An autonomous multisensor in situ metrology system for enabling high dynamic range measurement of 3D surfaces on precision machine tools

An in situ measurement is of prime importance when trying to maintain the position of the workpiece for further compensation processes in order to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the precision machining of three dimensional (3D) surfaces. However, the coordinates of most of the machine tools with closed machine interfaces and control system are not accessible for users, which make it difficult to use the motion axes of the machine tool for in situ measurements. This paper presents an autonomous multisensor in situ metrology system for enabling high dynamic range measurement of 3D surfaces on precision machine tools. It makes use of a designed tool path and an additional motion sensor to assist the registration of time-space data for the position estimation of a 2D laser scanner which measures the surface with a high lateral resolution and large area without the need to interface with the machine tool system. A prototype system was built and integrated into an ultra-precision polishing machine. Experimental results show that it measures the 3D surfaces with high resolution, high repeatability, and large measurement range. The system not only improves the efficiency and accuracy of the precision machining process but also extends the capability of machine tools.