Limitations of Data Handling within the Machine Tool Service environment

The machine tool industry relies heavily on the speed and accuracy with which machine tools can be
assessed and measured. A full machine tool service requires a significant amount of measurement data to be taken both to rectify problems and to issue a “Certificate of Calibration” for the machine.
International standards provide some guidance on taking individual measurements and tackling
specific errors, but these generic procedures leave significant gaps in the method of test for the whole machine. Furthermore, data capture, transport, storage, recall and representation are all potential sources of error introduction and add uncertainty in the process. The limitations of the current practices regarding the areas of measurement detailed above will be addressed, along with reference to possible improvements and relevant data analysis methods.