05.03.

2015

Outline – Fundamentals
• Resolution
• Accuracy
• Repeatability /Precision
– Test procedure
– Directional repeatability
• ISO 230-2 Standard
• Abbé Principle & Options
• Error Sources
• Spatial Transformations
• HTMs
– Prismatic joint
– Revolute joint
• Example

Chapter 2 ME 551 2

Resolution
• The smallest position increment that a motion
system can detect is called resolution.
– Also referred to as display- or encoder resolution.
– Today, high-precision machining centers incorporate 0.1 μm
(100 nm) resolution linear encoders.
• Resolution is not the same as the minimum
incremental motion.
– Due to deficiencies in the drive train (such as
hysteresis/backlash, friction, elastic effects), most
systems cannot make a minimum incremental move
close to the resolution unless the sensor is directly
measuring the delivered motion.

Chapter 2 ME 551 3

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Accuracy1

• Accuracy is, by definition, the maximum amount of difference

between a measured physical quantity and its true value.
• In machine tool technology, it is the maximum translational (or
rotational) error between any two points in the machine’s workspace.

Chapter 2 ME 551 4

Repeatability: Precision
• Repeatability is the difference between a
measured value and the best estimate on the
true value of the measured quantity.
• In machine tool technology, repeatability is the
error between a number of successive attempts
to move the machine to the same position.
• Precision and repeatability are often times used
interchangeably.
• Minimization of static friction, backlash, and
thermal variants is desired to get better
repeatability.
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Repeatability (Cont’d)
To quantify repeatability, statistics is utilized. Consider a data set
consisting of a number of position errors: {x1, x2, ..., xN}

1 N
Expected Value (Mean): E{x }  x 
N
x
i 1
i

1 N
Standard Deviation:  
N  1 i 1
( xi  x )2

Repeatability is usually defined as 3 where 99.7% of data lie within

this range.

Chapter 2 ME 551 6

Example – Dart Game

Low Accuracy Low Accuracy High Accuracy

Low Precision High Precision High Precision

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Example – Digital Watch

• Under normal operating conditions, the
following experiment is carried out to
determine the accuracy and repeatability
of a digital watch.
Start Stop & Read
30246060 seconds
(one month) later
12:00 00 12:00 06
Atomic Clock
(Actual Time)
12:00:00 12:00:00

Chapter 2 ME 551 8

Digital Watch (Cont’d)

Month Time (hh:mm:ss)
01 (January) 12:00:06
02 (February) 12:00:09
03 (March) 12:00:05
04 (April) 12:00:05
05 (May) 12:00:03
06 (June) 12:00:03
07 (July) 12:00:02
08 (August) 12:00:01
09 (September) 12:00:02
10 (October) 12:00:05
11 (November) 12:00:05
12 (December) 12:00:08
Expected Time 12:00:05
Standard Deviation () 2.43 sec

Resolution = 1 sec
Accuracy = 5 sec
Repeatability = 9.72 sec (4)
Chapter 2 ME 551 9

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Directional Repeatability2
• Manufacturers frequently specify
unidirectional repeatability which is
the ability to repeat a motion
increment in one direction only. It
excludes
– Backlash
– Hysteresis
• A more significant specification is
bidirectional repeatability.
• Few other manufacturers publicize
this much tougher measure of
motion performance.

Chapter 2 ME 551 10

A Generic Representation2

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Backlash

• The maximum magnitude of an input that

produces no measurable output upon reversing
direction.
– Can be a result of insufficient axial preloads or
– Poor meshing between drive-train components (i.e.,
gear teeth in a gear-coupled drive-train).
• Backlash is relatively repeatable and can be
compensated by high-end controllers.

Chapter 2 ME 551 12

Hysteresis
• A component of the reversal error that is
dependent on the recent history of the system.
– This is often confused with backlash!
• It is due to elastic forces accumulated in
various drive-train components (e.g. lead-
screw windup).
• It affects both bidirectional repeatability and
accuracy.
• Characterization and compensation of
hysteresis is quite difficult.

Chapter 2 ME 551 13

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Calibration / Test Methods

• In standard tests, machine is
programmed to move to
predetermined locations in
various directions via
– Linear (scan) method
– Pendulum-step method
– Quasi-pilger method
• Laser interferometer is used to
measure “true” position.

Chapter 2 ME 551 14

Standard Tests
• To generalize the same definition of accuracy
and repeatability, some standards have been
established:
– ISO 230-2
– ASME B5.54
– JIS B6201-1993
• The ISO 230-2 (titled “Test Code for Machine
Tools”) is probably the most accepted code in
the world.
– Dictates the test conditions and measurement
procedures.
Chapter 2 ME 551 15

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ISO 230-2 Conditions

• ISO 230-2 requires the followings:
– Uniform temperature: 20oC as reference
– Machine warm up cycle
– Uni- and bi-directional motion
– Number of target points: At least 5 points per
meter
– Number of measurements: At least 5 trials per
target point

Chapter 2 ME 551 16

ISO 230-2 Definitions3

Let the positioning error (i.e. deviation = nominal position – measured position)
at the ith target point (i  {1, 2, ..., m}) for test j  {1, 2, ..., n} be denoted by xij.
The standard distinguishes between the unidirectional motion in positive and
negative directions by xij↑ and xij↓.

The mean values of the position errors are calculated as

1 n 1 n
xi   xij 
n j 1
xi   xij 
n j 1

The bi-directional deviation is calculated as the mean value between the

unidirectional positioning errors:

xij   xij 
xi 
2

Chapter 2 ME 551 17

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ISO 230-2 Definitions (Cont’d)

The error due to the inversion of the motion between the positive and negative
approach (sometimes called “lost motion”) is defined as:
xi  xij   xij 

Standard deviations for each target point become

1 n 1 n
si   ( xij   xij )2
n  1 j 1
si   ( xij   xij )2
n  1 j 1

ISO 230-2 use an error band ±2s (±2) so that the repeatability for a uni-
directional test at each target point is Ri↑ = 4si↑ and Ri↓ = 4si↓. The
repeatability (R) for bi-directional approach takes the following form:

Ri  max{2(si   si ) | Bi |, Ri , Ri }

R  max{Ri }

Chapter 2 ME 551 18

ISO 230-2 Definitions (Cont’d)

The “accuracy “ of the machine tool axis is also defined with an error band of 2s
and is determined by the following equations:

A  max{xi  2si }  min{xi  2si }

A  max{xi  2si }  min{xi  2si }

Overall accuracy boils down to

A  max{xi  2si , xi  2si }  min{xi  2si , xi  2si }

Note that ISO 230 is a general guide for several ISO standards that define
more specific tests for each machine tool type. For instance, ISO 230-1
describes the general concepts of straightness, roundness, and squareness,
defining the basic measuring methods.

Chapter 2 ME 551 19

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ISO 230-2 Representation3

Chapter 2 ME 551 20

Abbe Principal

• “If errors in parallax

are to be avoided, the
measuring system
must be placed
coaxially along which
displacement is to be
measured on the
workpiece.”

Prof. Ernst K. Abbé

(1840 – 1905)
Chapter 2 ME 551 21

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Abbe Principal1 (Cont’d)

• The Abbe principle refers to the amplification of

angular error by a lever arm.
• Abbe offset errors are also referred to as sine
errors.
Chapter 2 ME 551 22

Abbe Offset Error2

Chapter 2 ME 551 23

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Cosine Error

R
Sine Error:
R·sin(q) » Rq
q

Cosine Error:
R - R·cos(q) » Rq2/2

• Cosine errors have lesser effect than Abbe

(or “sine”) errors but they are particularly
important for large systems.

Chapter 2 ME 551 24

Abbe Option4 #1

• “The displacement measuring system

should be in line with the functional point
whose displacement is to be measured.”
• Unfortunately, this option is not viable for
many applications due to restrictions
imposed on machine design and
measurement system.

Chapter 2 ME 551 25

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Abbe Option4 #2

• “If this is not possible, the slideways that

transfer the displacement must be free of
angular motion.”
• This option has very limited use as there
is no such thing as slideway without
angular motion.

