Measurement and compensation system for thermal errors in machine tools

Abstract

A measurement and compensation system for thermal errors in a machine tool is disclosed. A module is provided to compensate thermal errors of the machine tool. The module comprises an operating part, a data bank, an analog to digital converter, a counter and a digital input/output part. The data bank stores in all the coefficients applied to a thermal error modeling equation which governs a relation between temperatures and thermal errors at various operating conditions. The operating part determines all the coefficients of the thermal error modeling equation which are stored in the data bank and calculates the thermal errors corresponding to the temperatures of a plurality of the thermocouples by the temperatures of a plurality of thermocouples inputted from the A/D converter and the positional coordinates of the bed inputted from the counter. Then, digital data of the calculated thermal errors are inputted into the digital input/output part and the digital input/output part converts the digital data to digital signal to input the digital signals into the controller. A controller orders the machine tool to compensate the thermal errors at the positional coordinates of the bed and the feed of the spindle. Accordingly, since the machine tool compensates the thermal errors in advance, the machine tool processes precisely workpieces in spite of the occurrence of the thermal errors.