Design of a slender turning cutting tool via a vibration absorber equipped with piezoelectric ceramic

Turning cutting tool with large length–diameter ratio has been essential when machining structural part with deep cavity and in-depth hole features. However, chatter vibration is apt to occur with the increase of tool overhang. A slender turning cutting tool with a length–diameter ratio of 7 is developed by using a vibration absorber equipped with piezoelectric ceramic. The vibration absorber has dual functions of vibration transfer to the absorber mass and vibration conversion to the electrical energy via the piezoelectric effect. Equations of motion are established considering the dual damping from the piezoelectric ceramic and rubber gasket. The equivalent damping of piezoelectric ceramic is derived, and the geometries are optimized to achieve optimal vibration suppression. The modal analysis demonstrates that the cutting tool with the vibration absorber can reach 80.1% magnitude reduction. Machining tests are carried out in the end. The machining acceleration and machined surface roughness validate the vibration suppression of the VA, and the output voltage by the piezoelectric ceramic demonstrates the ability of vibration sensing.