A Rapid Automated Ballbar Testing Method to Verify the Kinematic Performance of Rotary Axes in 5-Axis Machine Tools

In the production of complex, high-value parts, machining time is critical and scrap production is undesirable. Manufacturers are increasingly utilising 5-axis machine tools (5A-MTs) to machine sculptured surfaces and multi-sided parts with challenging dimensional tolerances. Hence, the need to verify a 5A-MT’s kinematic performance, in a timely and cost-controlled manner, has never been more evident. The Telescoping Magnetic Ballbar (TMBB) has been identified as a
suitable, low-cost tool in the identification of position-independent offset and tilt errors in axes of rotation. However, existing test procedures require two unique equipment set-ups to verify 5A-MT rotary axis errors. This manual intervention considerably increases testing time, and requires high levels of operator expertise to re-position components correctly. Therefore, this research aims to
reduce verification times and operator intervention in the verification of rotary axes in 5A-MTs. This research introduces a new single set-up testing method in which eight location errors may be identified for a tilting-rotary table.