Over the last years a gradual but nevertheless sustained increase in the production of machine tool spindles can be observed, especially for the needs of the automotive as well as aerospace industry. Along with this trend an increasing demand for maximum precision of spindles as well as their long-term reliability is evident. It is therefore necessary for the producers and users of these machines to monitor the quality of spindles. As for the producers, it is paramount that they manufacture products of high quality and in this way minimize both the financial loss incurred by complaints from customers and the loss of good reputation. As for the users of these machines, it is necessary that they maintain the required precision parameters in manufacturing and that they are able of suitable planning of their machinery maintenance. The requirements for the geometric quality and surface roughness are today commonly in the order of micrometers. Consequently, it is necessary to adjust machine tools and their components, especially spindles, to these requirements. The goal of appropriate assessing of the quality and the capability of long-term reliability of the spindle with a high standard of precision can be achieved only on condition of adequately accurate check. The following article describes a method and a measuring system which meets the above-mentioned requirements using a combination of several measuring methods and careful analysis including statistical evaluation. The basis of the method described is careful measurements of spindle vibration on the stator part of the spindle together with measurement of the arbor movement by means of proximity contactless probes. The arbor is clamped into the rotor of the spindle. Next, temperature in several places on the spindle and the rotating speed is measured including the angular position of the rotor. The data obtained in this way are subsequently analyzed using a variety of methods. The results are both scalar data and data depicted in various types of graphs. Using statistical methods, it is possible to determine limit values for miscellaneous types of spindles. These values can be compared with a next spindle under the test and can be plotted and highlighted in the report. The described method has been applied to a test rig developed in the Research Centre of Manufacturing Technology (RCMT) in cooperation with a producer of spindles and machine tools. The test rig is being used for final inspection of spindles in day-to-day operation. The presented article also includes a case study which demonstrates the practical applicability of methods used.

In this study, roughness measurement verification was conducted using wavelet transform for the surface structures produced by different manufacturing techniques. These are surface grinding, front milling and face turning. After manufacturing, the surface roughness values were measured by means of stylus profilometer as contact measurement technique. Then, manufactured surface images were captured and inspected by 3D digital microscope. The captured images were then pre-processed using high pass filter in order to enhance the image before further image analyses conducted. Discrete Wavelet Transform in 2D image processing identifies different frequency components of images. This method was generally used to identify different surface topography produced by different manufacturing processes.
Non-contact (imaging) and contact (stylus profilometer) measurements of surface roughness were compared by employing the image processing method such as Wavelet transform and Ra values taken from stylus profilometer. Ra as 2D roughness parameter is evaluated in order to both determine and verify the roughness values obtained from measurement technique as stylus profilometer.
The values computed with the proposed method were compared with the roughness values obtained from 3D digital microscope. The relationship between wavelet parameters and surface roughness was determined (Stdv: 70.41, 77.22, 89.81 and corresponding Ra: 0.498, 2.382 and 3.984 µm for ground, front milled and face turned surfaces, respectively).

The paper presents the part of ongoing validation studies involving the accuracy of software algorithms calculating Gaussian associated features. In studies the numerical simulation method Monte Carlo (MC) was applied due to the number and nature of the variables forming the result of coordinate measurements, as well as due to complex and multidimensional measurands. In the paper an attempt to investigate the possibility of improving the results obtained by MC method is described. The LHS (Latin Hypercube Latin) algorithm was elaborated as an alternative to simple sampling scheme of classical MC algorithm.

The paper presents a methodology of correcting systematic influence of machining processes on free-form surfaces. Such correction is performed off-line by introducing alterations compensating this influence to machining programmes. The effect of systematic influence of machining are deterministic deviations of surfaces. CAD models of these deviations, averaged for a number of surfaces machined under repeatable conditions, represent machining pattern models which serve as the basis for performing correction. The basis for developing such models, are surface deviations determined during coordinate measurements carried out along a regular grid of points. For estimating surface models of deterministic deviations, the author’s own methodology is proposed, in which the regression analysis, spatial statistics methods, an iterative procedure, and NURBS modelling are applied.
A machining pattern model with the opposite sign was used for compensating systematic influence of the milling process through modifying the nominal geometry data and correcting the machining programme. Surfaces machined after the correction according to the proposed methodology has been introduced are characterised by a considerably greater accuracy than these produced after the correction performed on the basis of raw measurement data.

This study represents a case study in thermal and wear analyses for cutting tools, and investigates a relation between temperature distribution and wear characteristic of the tool. This paper presents computer modeling of tool deformation and thermal load during machining using finite element method. The relationship between heat and wear was investigated using both numerical analyses and finite element method.
The results from the thermal analyses indicated that maximum temperatures on the contact area ranged from 163 to 957.5 ºC for the uncoated tool while those ranged from 33.6 to 83.4 ºC for the coated tool. In other words, the temperatures for the uncoated tool are higher than those for the coated tool. This is expected due to the less contact area resulting from the coating. Therefore, it is worth manufacturing cutting tools with coatings both to extent tool life time and to prevent wear.
It can be concluded that the standardized image processing algorithm should be developed for analyzing wear especially for mass production. It has been proved that the coating material enabled to resist wear, to decrease the cratering and improve the surface topography.