Proposal of energy-saving control method of air turbine spindle and evaluation of its energy consumption using air power meter

This research proposes a quick, robust and energy-saving rotation control method for the air turbine spindle used in ultra-precision machining. We developed a high-precision, quick-response pneumatic pressure regulator and applied it to the rotation feedback control of an air turbine spindle. We also set a disturbance force observer in the feedback control system to avoid changes of the rotation speed due to disturbance forces imparted to the air turbine spindle. The effectiveness of the proposed method was demonstrated through a rotation control experiment and a disturbance force giving experiment. We evaluated the energy consumption of the air turbine spindle using an air power meter. Compared with the conventional method, the superiority of the proposed method is clearly shown in terms of quick response, robustness, and low energy consumption.