Influence of position measurement on accuracy in five-axis machining

The advantages of capturing the position via linear and angle encoders from HEIDENHAIN become obvious when the Telstar workpiece is considered. A perfect optical appearance of the Telstar ball is only possible if the seams, pentagons and hexagons are milled with superb precision despite a machining time of over two hours. The inclined angles prescribed for the cutter in the NC program for the Telstar workpiece result in large motions of the rotary and linear axes, necessitating a high volumetric accuracy.

Accuracy from the very first part

Semi-Closed Loop
Influences of the drive mechanics impair machining accuracy. The seam width varies. The seam intersections are visibly inaccurate.

Closed Loop
Thanks to the precise linear and angle encoders from HEIDENHAIN, errors in the drive mechanics have no influence on the result of machining. The seams are milled to the correct width, and the intersections all match up exactly.

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