Calibration of in-plane center alignment errors in the installation of a circular slide with machine- vision sensor and a reflective marker

Abstract

This paper describes a method for calibrating in-plane center alignment error (IPCA) that occurs when installing the circular motion slide (CMS). In this study, by combini ng the moving carriage of the CMS and the planar PKM (parallel kinematic mechanism) with the machine tool, the small workspace of the PKM is expanded, and the workpiece is placed on the table with the CMS installed is processed through the machine tool. However, to rigidly mount the CMS on the table, the preload between the guide and the support bearings must be adjusted with the eccentric bearing, and in this process, the IPCA occurs. After installing a reflective marker on the PKM, the PKM is slowly rotated along with the ring guide in the way of stop-and-go without the PKM’s own motion. Then, using a machine vision camera installed at the top of the CMS, the IPCA, which is the difference between the actual center position and the nominal center position of the CMS with respect to the camera, can be successfully calibrated through the circular fitting process. Consequently, it was confirmed that the IPCA of 0.37 mm can be successfully identified with the proposed method. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.