Evaluation method for behavior of rotary axis around motion direction changing

Several methods for evaluating the motion accuracy of the rotary axes in five-axis machining centers have been proposed till date. As it is known that particular motion errors exist around the motion direction changing points, it is important to evaluate the behavior of the rotary axes around these points. However, the influence of the motion error in the translational axes is included in the conventional evaluation results, as the translational axes reverse at the motion direction changing points about the rotary axes. In this study, an evaluation method which can assess the behavior of a rotary axis around motion direction changes by synchronous motion of translational and rotary axes is proposed. In this method, the direction of translational axes does not change when the motion direction of a rotary axis changes. A measurement test and actual cutting tests are carried out to clarify the influence of the behaviors of rotary axes on the motion trajectory and machined surface, caused by the change in the motion direction of the rotary axis. Simulations of the motion are also carried out to discuss the causes of inaccuracy.