A method of testing position independent geometric errors in rotary axes of a five-axis machine tool using a double ball bar

Ensuring that a five-axis machine tool is operating within tolerance is critical. However, there are few simple and fast methods to identify whether the machine is in a “usable” condition. This paper investigates the use of the double ball bar (DBB) to identify and characterise the position independent geometric errors (PIGEs) in rotary axes of a five-axis machine tool by establishing new testing paths. The proposed method consists of four tests for two rotary axes; the A-axis tests with and without an extension bar and the C-axis tests with and without an extension bar. For the tests without an extension bar, position errors embedded in the A- and C-axes are measured first. Then these position errors can be used in the tests with an extension bar, to obtain the orientation errors in the A- and C-axes based on the given geometric model. All tests are performed with only one axis moving, thus simplifying the error analysis. The proposed method is implemented on a Hermle C600U five-axis machine tool to validate the approach. The results of the DBB tests show that the new method is a good approach to obtaining the geometric errors in rotary axes, thus can be applied to practical use in assembling processes, maintenance and regular checking of multi-axis CNC machine tools.     

Measurement of spindle thermal errors in machine tool using hemispherical ball bar test

The assurance of top-quality products in machining processes requires improved machine tool accuracy. Among the various errors related to machine tools, thermal errors of a spindle have a significant effect on machining accuracy and directly influence both the surface finish and the geometric shape of the finished workpiece. Accordingly, the current paper proposes a new measurement method for spindle thermal errors in a machine tool based on the use of a ball bar system instead of the conventional capacitance sensor system. The novel measurement method is more efficient and easier to use compared to conventional measurement systems. Furthermore, a single ball bar system is sufficient for the simultaneous measurement of both geometric and thermal errors.     

A model based method for centering double ball bar test results preventing fictitious ovalization effects

The telescoping magnetic double ball bar (DBB) is widely used to assess the motion and link errors of machine tools through circular tests. Despite a careful setup, some slight eccentricity of the balls relative to the circular trajectory often remains. Removing the eccentricity from the DBB results is essential due to its effects on the estimated trajectory. However, if the centering is not performed with great care, a fictitious ovalization effect may appear in the processed data. The source of the fictitious ovalization is discussed in this paper and a method is proposed to quantify the eccentricity and adequately process the data so that the fictitious ovalization is avoided. The results obtained by applying the proposed method both in simulation and in practice demonstrate its effectiveness.     

Measurement and verification of position-independent geometric errors of a five-axis machine tool using a double ball-bar

In this study, position-independent geometric errors, including offset errors and squareness errors of rotary axes of a five-axis machine tool are measured using a double ball-bar and are verified through compensation. In addition, standard uncertainties of measurement results are calculated to establish their confidence intervals. This requires two measurement paths for each rotary axis, which are involving control of single rotary axis during measurement. So, the measurement paths simplify the measurement process, and reduce measurement cost including less operator effort and measurement time. Set-up errors, which are inevitable during the installation of the balls, are modeled as constants. Their effects on the measurement results are investigated to improve the accuracy of the measurement result. A novel fixture consisting of flexure hinges and two pairs of bolts is used to minimize set-up error by adjusting the ball's position located at the tool nose. Simulation is performed to check the validation of measurement and to analyze the standard uncertainties of the measurement results. Finally, the position-independent geometric errors of the five-axis machine tool (involving a rotary axis and a trunnion axis) are measured using proposed method.     

A machining test to calibrate rotary axis error motions of five-axis machine tools and its application to thermal deformation test

This paper proposes a machining test to parameterize error motions, or position-dependent geometric errors, of rotary axes in a five-axis machine tool. At the given set of angular positions of rotary axes, a square-shaped step is machined by a straight end mill. By measuring geometric errors of the finished test piece, the position and the orientation of rotary axis average lines (location errors), as well as position-dependent geometric errors of rotary axes, can be numerically identified based on the machine׳s kinematic model. Furthermore, by consequently performing the proposed machining test, one can quantitatively observe how error motions of rotary axes change due to thermal deformation induced mainly by spindle rotation. Experimental demonstration is presented.     

