Measure the machine before you decide what is wrong with it
We measure machine tool geometry, correct what can be corrected in the control, and repair what cannot. Laser interferometry, ballbar and laser tracking, on your machine, on your parts. Supplied worldwide by an official Siemens partner.
Book a no-obligation consultation
Every axis has six ways to be wrong
A single linear axis carries six error components: one linear positioning error along its travel, two straightness errors across it, and three angular errors — pitch, yaw and roll.
A three-axis machine therefore has eighteen, plus three squareness errors between the axes. Twenty-one geometric errors before the spindle is considered. On a five-axis head or a large-format gantry there are more, and the long axis is usually where they concentrate.
The six error components of a single linear axis, exaggerated for clarity.
The useful number is not the biggest one
Total deviation tells you a machine is out of tolerance. It does not tell you what to do about it.
We measure each axis in both directions. That single step separates the errors into two groups that need opposite responses.
Errors that repeat — the same deviation at the same position, run after run — are systematic. Scale error, leadscrew pitch, thermal growth. These are corrected in the control with compensation tables, and the machine holds the correction.
Errors that change with direction cannot be. A compensation table built from one direction will be wrong in the other. These deviations are mechanical: guideway wear, preload, drive wind-up, or thermal movement during the run.
Compensation fixes what repeats. It cannot fix what is loose. A machine can be well outside its positioning specification and still be entirely compensable, and another can be inside specification and still cut scrap. The measurement is what tells them apart — which is why we measure before quoting a fix, and why we will tell you when compensation is not the answer.
What we do
Measure. Renishaw XL80 laser interferometer for linear positioning and straightness, ballbar for squareness, backlash and servo mismatch, and laser tracking for volumetric work on large machines and gantries.
Compensate. Error compensation written to the control, including SINUMERIK 840D sl and SINUMERIK ONE, followed by a verification run that proves the change rather than assuming it.
Repair. Where the deviation does not repeat, mechanical correction and realignment. We establish which of the two you need before you pay for either.
When machines need this
- Parts have started failing inspection without an obvious cause.
- A machine has been in production for years and has never been measured.
- A retrofit or rebuild needs proving before it goes back into production.
- A capability study or customer audit requires documented machine accuracy.
- A machine was accepted on calculated figures that were never verified.
If you are retrofitting to SINUMERIK ONE, calibration is the natural companion. The same project that removes your obsolescence risk is the moment to establish what the machine’s geometry actually is. Adaptive machining then protects it in the cut.
What you receive
- A measurement report showing deviation per axis and per direction.
- A clear statement of what is compensable and what is not, and why.
- The compensation applied, with the values recorded.
- A verification run after the work, proving the change.
Further reading: Why metrology matters for your CNC machine tools
