INTERNATIONAL STANDARDISATION-MOVES TO COMPLETE THE MACHINE CALIBRATION PACKAGE

Standards concerning the determination of positioning accuracy and repeatability of numerically controlled(NC) machine tools have been published relentlessly over the last 20 years. Since the publication in 1988 of the International Standard 230-2 there has been a pronounced move, both at national and international standards level, to embrace further test procedures for a complete machine tool performance assessment. For example, measurements of angular (pitch, roll, and yaw) and straightness errors along linear axes are now commonplace and complement the existing positioning accuracy and repeatablity tests. More recently the subject of circularity evalutaion has also gained considerable interest. Here dynamic tests, using a kinematic ballbar or circular masterpiece, give an instant overview of the contouring ability of the machine in two axes at specific feedrates. This information is extremely important in optimising machining accuracy. This paper describes moves to complete the machine calibration package in national and international standardis- ation for the assessment of machine tool performance.