Here's a look at the technology behind this key machine tool diagnostic device, and how two manufacturers are using it.
Determining a machine tool's capabilities prior to post-process part inspection greatly reduces the potential for scrap, and can eliminate downtime spent searching for sources of errors. This is where a compact and portable tool known as a ballbar can pay significant dividends. A ballbar takes the guesswork out of machine tool evaluation, allowing users to quickly establish a performance level before the machine cuts chips. It can also serve as a valuable diagnostic tool when things go wrong.
Considered by many to be a must-have tool for the machine shop, the ballbar can see every motion affecting error that exists in the axes under test. These errors can include backlash, reversal spikes, lateral play, cyclic error, servo mismatch, scaling errors and geometry errors such as squareness and straightness (see "A Closer Look at Machine Tool Inaccuracies).