headstock is at
the vertex. The maximum deformation is 11m. The main
reason is that the column is higher and the stress is lager in
the top of column. Both the stress and deformation can meet
the accuracy requirements.
(2) The structure of this column is welded-steel plate
parts, which has the advantages of compact, high strength,
low production processes, etc.
(3) According to the static and dynamic analysis of
welded structure, the welded structure column can withstand
a greater internal stress, bending stress, and it can also
improve the structural stability.
(4) According to the static and dynamic analysis of the
column, the maximum stress of this column is 2.40MPa and
the maximum deformation distribution is 11m under the
influence of the load. Therefore the disruptive structural
problems needn't be considered. The minimum natural
frequency is 87.0Hz, since the deformation is relatively
small, the column can easily lead to resonance. Vibration
isolation measures or some other necessary structural
optimization designs should be considered under the
demand of meeting the accuracy.
ACKNOWLDGMENT
R.B.G. thanks: Natural Science Foundation of Shandong
Province; Science and Technology Development Planning of
the Education Department of Shandong province (J07Y07-1);
Independent Innovation Agenda for universities of Jinan
(200906034).
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