The accuracy of parts produced by machining operations has
been studied extensively over the past 80 years or more (see
early work by Schlesinger and Koenigsberger [1] and overview
in [2]). It is known that machined part accuracy, or “the degree
of conformance of the finished part to dimensional and geometric
specifications” [2], has four major contributors: geometric
errors of the machine construction, thermally induced errors
from heat sources associated with the machine/cutting process,
trajectory following errors caused by controller and machine
structural dynamics, and errors due to the cutting forces. In
computer numerically controlled (CNC) milling, the desired
spatial trajectory of the rotating cutter is defined by the part
program. The purpose of the part program is to place the tool tip
at particular coordinates relative to the part at every instant in
time, leaving behind newly created surfaces which form a workpiece
of the proper dimensions. Errors in the final dimensions
of the machined part are determined by the accuracy with which
the commanded tool trajectory is followed, combined with any