Ballbar dynamic tests for rotary axes of five-axis CNC machine tools

This paper proposes a new ball bar test method for the inspection of dynamic errors of rotary axes in five-axis CNC machine tools. The test circle is defined in a workpiece coordinate system and the ball bar test is performed by simultaneously driving of linear–rotary axis couple. The effects of the center position and the radius on the setting values, rotational range and measurement sensitivity of the rotary axis were investigated. The proposed ball bar test is performed in two steps: the circular positioning and the circular tracking with a continuous feed. Axial dynamic errors are obtained by subtracting the measured tracking errors from the positioning errors. A ball bar test system (BBTS) was developed to plan the tool path and the tool orientation, to communicate with the five-axis CNC controller and to process the measured data. Error patterns were simulated regarding the gain mismatch, backlash and tracking direction to help a fast diagnosis of the error sources. Simulations and experimental results prove the effectiveness of the new test method.     

数控母排折弯机模具的应用

介绍了数控母排折弯机上多种模具的应用,分析了各种模具的适用范围以及母排的加工特点,阐述了母排折弯加工工艺的特点和相关技术。     

Prediction and identification of rotary axes error of non-orthogonal five-axis machine tool

This paper proposes an efficient and automated scheme to predict and identify the position and motion errors of rotary axes on a non-orthogonal five-axis machining centre using the double ball bar (DBB) system. Based on the Denavit-Hartenberg theory, a motion deviations model for the tilting rotary axis B and rotary C of a non-orthogonal five-axis NC machine tool is established, which considers tilting rotary axis B and rotary C static deviations and dynamic deviations that total 24. After analysing the mathematical expression of the motion deviations model, the QC20 double ball bar (DBB) from the Renishaw Company is used to measure and identify the motion errors of rotary axes B and C, and a measurement scheme is designed. With the measured results, the 24 geometric deviations of rotary axes B and C can be identified intuitively and efficiently. This method provides a reference for the error identification of the non-orthogonal five-axis NC machine tool.     

数控机床运动误差检测技术(待续)

从数控机床的误差分类、误差模型建立和误差检测装置等三方面综述了数控机床运动误差检测的研究。根据数控机床运动误差检测的实时性、高效性等特点,提出了“工件即基准”为核心的,基于虚拟基准的数控机床运动误差检测方案,该方案具有高柔度、不需要基准件,可实现在机检测等优点。     

三坐标数控机床误差补偿技术研究

分析了当前国内外误差补偿技术的研究现状，针对该技术仍存在三个主要问题，以多体系统理论为基础，建立了各种类型三坐标数控机床的运动模型，对数控机床进行误差补偿，通过对原始数控指令进行误差补偿处理，得到修正后的数控指令，实现对工件的精密加工。     

用MCT8000卡开发的虚拟轴加工机床的数控系统

本文针对6坐标的虚拟轴机床的运动控制的特点，数控系统的硬件部分采用MCT8000运动控制卡作为下位机，工控机作为上位机；控制软件采用上下位机分开编程的方式，上位机在WINDOWS系统下用Visual C 6．0来开发，具有良好的人机界面，而下位机的实时中断控制程序利用C语言开发，具有程序简洁、运行速度快的特点，经过联机调试，证明了该系统在快速性和控制精度等方面都可以满足加工的要求。     

数控机床定位误差的激光干涉法检测与补偿

用激光干涉法测量误差的原理,通过计算机控制的误差补偿系统对数控机床不的定位误差进行补偿,实验结果表明这种方法可以大幅度提高数控机床的定位精度。     

Accuracy test of five-axis CNC machine tool with 3D probe–ball. Part I: design and modeling

The error model of CNC machine tool describes the relationship between the individual error source and its effects on the overall position errors. A practical problem in applying this technique to five-axis machine tool is that the predicted position errors cannot be justified. This paper, the first in a set of two, presents a new measurement device, the probe–ball, which can be used to measure the overall position errors of five-axis machine tools directly. To perform the accuracy test, a three-degree-of-freedom (3D) measuring probe is installed in the main spindle and a base plate is fixed on the turntable. The kinematic chain of the five-axis machine tool is then closed through connecting the central ball on the base plate with the extension bar of the probe. To generate simultaneous axes motion under the condition of closed kinematic chain, the central ball is defined as origin of the workpiece coordinate frame and the probe is driven along a path on a spherical test surface with the central ball as center. The overall position errors are measured with the 3D measuring probe. A theoretical model is derived to explain the nature of the probe–ball error measurements.     

