Improving a real milling machine accuracy through an indirect measurement of its geometric errors

Traditional verification techniques, based on direct measurement of machine tool errors to improve accuracy, will gradually be replaced by technology based on indirect measurement techniques, reducing significantly the maintenance and verification time required. Within these techniques, the laser tracker is highlighted as a measurement system. This paper presents all the verification processes on a real milling machine, studying the principal steps and influence factors, such as the kinematic model of the machine tool, the influence of the verification points distribution, convergence criteria, the defined identification strategy and the compensation procedure. The adequacy of the mathematical compensation provided by this method is validated using traditional verification methods based on a laser interferometer and new ones based on a laser tracker. (C) 2016 The Society of Manufacturing Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.