A rigorous experimental analysis (=acceptance testing) of the dimensional and temporal stability of an ultra precision machine involves the actual manufacture of such components that, as witness sample, allow the application of optical testing. The paper illustrates performance and quality verification tests for ultra precision air bearing spindles and slides with error motions ranging much below lium. Systematic machine errors are pinpointed. Repeated machining on the same surface allows the measurement both of vibrations, and of temporal dimensional changes, as might be caused by thermal growth.

Date Published: 1 January 1987
PDF: 14 pages
Proc. SPIE 0802, In-Process Optical Metrology for Precision Machining, (1 January 1987); doi: 10.1117/12.967098

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 0802:
In-Process Optical Metrology for Precision Machining
Peter Langenbeck, Editor(s)