Tool chatter in turning with a two-link robotic arm

Robotic operations have undeniable advantages of speed and precision in machining. However, such operations are generally limited by the self-excited tool chatter problem. When uncontrolled, chatter leaves a rough machined surface, accelerates wear of the cutter and creates unacceptably loud noise levels. A conventional approach to suppress chatter is to slow the waste removal rate. Such an action is usually successful to avoid chatter, but causes increased production time and cost. Therefore, it is desirable to maintain a reasonably fast rate of production and employ a chatter control measure. A simple semi-active parameter control technique is investigated numerically in this study. The proposed method is effective and requires no additional hardware to implement at the actuated joints such as those in robotic structures.