Main factors of feed system affecting the processing precision of a numerical control lathe were numerically studied.According to principles of mechanical dynamics

a mathematic model for the feed system was established.Furthermore

a simulation model of the system was set up based on Simulink which is a dynamic tool of simulation of MATLAB

and a curve representing the performance of the system was obtained.By using the simulation curve and model

influences of some nonlinear factors including gap and dead area on precision of the lathe were analyzed

and some effective ways to improve the performance of the transmission system were accordingly given.The results show that it is an effective and flexible way to simulate the feed system of a numerical control lathe.By this way

the experimental data are reliable and the validity of the model can be verified by the simulation curve.Besides

optimum design parameters can be determined quickly in the simulation

by which an effective way to design the system

select relevant parameters and improve the performance is provided.