Chapter 2 ME 551 26

Abbe Option4 #3
• “Or, angular motion data must be used to
calculate the consequences of the
(measurement) offset.”
• The last option calls for using angular motion
data to calculate and correct the
consequences of Abbé offset.
– Modern motion control systems can be programmed to
accept angular motion data to compensate for the error.
– In most cases, offsets do vary during a machining or
inspection operation. Thus, straightforward application of
this option becomes impossible.

Chapter 2 ME 551 27

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Quasi-static Errors1
• Quasi-static mechanical errors are errors in the
machine, fixture, tooling, and workpiece that
occur very slowly in time:
– Geometric Errors
– Kinematic Errors
– Assembly Induced Errors
– Load Induced Errors
– Thermal Errors
– Material Instability Errors
– Instrumentation Errors

Chapter 2 ME 551 28

Geometric Errors1

• Errors appear in individual machine components.

Many factors affect geometric errors:
– Surface straightness;
– Surface roughness;
– Bearing preload;
– Structural design methods;
– Kinematic vs. elastic design principles.
Chapter 2 ME 551 29

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Kinematic Errors1

• They are errors in an axis-trajectory that are caused

by misaligned or improperly sized components.

Chapter 2 ME 551 30

Assembly Induced Errors1

• While designing a machine, one must make sure that

machine elements will fit together with the desired
accuracy:
– For instance, four matching holes in two different components
are difficult to manufacture.
– Generally the holes are oversized but then the clearance
between the bolts and the holes means that the components do
not have a unique assembly position anymore.
• Such errors introduced during the assembly often times
force geometric congruence between moving parts.
Chapter 2 ME 551 31

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Other Errors1 (Cont’d)

• Load Induced Errors are mechanical errors due to

deflections on machine tool components under the
action of gravity, inertial- and external loads.
• Thermal Errors are thermal elastic strains due to
temperature changes in machine system.
• Material Instability Errors are errors caused by growth
and distortion in material due to internal stress and/or
unstable metallurgical state of the material.
• Instrumentation Errors are attributed to sensors.

Chapter 2 ME 551 32

Sensitive Directions3

• Certain directions in tool position may NOT affect the

performance of the machine.
– E.g. tool position in the axial direction (i.e. along Y axis) has
only a minor influence on turning operations.
• Designers must emphasize accuracy for the sensitive
directions.

Chapter 2 ME 551 33

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Deterministic Performance4
• “An automatic machine may be classified as operating
perfectly. It may not be doing what it is required and if this is
so, it is because it has not been suitably arranged.”
(Loxham)
• “A basic finding from our experience in dealing with machine
accuracy is that machine tools are deterministic… Machine
tool errors obey cause-and-effect relationships and do not
vary randomly for no obvious reason… These causes are
controllable.” (Donaldson)
• “Apparent non-repeatability of machine tools can be
identified, reduced or eliminated… An automatic machine
can be made to repeat close to the resolution of its
measuring system(s)” (McKeown)
Chapter 2 ME 551 34

Kinematic Models of Machines

• Machine tool is a machine system that moves
around workpiece and/or cutting tool within its
workspace for the purpose of machining the
workpiece to a desired form.
– Leads to the need of representing positions and
orientations of the workpiece, tool, and of the
mechanism itself.
• Spatial transformation is a mathematical tool
allowing coordinate transformation from one
reference frame to another.

Chapter 2 ME 551 35

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Spatial Transformations
ZA
Position vector of point C in coordinate frame A can
be represented as
C
Coordinate
A
PC  xA 
PC   y A 
Frame {A} A
YA
 z A 
XA Consider a two-dimensional coordinate system:
A
YA
B
PC = A PB + B PC
YB PC
C Note that
XB
A
PC q  A xC   A xB   B xC 
B A   A B 
A
PB
 yC   y B   yC 
A XA Because, rotation is neglected here.

