Calibration of a five-axis machine tool for position independent geometric error parameters using a telescoping magnetic ball bar

Many parameters influence the quality of machined parts on five-axis machine tools. One important family of parameters are the geometric inaccuracies in the relative location of the machine axes. A method is proposed which uses a telescoping magnetic ball bar to identify these error sources. The methodology is applied to position independent geometric error parameters such as joint misalignments, angular offset and axes separation. Simulation results support the effectiveness of the approach.