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Borisov,Oleg
Newopticalsensingsystemappliedtotautwirebasedstraightnessmeasurement
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Borisov,Oleg(2015)Newopticalsensingsystemappliedtotautwirebasedstraightness
measurement.Doctoralthesis,UniversityofHuddersfield.
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NEW OPTICAL SENSING SYSTEM

APPLIED TO TAUT WIRE BASED
STRAIGHTNESS MEASUREMENT
BY

OLEG BORISOV

A thesis submitted to the University of Huddersfield in

partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

The University of Huddersfield

May 2015

ABSTRACT

In modern manufacturing industry, precision components are typically produced on

Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) machine tools which translate their accuracy onto
machined parts. This accuracy is affected by a set of different motion errors caused by
inherent imperfections in the design and build of the machine, variations in the local
environment such as temperature, the cutting process itself and human factors. The reduction
of these effects is achieved primarily through design improvements and error compensation
techniques. The latter requires detailed knowledge about the existing errors in order to deal
with them effectively.
This thesis describes a novel sensor system for measurement of errors caused by
deviation in the straightness of Cartesian axes present in the structural loop of most machine
tools. Currently there are very few methods available to measure straightness directly, each
having advantages and disadvantages when considering simplicity, accuracy and affordability.
The proposed system uses a taut wire reference with a novel sensor, a two-point technique for
reference error cancellation and software to enable fast and accurate measurement of
straightness between any two points of the measured machines working volume.
The standout features of the sensing system include ultra-low cost and high
performance when compared with existing state-of-the-art systems. It is capable of measuring
a straightness error as low as 3m and takes only 2s of dwell time between readings, while
laser interferometer requires 4s to perform averaging when measuring the same error. Existing
taut wire microscopy is limited by 10-20m of measured error depending on optics quality
and manual reading takes at least 5s to minimise the human error. Setup time is also different
the new system saves 15 minutes time on 2m axis and more on longer lengths compared the
laser due to simpler reference alignment procedure.
Theoretical analysis and practical implementation are followed by detailed
performance evaluation experiments carried out under typical manufacturing conditions
comprising different machine tools, different axes, measured errors, environmental effects and
alternative measuring equipment. Tests cover aspects of accuracy, repeatability and overall
system stability providing a complete picture of the systems capability and the methods
potential which is also supported by uncertainty analysis. In addition to defining setup and
measuring procedures, a user-friendly software interface is described and its main units are
explained with respect to overall measurement efficiency and setup fault detection.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author would like to thank Dr Simon Fletcher, Dr Andrew P Longstaff and
Prof. Alan Myers for supervising the project, providing all necessary support and guidance
during the work which could not have been completed without the knowledge and experience
that was shared.
Thanks also to my brother Alexander for his valuable advice regarding electronics,
parts machining and assembly of the instrument, provided to support the work.

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CONTENTS

Abstract ........................................................................................ i
Acknowledgements..................................................................... ii
Contents ..................................................................................... iii
Figure, table and equation list ................................................. vi
Machine tool calibration approach .......................................... 1
Preamble ...................................................................................................... 1
1.1.1 Machine tool errors............................................................................................................... 3

Introduction to straightness ....................................................................... 4

1.2.1 Measurement methodology .................................................................................................. 6
1.2.2 Importance of straightness measurement .............................................................................. 9
1.2.3 Thesis structure ................................................................................................................... 10

Previous work on machine tool calibration ........................... 11

Accuracy assessement ............................................................................... 12
Error compensation .................................................................................. 16
Straightness measurement ........................................................................ 19
Conclusions on past research ................................................................... 26
2.4.1 Accuracy assessment .......................................................................................................... 26
2.4.2 Error compensation ............................................................................................................ 26
2.4.3 Straightness measurement .................................................................................................. 26

Research Aim ............................................................................................. 28

2.5.1 Objectives ........................................................................................................................... 28

Straightness measurement reference and sensor .................. 30

Determination of a straightness reference .............................................. 30
Measuring head and the wire ................................................................... 32
3.2.1
3.2.2
3.2.3
3.2.4
3.2.5
3.2.6
3.2.7
3.2.8
3.2.9
3.2.10

General design requirements .............................................................................................. 32

Design details ..................................................................................................................... 32
Optical sensors.................................................................................................................... 33
Measuring system design.................................................................................................... 36
Optical sensor testing.......................................................................................................... 39
Wire sensitivity change due to positioning inside the sensor ............................................. 40
Measurement of straightness with taut wire ....................................................................... 41
Wire settling ....................................................................................................................... 45
Wire considerations ............................................................................................................ 46
Counterweight consideration .............................................................................................. 48

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