Comparative Study of Gradient Polymer Composite and Blend Polymer Composite for Ultra-Precision Machine Tools

Exhibiting excellent mechanical properties and exceptional vibration reduction performance, polymer composite (PC) has garnered significant research interest in various industries, particularly in ultra-precision machining (UPM) machine tool beds. UPM machine tools have a stringent requirement on the comprehensive performance of the bed materials. Specially, the materials of machine tool bed must possess both high mechanical properties and outstanding damping characteristics. However, a major obstacle hindering the widespread adoption of PC in UPM machine tool beds is the difficulty in achieving optimal mechanical properties and vibration reduction simultaneously with the same material composition and curing process conditions. In this study, the effect of various particulates on the mechanical strength, loss factor and the average thermal expansion coefficient of PC were systematically investigated. The experimental findings revealed that the compressive strength of PC improved by the incorporation of particulates. Nevertheless, the flexural strength and tensile strength of PC display an inverse variation. Subsequently, gradient PC and compound PC were designed based on the aforementioned results to achieve the best overall properties for the machine tool bed material. The experimental results highlighted that the left and right tri-gradients materials (L-R-3) exhibited the outstanding comprehensive performance. Moreover, this study provides beneficial information to improve the comprehensive properties of PC. Furthermore, it is of great significance to improve machining accuracy of UPM and increase the machining stability of UPM.