Remote Servo Tuning System for Multi-Axis CNC Machine Tools Using a Virtual Machine Tool Approach

Servo systems affect the performances of machining in accuracy and surface quality for high speed and precision machine tools. This study introduces an efficient servo tuning technique for Computer Numerical Control (CNC) feed drive systems using particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm by virtual machine tool approach. The proposed approach contained a system identification phase and a servo tuning phase based on the same bandwidth for all axes feed drive systems. The PSO algorithm was adopted to obtain the system parameters and maximize the corresponding bandwidth. An efficient two-step servo tuning method based on gain and phase margins was proposed for high speed and precision requirements. All feed drive systems controller gains were optimized simultaneously for synchronization. A remote system called Machine Dr. was established for servo tuning and monitoring. Simulation and experimental results were introduced to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.