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.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Analysis of geometric errors associated with five-axis machining centre in improving the quality of cam profile

A five-axis machine is presently one of the most versatile machine tools available and they are becoming increasingly common. To increase the accuracy capabilities of such machines, it is crucial to be able to study the geometric errors of the components and its effect on the quality of machined products. In five-axis machine tools, all linear axes are theoretically perpendicular (dot product, cos 90°=0) to each other and directed along or around the X, Y and Z of the cartesian coordinate system; but in working machines, the axes are nearly perpendicular (cos89.90°≠0) because of manufacturing error and assembly error or quasi-static error. The present paper discusses the development of a generalised error model for the effects of geometric errors of the components of the kinematic chain of a machine in the workspace and the results obtained by this model have been verified experimentally. The effect of geometric error has been studied further for cam profile generation using a five-axis machining centre and an improvement in the profile has been obtained.     

精密立式加工中心运动轴的定位误差补偿研究

以某精密立式加工中心为对象,在西门子840D(Sinumerik 840D)数控系统平台下,基于分段补偿算法,利用Renishaw激光干涉仪对机床运动轴的位置精度进行定点测量,实现了对定位误差的补偿。实验结果表明了所述方法的有效性。     

Accuracy enhancement of five-axis machine tool based on differential motion matrix: Geometric error modeling,identification and compensation

This paper presents the precision enhancement of five-axis machine tools according to differential motion matrix, including geometric error modeling, identification and compensation. Differential motion matrix describes the relationship between transforming differential changes of coordinate frames. Firstly, differential motion matrix of each axis relative to tool is established based on homogenous transformation matrix of tool relative to each axis. Secondly, the influences of errors of each axis on accuracy of tool are calculated with error vector of each axis. The sum of these influences is integration of error components of machine tool in coordinate system of tool. It endows the error modeling clear physical meaning. Moreover, integrated error components are transformed to coordinate frame of working table for integrated error transformation matrix of machine tools. Thirdly, constructed Jacobian is established using differential motion matrix of each axis without extra calculation to compensate the integrated error components of tool. It makes compensation easy and convenient with reuse of intermediate. Fourthly, six-circle method of ballbar is developed based on differential motion matrix to identify all ten error components of each rotary axis. Finally, the experiments are carried out on SmartCNC500 five-axis machine tool to testify the effectiveness of proposed accuracy enhancement with differential motion matrix.     

Configuration analysis of five-axis machine tools using a generic kinematic model

Five-axis machine tools are designed in a large variety of kinematic configurations and structures. Regardless of the type of the intended analysis, a kinematic model of the machine tool has to be developed in order to determine the translational and rotational joint movements required to achieve a specified position and orientation of the cutting tool relative to the workpiece. A generic and unified model is developed in this study as a viable alternative to the particular solutions that are only applicable to individual machine configurations. This versatile model is then used to verify the feasibility of the two rotational joints within the kinematic chain of three main types of five-axis machine tools: the spindle rotating, rotary table, and hybrid type. A numerical measure of total translational joint movement is proposed to evaluate the kinematic performance of a five-axis machine tool. The corresponding kinematic analyses have confirmed the advantages of the popular machine design that employs intersecting rotational axes and the common industrial practice during setup that minimizes the characteristic rotating arm length of the cutting tool and/or workpiece.     

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.     

Thermal error mode analysis and robust modeling for error compensation on a CNC turning center

In this paper a novel concept of thermal error mode analysis is proposed in order to develop a better understanding of the thermal deformation on a turning center. The thermal error of the machine can be treated as the superposition of a series of thermal error modes with corresponding mode shapes and time constants. The selection of sensor location can then be improved based on the thermal error mode analysis. A robust modeling approach is also proposed to minimize the errors due to temperature measuring noise and the adverse effect of environmental changes. Through the use of thermal error mode analysis and the robust modeling approach, the number of thermal sensors has been reduced from 16 to four. The thermal error compensation system has been applied to a turning center in daily production for more than two years and it has kept year-round accuracy. The thermal drift in workpiece diameter on the turning center has been reduced from 35 μm to 6 μm from its center of tolerance.     

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。     

Spiral cutting operation strategy for machining of sculptured surfaces by conformal map approach

Although compound surfaces and polyhedral models are widely used in manufacturing industry, the tool path planning strategies are very limited for such surfaces in five-axis machining and high speed machining. In this paper, a novel conformal map based and planar spiral guided spiral tool path generation method is described for NC machining of complex surfaces. The method uses conformal map to establish a relationship between 3D physical surface and planar circular region. This enables NC operation to be performed as if the surface is plat. Then through inversely mapping a planar spiral defined by a mathematical function into 3D physical space, the spiral cutter contact paths are derived without inheriting any corners on the boundary in the subsequent interior paths. The main advantage of the proposed method is that a smoother, longer and boundary conformed spiral topography tool path is developed. Therefore, the machined surface can be cut continuously with minimum tool retractions during the cutting operations. And it allows both compound surfaces and triangular surfaces can be machined at high speed. Finally, experimental results are given to testify the proposed approach.     

