Renishaw, a world-leading supplier of measuring systems and production systems, has incorporated its new off-axis rotary measurement mode into the latest release (version 4.7) of its CARTO software suite.
This provides a single source for testing off-axis measurement using the XR20 rotary axis calibrator and XL-80 laser system, to streamline the measurement of rotary positioning accuracy for five-axis machine tools where the XR20 rotary axis calibrator cannot always be mounted on the centre of rotation.
Data is collected using ‘CARTO Capture’ and ‘CARTO Explore’ is used for data analysis. The new off-axis rotary measurement mode in the ‘CARTO Capture’ application is a licensed option and allows the XR20 rotary axis calibrator, combined with the XL-80 laser system, to capture off-axis measurements in one session.
Dan Throup, Renishaw’s ‘product owner, calibration software’, said: “A single test record is created
in the CARTO database, significantly reducing the number of steps in the measurement process. This improved method gives greater data integrity and traceability from the Explore application to analyse the results. In addition, the Capture application now uses a new automatic sign detection move when capturing the angular errors associated with an off-axis test. This simplifies the process and reduces the chance of user error.
“Since its launch in 2012, the Renishaw XR20 rotary axis calibrator has become established as the solution for direct measurement of rotary errors for stages, jigs, and machine tools. The new off-axis rotary measurement mode in the CARTO software suite provides a simple, accurate check for the alignment and positioning performance of rotary axes of any configuration.”
Further details of this off-axis measurement mode can be found at the website (
www.renishaw.com/carto-add-ons).