Parametric finite element modeling and pose-dependent natural characteristics of a five-axis machine tool
- 1School of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou Polytechnic College, Yangzhou, China
- 2Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, Beijing, China
- 3School of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
Abstract
Five-axis machine tools exhibit pose-dependent structural dynamics, but repeated full finite element reconstruction across the workspace is computationally inefficient. We developed a parametric finite element workflow in ANSYS APDL for a five-axis machine-tool analog specimen. The structure was divided into six modules; regular regions were sweep-meshed and irregular regions were represented with quadratic SOLID186 elements using nominal element sizes of 20, 10, and 5 mm. Bearing, ball screw-nut, and linear guideway-slider joints were represented by equivalent springs. Twelve screw-nut and guideway-slider stiffness parameters were calibrated with a genetic algorithm against the first six natural frequencies measured at one reference pose. Movable joint locations were updated from the X-, Y-, Z-, A-, and C-axis pose variables while the identified joint stiffness values were held constant. At the reference pose, the mean and maximum frequency discrepancies between the calibrated model and experiment were 3.29% and 8.78%, respectively. Workspace calculations predicted that the first natural frequency decreased as the beam center of gravity rose, whereas spindle-dominated local modes showed similar trends among working planes. Because calibration and model checking used the same reference-pose data and no multi-pose modal measurements were available, the reported workspace trends should be interpreted as model-based predictions rather than independently validated responses.
Related
- Multi-parametric spectral modeling disentangles synaptic kinetics and neural excitability from non-invasive electrophysiological recordings
- Comparing Vegetation Characteristics and Production Outcomes of Semi-Natural Permanent Grassland and Sown Ley: A Case Study in a Hemi-Boreal Region
- Impairment of Intramacrophagic Brucella suis Multiplication by Human Natural Killer Cells through a Contact-Dependent Mechanism
- Activation of invariant natural killer T cells impedes liver regeneration by way of both IFN-γ- and IL-4-dependent mechanisms
- Statistical Parametric Mapping reveals sex-specific, phase-dependent differences in bilateral three-dimensional ground reaction force during Wushu Changbing PiJi in high-level athletes
BibTeX
@article{zhang2026parametric,
title = {{Parametric finite element modeling and pose-dependent natural characteristics of a five-axis machine tool}},
author = {Jiamin Zhang and Jiahui Zhang and Ning Lü and Shuaiqi Chen},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0359727},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359727},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Parametric finite element modeling and pose-dependent natural characteristics of a five-axis machine tool
AU - Jiamin Zhang
AU - Jiahui Zhang
AU - Ning Lü
AU - Shuaiqi Chen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0359727
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0359727
AB - Five-axis machine tools exhibit pose-dependent structural dynamics, but repeated full finite element reconstruction across the workspace is computationally inefficient. We developed a parametric finite element workflow in ANSYS APDL for a five-axis machine-tool analog specimen. The structure was divided into six modules; regular regions were sweep-meshed and irregular regions were represented with quadratic SOLID186 elements using nominal element sizes of 20, 10, and 5 mm. Bearing, ball screw-nut, and linear guideway-slider joints were represented by equivalent springs. Twelve screw-nut and guideway-slider stiffness parameters were calibrated with a genetic algorithm against the first six natural frequencies measured at one reference pose. Movable joint locations were updated from the X-, Y-, Z-, A-, and C-axis pose variables while the identified joint stiffness values were held constant. At the reference pose, the mean and maximum frequency discrepancies between the calibrated model and experiment were 3.29% and 8.78%, respectively. Workspace calculations predicted that the first natural frequency decreased as the beam center of gravity rose, whereas spindle-dominated local modes showed similar trends among working planes. Because calibration and model checking used the same reference-pose data and no multi-pose modal measurements were available, the reported workspace trends should be interpreted as model-based predictions rather than independently validated responses.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -