Investigation of point-to-point performance test of touch trigger probes on coordinate-measuring machines

A major factor contributing to the total measuring error of coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) is the performance of the probing sub-system. Probing test methods are typically used to detect errors due to the probing sub-system. The probe performance evaluation method specified in the ANSI B89 standard is investigated in this paper. The sampling plan associated in the probe performance evaluation was tested by using experimental probing data from a CMM. Research findings indicate that the performance of touch trigger probes is overestimated due to a systematic bias in the vertical direction of the best-fit reference ball center in the probe performance test. A two-latitude sampling plan synthesis method based on a pretravel model for touch trigger probes is proposed in this paper. The proposed method can be used to accurately identify the reference ball center in the performance test of touch trigger probes.