A structured analysis for the reliability prediction of a micromilling machine subsystem.

The development of micromachining encouraged innovative solutions in order to both realise dimension-constrained precise works and to maintain the machine performances over time. This paper focuses on an innovative design of an adjustable Smart platform for micromilling machines. The platform is conceived to improve the surface finishing of the workpiece, through a broadband AVC (Active Vibration Control) device based on high performance piezoelectric actuators. The goal is to develop a structured procedure to evaluate the reliability of the platform. The system is decomposed into basic components and a functional analysis is performed. Design FMEA technique is used to evaluate the capability of the platform to respect the functions it has been designed for and to assess improvement actions to increase machine reliability. Finally, the study is completed by the quantitative reliability prediction of the overall system. The analysis is performed by using a reliability engineering software tool.