Positioning error correction using virtual coordinate system for mMTs

Abstract

In this paper, a new calibration and correction method is proposed to effectively improve positioning accuracy of practical 3-DOF positioning devices of miniaturized machine tools (mMTs). The method is composed of correction of the machine’s coordinate system, which is distorted due to the effects of various error components, and correction of positioning errors at arbitrary points in workspace using this corrected coordinate system. If only positioning results could be measured and assessed three-dimensionally, squareness and scale errors of the mMTs’ coordinate system can be corrected using this method without any additional device or jig. The proposed method was applied to correct the positioning errors of a serial-type 3-DOF precision positioning device used for a micro/nano-pattering system. After correction of over 40 μm × 40 μm × 40 μm of its workspace, the positioning accuracy was successfully improved by about 98%.