Renishaw plc (www.renishaw.com), Wotton-under-Edge, has introduced its XM-60 multi-axis calibrator which, for linear axes, can measure all six degrees of freedom in a single set-up. Renishaw says the calibrator offers significant improvements in simplicity and time savings over conventional laser measurement techniques.

As demands on component tolerances increase, manufacturers are now required to consider all sources of error from machine tools; these include angular errors as well as linear and straightness errors. The XM-60 multi-axis calibrator is a laser system that incorporates novel technology with a patented “optical roll measurement and fibre-optic launch system”.

The compact launch unit is remote from the laser unit, reducing heat effects at the point of measurement. Moreover, it can be mounted directly to the machine on its side, upside down and even on its back, which helpful when machine access is difficult.

The Renishaw XM-60 has been designed to measure machine errors directly, reducing the inaccuracies which can result from complex mathematics used in some alternative measurement techniques. A fully wireless receiver is powered by rechargeable batteries, avoiding trailing cables during machine moves, which could cause inaccuracies or break the laser beam during measurement.

To support the this calibrator, a new version of Renishaw’s CARTO software suite will be released to guide users through the workflow of the measurement process. CARTO 2.0 includes ‘Capture’ and ‘Explore’ applications, which already provide data capture and analysis for the XL-80 laser interferometer system. The CARTO user interface can easily be configured to suit customer preferences; it is also tablet friendly and has expandable menu sections for ease of use on compact screens. Test methods are automatically saved, so for repeat testing users can simply recall an earlier test.

Capture 2.0 features a new part-program generator, supporting Fanuc 30, Heidenhain 530, Mazak Matrix and Siemens 840D controllers (with more to follow in later releases). Meanwhile, the Explore 2.0 application provides a summary view of all six channels of data, each of which can be displayed against a range of international standards. A user-defined tag can be assigned to any test, or group of tests saved in the database, with data then filtered by these tags.