One-step measurement method of five-axis machine tools using a laser tracer

Abstract To improve the motion accuracy of five-axis machine tools, it is important to develop a simple methodology to calibrate all geometric errors. This paper proposes a one-step measurement method to calibrate the five-axis machine tool using a laser tracer. First, a simplified geometric error definition of the five-axis machine tool is presented, which is sufficient and necessary to determine the tool error relative to the workpiece. Subsequently, a one-step measurement method using a laser tracer is proposed, and joint movements of five motion axes are adopted to simultaneously identify all geometric errors. Besides, a measurement path generating method is presented to save the trouble of manually planning the complex measurement path. Compared with the traditional two-step measurement method, the proposed method only needs four laser tracer positions and two reflector offsets, simplifying the measurement procedure and enhancing the measurement accuracy of geometric errors of rotary axes.