Page 99 - Modular design for machine tools

Chapter
2

Engineering Guides and Future

Perspectives of Modular Design

Apart from the research into machine tool description and joint stiff-
ness, modular design has not been vigorously studied so far in the
academic sphere, but has been developed on the basis of longstand-
ing practical experience together with use of the trial-and-error
method. Within a modular design context, we must always remem-
ber the utmost valuable proposal of Doi [1], in which he laid out the
four principles of modular design based on his extensive experience.
In fact, these principles—the principles of separation, unification
(standardization), connection, and adaptation—are very valuable in
rationally applying modular design, to quickly grasp the facing prob-
lems, to predict further perspectives, and so on; however, they are not
detailed in the form of guides or a design handbook as yet. In addi-
tion, each design principle must take into account the common
requirements along with the specific ones according to the kind of
machine tool.
Importantly, it is worth suggesting that the machine tool description
can facilitate the choice of preferable structural configurations from a
group of modules, which is one of the design methodologies and subject
to the principle of adaptation. In contrast, the joint between both the
modules must be designed to have enough stiffness, i.e., high joint stiff-
ness on the basis of the principle of connection. At burning issue is to
establish the detailed design guide for each principle by amalgamating
the practical experience with academic knowledge. Regarding joint stiff-
ness, we have already established a sphere called engineering prob-
lems in machine tool joints.

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