Non-Contact Measurement and Analysis of Machine Tool Spindles

An increasing demand on the manufacturing industry to produce tighter tolerance parts at a consistent rate means it is necessary to gain a greater understanding of machine tool capabilities, error sources and factors affecting asset availability. The machine tool spindle can be a significant contributor to both machine tool errors and failures, resulting in a requirement for spindle error measurement.

This work is an investigation into the most significant static and dynamic errors associated with a variety of common machine tool spindles and the issues around spindle metrology in hostile manufacturing environments.

Various non-contact measurement sensors are investigated and assessed for their suitability for use in a spindle analysis system. Based on the sensor selection, new measurement hardware and analysis methods were designed and developed for affordable, robust and efficient characterisation of machine tool spindle errors.

Details of practical spindle analysis are presented and reviewed, discussing potential issues and methods of minimisation of measurement error.