This study was aimed to investigate the dynamic characteristics of a multi-axis feeding stage of a milling machine. In order to clarify the influence of the guide system on the structure performance, we have proposed finite element approach to modeling the X-Y working tables with sliding and rolling guide, respectively. The results show that the machine models with sliding and rolling guides show similar vibration behavior. But the sliding guides give more constraints to the motion of working table, showing higher vibration frequency when compared to the rolling guides. This obviously indicates that the guide system significantly influences the resonant frequency and the response amplitudes of a feeding stage.
