Author(s)

J.A. Soons

Abstract

This paper describes the measurement and analysis of the quasi-static errors of a prototype hexapod milling machine at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Emphasis is placed on a) the identification and definition of the parametric errors, b) the development of an analytical model to describe how these parametric errors affect errors in the position and orientation of the tool, c) identification of the most important parametric errors and their potential impact on performance, d) comparison of hexapod error characteristics to those of conventional machine tools, e) description of the techniques used to measure and estimate the hexapod errors, and f) application of the various concepts to model the geometrical and thermal errors of the NIST hexapod, incl

Keywords