A synchronous method for geometric error measurement of the dual rotary axes in five-axis machine tools using a scanning probe

The simultaneous measurement and identification of position-independent geometric errors (PIGEs) and position-dependent geometric errors (PDGEs) of dual rotary axes in five-axis machine tools remain a significant challenge in precision machining. To address this issue, this study develops a geometric error measurement system for the dual rotary axes of a five-axis machine tool by integrating a scanning probe, a block, and a calibration sphere. Unlike conventional touch-trigger probes, the scanning probe acquires continuous measurement signals along the surfaces of the block and the calibration sphere, enabling the extraction of richer geometric features and providing sufficient data for the simultaneous analysis of multiple geometric error components. The proposed measurement system is implemented on a five-axis machine tool, Uni5X-400, manufactured by FALCON Machine Tools Co., Ltd., to measure the geometric information of the calibration sphere and the block and thereby identify 20 PIGEs and PDGEs associated with the dual rotary axes. A kinematic model of the measurement system is established using homogeneous coordinate transformation matrices. By applying forward and inverse kinematics, the spatial positions of the calibration sphere and block are derived, forming an explicit relationship between volumetric errors and geometric errors. The resulting error identification equations are solved using the least squares method. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach can efficiently and accurately identify the geometric errors of the dual rotary axes and maintain robust reliability under real-world operating conditions, making it suitable for practical calibration and accuracy improvement of five-axis machine tools.