An analysis of the functional capability of an in-house developed miniature 4-axis machine tool

In-house developed miniature multi-axis miniature machine tools (MMTs) are now becoming more popular with the demand for reduced energy consumption and workshop floor when machining small/medium batch size micro-components. This paper reports on theoretical and experimental analysis of the functional capability of a 4-axis MMT that has been considered as a case-study to examine the challenges when developing such micro-machining systems. Starting from the description of the design specifications and the integration of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMSs), the paper continues to describe the theoretical and experimental aspects of the procedures employed to evaluate the functional characteristics such as uncertainties related to the system construction—models development, simulation and validations; calibration of an in-situ surface scanning facility—gauging of a laser displacement sensor with a metrology analysis system; miniature machine as a low vibration working environment—assessment capability of the system to dump external vibrations. This comprehensive study, along with the subsequent micro-machining tests, has shown that the in-house developed MMT has the capability of generating, in a “self-sufficient” mode, small components/features with a satisfactory degree of accuracy. Although some challenges in employing such systems still exist, it is expected that for small batch productions, multi-axis MMTs can be a viable option when reasonable part accuracies are sought for minimal capital investment.