Improvement of Product Accuracy in Freeform Surface Machining

Abstract

Error compensation has come to the fore as industry is demanding more accurate machines at lower cost. Most previous work has focused on the overall-error compensation of machines. However, with mass production it is often more effective to focus on product errors rather than make more accurate machines. Moreover, mass produced products are commonly designed with freeform surfaces, and errors in such products are not easy to compensate for. Accordingly, the current paper presents part-error modelling for freeform surface machining as a substitute for overall-error modelling. The proposed part-error modelling is carried out in product parts using 3D measurement systems. The proposed modelling will be very useful for constructing intelligent CAM systems, thereby increasing efficiency and product accuracy.