Calibration of a probe
First Claim
1. A method of calibrating a probe having a stylus comprising the steps of:
- mounting a calibration artifact on a first part of a coordinate positioning machine;
mounting the probe on a second part of the coordinate positioning machine, said second part being movable with respect to said first part;
moving the probe relative to the calibration artifact along one or more scan paths around the calibration artifact thus deflecting the stylus while continuously scanning the surface of the calibration artifact such that the probe is exercised through its working range;
obtaining measurement data based on a deflection of the stylus and a position of said second part relative to said first part; and
using the measurement data to determine the calibration coefficients of the probe.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of calibrating an analogue probe (10) having a stylus (12) with a workpiece-contacting tip (14) or a non-contact probe (26). A calibration artefact such as a calibration sphere (16) is mounted on a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) (18). The probe (10,26) is mounted on an arm (8) of the CMM and the probe is moved along a path whilst continually scanning the surface of the calibration artefact such that the probe is exercised throughout its working range. For an analogue probe (10) having a workpiece-contacting stylus (12), the path is such that the deflection of the stylus varies along the path. For a non-contact probe (26) the path is such that there is variation of the radial distance between the path and the calibration artefact. The probe path may comprise a path parallel to a chord of the calibration sphere or a curved, e.g. a sinusoidal, path.
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Citations
7 Claims
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1. A method of calibrating a probe having a stylus comprising the steps of:
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mounting a calibration artifact on a first part of a coordinate positioning machine; mounting the probe on a second part of the coordinate positioning machine, said second part being movable with respect to said first part; moving the probe relative to the calibration artifact along one or more scan paths around the calibration artifact thus deflecting the stylus while continuously scanning the surface of the calibration artifact such that the probe is exercised through its working range; obtaining measurement data based on a deflection of the stylus and a position of said second part relative to said first part; and using the measurement data to determine the calibration coefficients of the probe. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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Specification