A New Method for Measuring Straightness and Yawing Motion Errors of a Linear Slide

Abstract

In this paper, an on-machine Fourier five-sensor (F5S) measurement method is developed using Fourier series and sensor integration techniques to determine the straightness and yawing motion errors of a linear slide. The profile of the slide is also determined in this error separation technique. The method is an extension of the previous Fourier three-sensor (F3S) method (, and , 2000, “ An Error Separation Technique for Measuring Straightness Motion Error of a Linear Slide,” Meas. Sci. Technol., 11, pp. 1515–1521; , , and , 2002, “ Uncertainty Analysis of On-Machine Motion and Profile Measurement With Sensor Reading Errors,” Meas. Sci. Technol., 13, pp. 1937–1945) by including the effects of yawing error in the straightness motion error and profile measurements. The principles and operation of the F5S measurement method are described. The uncertainty analysis of the method in the presence of a sensor reading error is studied both in the frequency domain and the spatial domain. The spatial domain parameter is first optimized to yield the 12 possible sensor configurations and the final configuration is chosen based on the frequency domain parameter values. The method is evaluated by computer simulation where the simulated sensor outputs are derived from the predefined profile, straightness, and yawing motion errors. By comparing the calculated results with the input data, the F5S method is found to be superior to the F3S method as far as accuracy is concerned. The results reported in this simulation study not only confirm the feasibility of the F5S method but also encourage the author to perform an experimental study in the near future.