Innovative system for verification
For three years research has been co-ordinated by Unimetrik and involved the Spanish company Mecaner, the University of Zaragoza, the Dutch firms Lemmen and IBS Spaan Precision Engineering, the Italian numerical control manufacturer Fidia and the Czech National Measurement Centre (CMI). A method for carrying out calibrations has been developed and in a much more complete and economic manner compared to those to date, as well as one which corrects positioning errors or the volume of work more rapidly and completely, in order to subsequently verify the efficacy of the corrections. The result of the project is a system based on a self-centring follower which is inserted into the head of the machine tool itself, and an arbitration bar with equidistant balls. After the run, the system software analyses the results and contrasts the machine positioning data with the nominal data for the distances of the balls. Thus the machines errors can be identified and corrected or compensated for. The software itself has, moreover, an option for readjustment. Advantages,To date there have been two systems for calibrating machine-tools: one using laser interferometry and the other, more recent, using an articulated bar, patented by a British company. However, both have drawbacks. The first system is expensive and laborious and the second is quite limited by space. Compared to the laser system, the new method is more agile, economic and user-friendly and, with respect to the articulated bar, the new system is also more economic and covers a much broader range for machines. ,Process necessary in order to optimise the production processes,The calibration and verification of machine tools is a process necessary for the optimisation of production processes and avoids a lot of time taken up with the final adjustment of machined parts. Currently, machine tools are only rarely calibrated before carrying out their task. Normally this takes place after the production process and the part is already made and the tool is re-programmed to take into account the observed error. With the new system, applied at the beginning of the production process, the errors of the machine are minimised, the time taken up in final adjustments for manufactured parts is much less, and the end-product has more quality. This means, without any doubt, a great saving for the manufacturer. For further information:,http://www.unimetrik.es MT-Check on CORDIS
Countries
Czechia, Spain, Italy, Netherlands