Consistent conformance to the working accuracy of a machine tool over extended periods of time is of paramount importance in the present day manufacturing environment and especially so in the manufacture of very high precision components. One of the major factors that seriously hampers such a performance is the distortion of the machine structure effected by the rise in the temperature of the constituent elements of a machine subjected to continuous usage. This paper proposes a system that would enable the rapid calibration and compensation of such thermal distortion in a PC-based open-architecture controlled vertical machining centre. While aiming to minimise the thermal error assessment time through the use of on-machine probes and artefacts, periodic assessment/calibration of the machine could also be accomplished by the system through a software algorithm. The distinctive advantage of this system is that automated machine tool accuracy evaluation could be carried out on a regular basis to account for any change caused by the prolonged usage of the machine. Machine tool error assessment could thus be executed without any operator intervention thereby enhancing the productivity of the flexible manufacturing line.
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