Increasing the location accuracy of the operating unit of a three-axis metal-cutting machine tool: application of the differential geometric model of volumetric errors

The article is devoted to increasing the volumetric accuracy of multi-axis machine tools. Based on the model of measurement and calculation of the volumetric geometric error of machine tools presented by the authors, a method has been developed which allows to signifi cantly improve the accuracy of the movement of the operating unit of a three-axis metal-cutting machine tool to a given point. The astatic law and the calculation of the coordinate correction according to the differential geometric model of the volumetric error are used to control the movement of the operating unit. The developed method is implemented programmatically and allows to perform the correction in the control program represented in G-code. As a result of experiments on software correction of volumetric errors according to the developed method, conducted at the State Engineering Centre of the Moscow State University of Technology “STANKIN” on a threeaxis CNC machine tool, a signifi cant reduction (up to 90 %) of geometric volumetric errors was shown. The developed method can be used to improve the accuracy of metal-cutting machine tools by creating postprocessors that calculate corrections to the coordinates set in the control system based on the results of interferometric measurements. Keywords: volumetric accuracy, interference measurements, three-axis machine tools, machine tool accuracy, geometric errors, astatic control law, mathematical modelling, differential geometry