A review of structural optimization methods of machine tools

It is of great importance for the structural design of machine tools to find best possible structures for given objectives and constraints at a very early stage of the design process. Therefore, over the past several decades, substantial efforts of fundamental research have been devoted to the structural optimization strategies for improving and optimizing static and dynamic characteristics and reducing time and cost of manufacturing of machine tools. It is the objective of this review paper to present an overview of the advances in this area. Three types of optimization methods, namely sizing, shape, and topology optimization, are discussed and several examples are given to illustrate theories and process of these techniques. Sizing and shape optimization rely on an already existing initial design proposal for the parts. However, topology optimization tries to compute an optimum design of a structure in an available design space. Future trends of these optimization methods are discussed at the end of this paper.