This thesis presents experimentally verified optimal feedrate generation and high performance precision control algorithms developed for 5-axis machine tools.

A feedrate scheduling algorithm has been introduced to minimize the cycle time for 5-axis machining of curved tool-paths. The variation of the feed along the tool-path is expressed in a cubic B-spline form as a function of the arc displacement. The velocity, acceleration and jerk limits of the five axis drives are considered in finding the most optimal feed along the tool-path to ensure smooth and linear operation of the servo drives with minimal tracking error. Improvement in the productivity and linear operation of the drives are demonstrated through 5-axis experiments.

In an effort to design an accurate contour controller, analytical models are developed to estimate the contour errors during simultaneous 5-axis machining. Two types of contouring errors are defined by considering the normal deviation of tool tip from the reference path, and the normal deviation of the tool axis orientation from the reference orientation trajectory. A novel multi-input-multi-output sliding mode controller is introduced to directly minimize the tool tip and tool orientation errors, i.e. the contouring errors, along the 5-axis tool-paths. The stability of the control scheme is proven analytically, and the effectiveness of this new control strategy has been demonstrated experimentally.

An identification technique for identifying the closed loop transfer function of machine tool feed drives has been introduced. The drive system is identified in closed loop, including the feed drive mechanism, motor amplifier, and the control law. A short Numerical Control Program is used for exciting the axis dynamics without interfering with the servo control loop. A generalized drive model is utilized to capture the key dynamics of the drive systems, while guaranteeing the stability of the identified model dynamics by solving a constrained optimization problem.

Methods developed in this thesis have been evaluated on a table tilting 5-axis machining center. Their application to other 5-axis machines would require modeling of the kinematic chain and the drive dynamics to be considered in the control law design and trajectory generation.