Chapter 2 ME 551 36

2D Transformations
The projection of point C onto coordinate frame A can be expressed as
A
x C = A x B + B x C cos q  B yC sin q
A
yC = A y B + B x C sin q  B yC cos q

In matrix notation, we have

 A xC   A xB  cos q  sin q   B x C 
A  =A  +   
 yC   y B   sin q cos q   B yC 

Augmenting this equation yields

 A x C  cos q  sin q A
xB   B xC 
A    
 yC  =  sin q cos q A
y B   B yC 
 1   0 0 1   1 
  

Chapter 2 ME 551 37

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2D Transformations (Cont’d)
Simply,
A
PC = ABT B PC
Note that
A AR  B0 
A
T = B
B 
 0 1 

T is called (2-D) homogenous transformation matrix; R and  refer to rotation

matrix and translation vector respectively. The homogenous transformation
matrices (HTMs) can be conveniently multiplied to obtain the transformation
matrix between any two coordinate frames. For instance,

N
T=  i-1iT= n-1nT  n+1n T
n-1
N
N-1
N T
i=n

Chapter 2 ME 551 38

3D Transformations
Extending a 2-D HTM to 3-D is quite straightforward. It is easy to verify that
the columns of R matrix are composed of the projections of unit vectors along
{B} onto {A} (i.e. direction cosines):

 A xC   A
xB   B xC 
A   A A A A  
 yC  = { i B } { jB } { k B } y B   B yC 
 A zC   A
z B   B zC 
    
 1   0 0 0 1   1 

where AiB, AjB, AkB are the unit vectors (in {B}) expressed in terms of the one
in {A}.

Chapter 2 ME 551 39

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3D Translation ZB

ZA ZA ZB ZA
ZB
YB
Y Y YB XB z
A y A
x Y
A
YB
X X
A A
X XB
XB A

I. Translation on X II. Translation on Y III. Translation on Z

1 0 0 x 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
0 1 0 0  0 1 0 y  0 1 0 0 
A  A  A 
BT(x)= BT(y)= BT(z)=
0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 z
     
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1

Chapter 2 ME 551 40

3D Rotation
ZB
ZA ZB ZA
ZA
ZB
YB
YB
qx
qy YB Y
Y qz A
A Y
A
X
A X XB X XB
XB A A

IV. Rotation about X V. Rotation about Y VI. Rotation about Z

1 0 0 0  cq y 0 sq y 0 cq z  sq z 0 0
 0  sq 0 
0 cq  sq x 0   1 0 0   z cq z 0
BT(q z )=
 BT(q y )=
A
BT(q x )=
A x A

0 sq x cq x 0   sq y 0 cq y 0  0 0 1 0
     
0 0 0 1  0 0 0 1  0 0 0 1

where cq  cos q; sq  sin q ( = x, y, or z).

Chapter 2 ME 551 41

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3D HTM
The general HTM, which includes all the motions above, becomes

A
B T= ABT(x)  ABT(y)  ABT(z)  ABT(qx )  ABT(q y )  ABT(qz )

That is,

 cq y cq z cq y sq z sq y x
 sq sq cq  cq sq  sq x sq y sq z  cq x cq z  sq x cq y y 
A  x y z x z
BT=
 cq x sq y cq z  sq x sq z cq x sq y sq z  sq x cq z cq x cq y z
 
 0 0 0 1

Chapter 2 ME 551 42

Inverse of HTMs
By taking advantage of the special attributes associated with the HTMs (i.e.
ortagonality of the unit vectors in the rotation matrix), the inverse of HTMs can
be computed with ease. Consider the following HTM:

A
AR A
 B0 
BT = B 
031 1 

The inverse of the HTM can be expressed as

 A RT ( AB R T ) A B 0 
 T)
-1
A B
B T=  B
A 
 031 1 

Chapter 2 ME 551 43

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Translational Motion1
Yn
y Xn
x
On (x  y  z)
Yi Actual Carriage
Frame
z Zn

YR
O i (a,b,c) Xi
Ideal Carriage
Zi Frame

O XR
Reference Frame
ZR

HTMs associated with the given system can be written as

1 0 0 a  c y c z c y s z s y x 
0 1 0 b 
 s s c  c s  s x s y s z  c x c z  s x c y  y 
R  i  x y z x z
iT= nT=
0 0 1 c  c x s y c z  s x s z c x s y s z  s x c z c x c y  z 
   
 0 0 0 1
0 0 0 1

Chapter 2 ME 551 44

Translational Motion (Cont’d)

