Measurement and compensation of machine tool geometry error based on Abbe principle

The error measurement of numerically controlled machine tools is fundamental to error compensation. The installation position of measurement equipment has a significant influence on the measurement accuracy. Accurate measurement should satisfy the requirement that five factors are on the same line, or the Abbe error will result in measurement data inaccuracy. In this study, the reasons for the Abbe offset are analysed. The measuring equipment and measured object are adjusted so that the Abbe arm length is reduced to zero. When the measurement system is limited by the object condition, the compensation methods for these errors are provided. The system error is significantly decreased by software error compensation according to the error model based on the Abbe principle. The experimental results demonstrate that the machine tool accuracy is improved significantly. Therefore, the proposed compensation method is effective in compensating for the geometric error of the machine tool.