On-the-fly calibration of linear and rotary axes of machine tools and CMMs using a tracking interferometer

Tracking interferometers have been introduced successfully in industry for geometry calibration of three-axes machines. Recent research has extended this technology to the continuous data acquisition (on-the-fly) and the calibration of rotary axes. By continuous measurement the measurement time is reduced and the number of sampling points is increased drastically. With the extension of the measurement principle for rotary axes it is possible to calibrate rotary axes in 6 degrees of freedom using the same hardware. The paper describes the technical set-up and the mathematical foundations. Furthermore, it presents experimental results achieved.