Development of a novel optical measurement system for the error verification of rotating spindle

A new spindle error measurement system is described. It employs a specially designed rotational fixture with a corner cube to replace the precision reference master ball used in the traditional method. A two-dimensional position-sensitive detector (PSD) is used to replace the noncontact sensor for measuring the motion error of the rotating spindle. The rotational fixture is held on the tool holder, and the PSD is mounted on an adjustable holder to detect the position of an incident laser beam reflected from the corner cube. When the spindle rotates, the spindle error changes the direction of the reflective beam and also the positions of the spots on the PSD. Thus, the radial runout of the spindle can be obtained via the PSD outputs. The theoretical analysis to eliminate the setup error and eccentricity-induced error, as well as the error analysis, is given. This system is proposed as a new instrument and method for spindle metrology. ? 2005 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.