Model Reference Adaptive Control of Force in End Milling Operations

The model reference adaptive control approach is used here for the design of an adaptive control system for force control in end milling operations by feedrate manipulation. The expected benefit from such a control system is more efficient material removal. The proposed adaptive control system uses an on-line cutting process parameter estimation scheme which has performed successfully on experimental cuts. The controller form and adaptation mechanism are derived using MRAC formulation. The proposed adaptive controller is evaluated using a previously validated simulation of the end milling process. It performs force control more effectively and is stable over a wider range of cutting conditions as compared to a conventional fixed-gain proportional - integral controller, based on simulation.