Motion error estimation of 5-axis machining center using DBB method

In order to estimate the motion errors of 5-axis machine center, the double ball bar (DBB) method is adopted to realize the diagnosis procedure. The motion error sources of rotary axes in 5-axis machining center comprise of the alignment error of rotary axes and the angular error due to various factors, e.g. the inclination of rotary axes. From sensitive viewpoints, each motion error is possible to have a particular sensitive direction in which deviation of DBB error trace arises from only some specific error sources. The model of the DBB error trace is established according to the spatial geometry theory. Accordingly, the sensitive direction of each motion error source is made clear through numerical simulation, which is used as the reference patterns for rotational error estimation. The estimation method is proposed to easily estimate the motion error sources of rotary axes in quantitative manner. To verify the proposed DBB method for rotational error estimation, the experimental tests are carried out on a 5-axis machining center M-400 (MORISEIKI). The effect of the mismatch of the DBB is also studied to guarantee the estimation accuracy. From the experimental data, it is noted that the proposed estimation method for 5-axis machining center is feasible and effective.