A new method and device for motion accuracy measurement of NC machine tools. Part 2: device error identification and trajectory measurement of general planar motions

This paper describes in two parts a new method and device for measuring motion accuracy of NC machine tools. In the first part, the measurement principle and the characteristics of the prototype device have been presented and discussed. In the second part, an efficient and practical approach to identifying the errors of the proposed device after assembly is developed and evaluated. The approach ensures realising the aim of the investigation, i.e. to measure the most items of the motion accuracy, especially, to measure and assess the trajectory accuracy of a general planar motion of NC machine tools. The result of the identification experiment by using the prototype device on a machining centre for the prototype device is presented and it well verifies the validity and practicality of the approach. Some measurement results for the general planar motions of the machining centre are also shown, which sufficiently demonstrate the desirable capability of the proposed method and device.     

五轴数控机床综合空间误差的多体系统运动学建模

基于多体系统运动学理论的基本原理，结合RRTTT型五轴立式数控机床，阐述了多体系统的拓扑结构和低序体阵列，提出了特征矩阵的基本概念和构建方法，分析了多体系统有误差运动的基本规律，研究了根据特征矩阵得到综合空间误差的算法。理论分析和实例建模都显示所述方法能很好地解决误差建模的正确性、速度、通用性和自动化问题，为五轴数控机床精度分析和误差补偿提供了一种理想的误差建模技术。     

Study on the compensation of error by stick-slip for high-precision table

A simple approach of compensating friction error of high-precision tables is proposed in this paper. On the basis of accurate prediction of the magnitude of the friction error and the place where it occurs, a compensator is first constructed which consists of an online friction error prediction model and rectangular compensation curves regarded as compensation pulses. Then by carrying out optimal compensation experiments several times, the parameters describing the rectangular compensation curve at certain positions can be obtained. Finally, the optimal parameters of the rectangular compensation curve at any position can be determined by interpolation and approximation. It has been shown that, the method to compensate friction error proposed in this paper can be applied to effectively compensate the friction error for all circular motions of high-precision tables.     

基于补偿模糊神经网络的数控机床热误差预报模型

文章提出了一种基于补偿模糊神经网络的数控机床热误差预报模型,讨论了该模型的详细结构、模糊规则、训练算法及相关技术问题,并给出了智能预报结果和精度评价.     

A new approach for the geometrical calibration of parallel kinematics machines tools based on the machining of a dedicated part

A main limitation of parallel kinematics machine tools (PKM) in high-speed machining tasks is their low level of accuracy compared with serial kinematics machine tools, which is largely due to geometrical transformation errors. These errors can be reduced by identifying the geometrical parameters of the inverse kinematics model integrated in the controller by exteroceptive calibration. The aim of this paper is to propose a new external measurement method in order to perform the geometrical calibration of PKM, taking into account machining requirements. This method is implemented in three steps: machining of a dedicated part, measurement, and identification of the geometrical parameter values. In this paper, the method is described with a particular emphasis on the machined surface profiles of the dedicated part and on the numerical calibration approach. Measurement errors on the machined surface enable the identification of the PKM geometrical parameters. Thus, calibration is performed with respect to machined surface defects without taking into account the entire tool pose defect, as is the case in usual calibration methods. The study is illustrated using the Verne PKM, which is located at IRCCyN (Nantes, France).     

基于因子分析和贝叶斯估计的机床热误差建模

提出了一种基于因子分析和贝叶斯估计的机床热误差建模方法.根据因子分析理论,对布置在机床上的温度传感器进行筛选,在保证建模精度的前提下,减少了温度传感器的数量,同时也大大减小了后续热误差建模的运算量.以机床热误差和温度变量为数据输入集,通过因子分析模型,推导出机床热误差的预测模型,然后对模型的参数采用贝叶斯估计.最后,在一台车削加工中心上进行实验验证,结果表明,文章所提的方法,在保证建模精度的同时,有效减少了温度传感器的数量,并提高了热误差模型的精确性和鲁棒性.     

加速度对直线运动滚动支承寿命的影响分析

以水平床身、导轨系统是二导轨四滑块直线运动滚动支承的数控机床为例,通过理论计算分析其在给定不同加速度时寿命值的变化,并得到数控机床寿命与效率均衡考虑时数控机床工作台的较佳加速度值.通过设定实训中心数控机床加速度参数,可在不改变数控机床结构下从理论上提高数控机床服役年限.