数控机床热误差的模型预报补偿

阐述了数控机床热误差补偿技术的基本概念，提出了一种基于人工神经网络的数控机床热误差模型预报补偿系统，介绍了该方法的原理，并对该系统的建立及相关技术进行了讨论。     

The analysis of correlative error in principal axis method for five-axis machining of sculptured surfaces

Correlative error is a kind of error between the cutter locations. This text presents a detailed analysis about correlative error in the principal axis method (PAM) that is a strategy of tool positioning for five-axis machining. It points out all the strategies based on linear projection cannot avoid this interference and cannot be disregarded especially in the strategies with large stepover. Accurate calculating is made individually on linear and curve feed and formulae are developed. The author also gave the available application range of PAM and the algorithm for estimating correlative error.     

Construction of an error map of rotary axes on a five-axis machining center by static R-test

This paper proposes an efficient and automated scheme to calibrate error motions of rotary axes on a five-axis machining center by using the R-test. During a five-axis measurement cycle, the R-test probing system measures the three-dimensional displacement of a sphere attached to the spindle in relative to the machine table. Location errors, defined in ISO 230-7, of rotary axes are the most fundamental error factors in the five-axis kinematics. A larger class of error motions can be modeled as geometric errors that vary depending on the angular position of a rotary axis. The objective of this paper is to present an algorithm to identify not only location errors, but also such position-dependent geometric errors, or “error map,” of rotary axes. Its experimental demonstration is presented.     

Double ballbar test for the rotary axes of five-axis CNC machine tools

In this paper a new method that uses the double ballbar to inspect motion errors of the rotary axes of five-axis CNC machine tools is presented. The new method uses a particular circular test path that only causes the two rotary axes to move simultaneously and keeps the other three linear axes stationary. Therefore, only motion errors of the two rotary axes will be measured during the ballbar test. The theoretical trace patterns of various error origins, including servo mismatch and backlash, are established. Consequently, the error origins in the rotary block can be diagnosed by examining whether similar patterns appear in the motion error trace. The method developed was verified by practical tests, and the servo mismatch of the rotary axes was successfully detected.     

A new method and instrument for measuring circular motion error of NC machine tools

A new method and instrument for measuring circular motion error of numerical control (NC) machine tools are described in this paper. The instrument consists of a linear displacement transducer bar with two balls at each end and a high accuracy rotary encoder. The radius variations are detected by the transducer and the rotation angle of the bar is measured by the rotary encoder while the machine is moving in a circular path. The measuring area is circular except for a small area around the center of the disc. The bar can be expanded and contracted along its axis for different application. The instrument has a compact structure and can be installed on a machine tool simply and quickly. It is shown by the experimental results that the instrument has good repeatability and high precision of measuring circular motion trajectories. The instrument can be widely used especially in the error-compensation and error-source project in the industrial application.     

Geometric error measurement and identification for rotary table of multi-axis machine tool using double ballbar

In this paper, comprehensive geometric errors, including linkage errors and volumetric errors, of a rotary table are measured totally by employing a double ballbar and obtained by a two-step identification procedure. The derivations of the center of the ball installed on the table are measured in the error sensitive directions with newly developed serial of two axes controlled circular paths. Hence, there are nine results measured from three mounting positions of the ball at the same rotation angle. These results are used to form the identification model based on the homogeneous transformation. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis method is applied to select the optimum installation parameters of the ballbar to diminish the influence of the inaccuracy of the measurement parameters. As the mounting position errors of the socket on the table are inevitable during the installation of the balls, a new correction procedure is developed as well. Finally, an experiment is conducted on the four-axis machining center. The comparison results between the predicted errors and the measured results are shown to verify the proposed method.     

并联运动机床的误差分析

文章介绍了并联运动机床的误差来源及其解决方法.