Optimization Design for the Large Gantry Machining Center Crossbeam

The crossbeam is an important part in the gantry machining center which greatly affects the machining accuracy. Four kinds of crossbeam structure for the large machining center were designed and their static and dynamic characteristics were analyzed. The optimal crossbeam structure was selected by the comprehensive performance evaluation method. Then the thicknesses of rib plates in the crossbeam were defined as the optimization parameters after conducting the sensitivity analysis. The first four natural frequencies were defined as the objective functions and the static performance and the mass were defined as the constraint conditions. The optimal sizes of the rib plates in the crossbeam were obtained by the optimization analysis. Finally the feasibility of the result was demonstrated by the simulation. The result indicated that with the mass increased only by 0.18%, the first four natural frequencies of the optimal crossbeam were increased by 19.56%, 19.45%, 19.84%, 17.05%.