System and method for damping machine-induced vibrations in a workpiece

A system for damping vibrations in a workpiece, wherein the system comprises:

• a work cell;
• a plurality of workpiece holders to hold the workpiece in the work cell;
• a machine tool located in the work cell, wherein the machine tool performs a machining operation on the workpiece while the workpiece is held by the plurality of workpiece holders;
• a damping apparatus comprising:
• a fixture base;
• and
• a plurality of grippers coupled to the fixture base and selectively extendable and retractable relative to the fixture base to be selectively coupled to the workpiece, wherein the damping apparatus controls machine-induced vibrations in the workpiece during the machining operation by selectively engaging one or more locations on the workpiece with one or more of the plurality of grippers to modify a natural frequency of at least a portion of the workpiece such that the natural frequency of the at least a portion of the workpiece is different than a frequency of an oscillating force applied to the workpiece by the machine tool during the machining operation;
• and
• a computing device that is operable to:
• determine the natural frequency of the at least a portion of the workpiece by analyzing a real-time model of the workpiece, wherein the real-time model represents the workpiece as held by the plurality of workpiece holders;
• and
• select the one or more locations on the workpiece for connection of the one or more of the plurality of grippers such that a modified natural frequency of the at least a portion of the workpiece is different than the frequency of the oscillating force applied to the workpiece by the machine tool during the machining operation.