Characterization of the dynamic behavior of a linear guideway mechanism

Dynamic behaviors of the contact surface between ball and raceway in a guideway mechanism vary with the applied loads and hence affect the mechanical responses of machine tools. The study aims to investigate the nonlinear characteristics of dynamic behaviors at the rolling contact interface in linear guideway mechanisms. Firstly, analytical method was introduced to understand the contact behaviors based on Hertz contact theory in a point-to-point way. Then, the finite element approach with a three-dimensional surface-to-surface contact model and appropriate contact stiffness was developed to study the dynamic characteristics of such linear guideways. Finally, experiments with modal test were conducted to verify the significance of both the analytical and the numerical results. Results told that the finite element approach may provide significant predictions. The study results also concluded that the current nonlinear models based on Hertz's contact theory may accurately describe the contact characteristic of a linear guideway mechanism. In the modal analysis, it was told that the natural frequencies vary a little with different loading conditions; however, the mode shapes are changed obviously with the magnitude of applied loads. Therefore, the stiffness of contact interface needs to be properly adjusted during simulation which may affect the dynamic characteristics of the machine tools.