Hardware Components of CMM

Structural elements Bearing supports Drive systems Displacement measurement systems Probe heads Control systems

Structural Elements
M/C base Table to support W/P M/C columns Slide ways Probe shaft

Material Granite, Steel & Aluminium

Ideal Properties of Structural Elements

Dimensional stability Stress relieving techniques Infinite stiffness FEA & Hollow structures Weightlessness High damping capacity - Servo control system Low coefficient of thermal expansion Proper selection of material easy workability & lower cost High thermal conductivity

Bearing Systems
What are bearing systems? Part of structure & affect measuring accuracy Types of bearing systems Non-contact air bearing systems Hard contact bearings Design considerations Dynamic stiffness Load carrying capability Damping & frictional effects

Air Bearings
Air bearings utilize a thin film of pressurized air to provide a zero friction' load bearing interface between surfaces Being non-contact, air bearings avoid the traditional bearingrelated problems of friction, wear, and lubricant handling Distinct advantages in precision positioning and high speed applications

Working of air bearings

The fluid film of the bearing is achieved by supplying a flow of air through the bearing itself to the bearing surface (gap of 5mm) The design of the air bearing is such that, although the air constantly dissipates from the bearing site, the continual flow of pressurized air through the bearing is sufficient to support the working loads Air bearings are a natural choice for applications in coordinate measuring machines

Hard contact bearings

Used for higher loads (mainly foundries) Precision roller bearings Ball bearings Sliding guide ways

Drive systems
Used only to move the probe Natural frequency higher than that of machine structure Types of Drive systems Rack & Pinion Belt Friction Lead screw Linear motor

Rack & Pinion

Pinion-driver Rack-driven Preffered for Lengthy travel (Gantry) Form errors and Backlash limit accuracy Cost effective Used for rough positioning

 It consists of Belt fibre-reinforced notched or a metallic flat tape Multi-stage speed reducer Servo motor Offers a quiet transmission of power to the moving axes Acts as a low pass filter preventing motor oscillations Axes driven at high speed & accelerations Disadv-Elasticity-cannot be used for high-precision scanning operations

Belt Drive

Friction Drive
Also called as capstan or traction drive It consists of
Driving wheel - driven directly by a motor or speed reducer A flat or round bar A supporting back-up roller

Constant preload is applied

 Adv of friction drive Simplicity in design Low friction force Minimum backlash High positioning accuracy Disadv of friction drive Low drive force capability Low stiffness & damping Minimum transmission gain

 Most common type Ball screws Transforms rotary motion to linear translational movement Adv Provide mechanical advantage Good dynamic stiffness Disadv Inability to disengage and reengage Noisy Subject to wear

Lead screw drive

Linear motor drive

Direct drive It offer unusually high &virtually infinite stiffness Adv High acceleration (Gantry) Disadv No gear reduction mechanism Heat generation Cost is more