Development of a Practical Measurement System for Rolling by Means of Laser Interferometry

An accurate and practical system for the measurement of rolling that occurs with the movement of a machine tool unit has been developed. The system consists of a bi-prism, two plane mirrors, and a double-path optical heterodyne laser interferometer. The measurement of rolling with this system is not affected by pitching, yawing, heaving, and swaying. The measurement system was confirmed to have a sensitivity of 0.032μm/arcsec (variation of path length/unit angle of rolling), a resolution of 0.31 arcsec (used in λ/64 measurement system), and 800 mm travel length. In order to investigate the rolling that occurs in a machining centre (680 × 500 × 630 mm), the measurement was carried out in full stroke of each unit in the machining centre. The results show the reliable agreements in replication measurement.