A study of thermo-elastic characteristics of the machine tool spindle

In order to avoid the failure of machine tools spindles in the real machining process due to an increase in temperature, it is essential to predict its thermal behavior in the designing phase. The characteristics of machine tools significantly depend on the thermal-elastic behavior of the spindle. These parameters directly affect the productivity and quality of machining operations. This paper presents a thermal - elastic model of the machine tool spindle which was based on the quasi-static model of bearings and the finite element (FE) model of the spindle shaft. Based on quasi-static model of bearings with angular contact, heat generated and thermal contact resistances (TCR) are determined for each position of the balls. The aforementioned constraints have been applied to the 3D FE model of the spindle which allowed for establishing non-stationary change of temperature and thermal deformation. In order to prove the efficacy of the proposed model, experimental measurements of spindle and bearing temperatures were done using thermocouples and thermal imager.