With support from WRHI program, I visited the Oregon State University (OSU) to meet Dr. Burak Sencer for discussing collaborative research on machine tool technology. I also visited the University of British Columbia (UBC) to conduct experiments towards verifying our research ideas on their test bed.

Dr. Sencer, the director of Manufacturing Process Control Laboratory, is focusing on precision motion control and intelligent machining process control, and have a comprehensive knowledge of optimal trajectory generation for multi-axis machine tools. This collaborative research project focuses on the area of advanced manufacturing equipment, dynamics and kinematics of 5-axis machine tools. In this collaborative research, we propose new methods to generate “optimal motion trajectories” and realize high-speed and high-precision 5-axis machining by interpolating short-segmented tool-paths in a real-time system. Especially, we focus on reducing cycle time and frequency optimization of feed-rate profiles to improve the productivity and high-precision control.

I discussed with Dr. Sencer about the research content and plan of collaborative research project at OSU. I also had a chance to talk with graduate students at Dr. Sencer’s laboratory and OSU robotics program. It was great opportunity to discuss about the education between Japan and United States. We also visited to UBC to verify our proposing research idea with an actual machine. This experiment gave useful results for the future collaborative research.

Finally, I appreciate WRHI for the support for this collaborative research project. As future plans, we will continue to do this collaborative research project based on the results we got during this visit, and are planning to write collaborative papers to Journal and conferences.