Since R
n T= RiT  ni T
 c y c z c y s z s y a  x 
 s s c  c s  s x s y s z  c x c z  s x c y b   y 
R  x y z x z
nT=
 c x s y c z  s x s z c x s y s z  s x c z c x c y c  z 
 
 0 0 0 1 

Note that a, b, and c are the offsets of coordinate frame {i} with respect to {R}.
The rotations  are small (i.e. s »  and c » 1), the transformation
matrix simply boils down to
 1  z y a  x 
 1  x b   y 
R
T=  z
n
  y x 1 c  z 
 
 0 0 0 1 

Chapter 2 ME 551 45

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Rotary Motion1

HTM associated with a rotating body is essentially the same as the previous
one except that now qz is not a small angular error but a joint variable:

 cq z  sq z y x 
 sq z cq z  x  y 
R 
nT=
  y cq z   x sq z  y sq z   x cq z 1 z 
 
 0 0 0 1

Chapter 2 ME 551 46

Rotary Motion (Cont’d)

Note that in the previous HTM, the angular positioning error (z) is omitted as
z is presumed to be incorporated to qz. However, it might be advantageous to
express the contribution of z separately while developing the kinematic
models of articulated mechanisms:

 cq z   z sq z  sq z   z cq z  y x 
 sq   cq cq z   z sq z  x  y 
R  z z z
nT=
 x sq z   y cq z  x cq z   y sq z 1 z 
 
 0 0 0 1

Notice that second-order effects (i.e. product of errors) are neglected for all
practical purposes. Whenever the nanometer-range performance is sought, it
is advisable to utilize the HTM in Slide 42 directly (without any
approximations).

Chapter 2 ME 551 47

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Overall Kinematic Model

Z-axis Carrier
{Z}
Frame
Let us form the kinematic model
Probe (Tool)
of a CMM. For the probe, we have
Contact Point R
PC = RZT  Z PC
z
Pc
C
{X} With respect to the part,
x
Pc R
PC = RYT  YXT  X PC  RXT  X PC
{Y} X-axis Table Equating these two eqns. yields
Frame
R
Z T  Z PC  RXT  X PC
{R}
Y-axis Since ZPC is usually a vector of constants, it is often
Saddle Frame
times convenient to express the equation above as

Fixed
X
PC  RXT-1  RZT  Z PC
Reference
Frame XP is the position of the contact point wrt. the part. Ideal tool contact
C
point XPC* can be determined by simply setting all deviations to zero.
Hence, one can calculate an error vector E = XPC* - XPC .

Chapter 2 ME 551 48

Example – Two-axis Machine1

 1  z1  y1 a1   x1 
 1  x1 b1   y1 
R  z1
1T=
  y1  x1 1 c1   z1 
 
 0 0 0 1 
 1  z2  y2 a2   x2 
 1  x2 b2   y2 
1  z2
2T=
  y2  x2 1 c2   z2 
 
 0 0 0 1 
 a1  a2  t x 
b  b  t 
R
Ptool (ideal )   1 2 y 
R
Ptool (actual )  R1T  12T  2 Ptool  R2T  [t x ty t z 1]T  c1  c2  t z 
 
 1 
 t y ( z1   z 2 )  t z ( y1   y 2 )  b2 z1  c2 y1   x1   x 2 
 t (   )  t (   )  a   c      
R
Ptool (ideal )  R Ptool (actual )   x z1 z 2 z x1 x2 2 z1 2 x1 y1 y2 

 t x ( y1   y 2 )  t y ( x1   x 2 )  a2 y1  b2 x1   z1   z 2 
 
 0 
Chapter 2 ME 551 49

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References
1. A. H. Slocum, Precision Machine Design, SME Press,
1992.
• A. H. Slocum, ME 2.075 Course Notes, MIT, 2001.
2. Newport Corp., Motion Control Tutorial,
www.newport.com.
3. L.N. L. deLacalle, A. Lamikiz, Machine Tools for High
Performance Machining, Springer-Verlag, 2009.
4. Cranfield Unit for Precision Engineering (CUPE),
Precision Engineering Course Notes, Cranfield Institute
of Technology (UK), 1998.
5. M. Weck, Werkzeugmachinen (Band 2), Springer-
Verlag, 2005.

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