Force-controlled floating clamping and tool-synchronous following support for deformation control and vibration attenuation in thin-walled milling

Machining deformation and milling-induced vibration remain major barriers to the precision milling of thin-walled components because intermittent cutting forces continuously alter the local stiffness and stress state of the workpiece. To address this issue, this study develops a force-controlled hybrid fixturing system that integrates floating clamping with tool-synchronous following support. The floating clamping module employs pressure-sensor feedback and threshold-triggered release-reclamping control to release excessive clamping-induced stress and mitigate quasi-static deformation. Meanwhile, the following support module moves according to the programmed cutter trajectory and provides localized compliant support near the machining zone, thereby attenuating milling-induced vibration and improving process stability. A theoretical model was established to describe the stress redistribution induced by adaptive clamping and the dynamic response of the coupled workpiece-support system. Finite element simulations and milling experiments on 7075-T651 aluminum alloy thin-walled components were conducted to evaluate the proposed strategy. Relative to traditional rigid clamping, floating clamping with fixed support reduced the mean maximum deformation by 26.6% and the mean flatness error by 34.7%, while the complete hybrid system achieved reductions of 42.1% and 48.4%, respectively. The complete hybrid system also reduced the mean RMS acceleration by 89.4% and the average surface roughness by 34.6% to 0.180 μm. These results demonstrate that the proposed hybrid fixturing strategy can simultaneously regulate quasi-static stress accumulation and dynamic structural compliance, providing an effective solution for improving geometric accuracy, surface integrity, and machining stability in thin-walled milling.