Linear motors provide a frictionless, maintenance-free drive system with exceptional stiffness. However, the drawback of linear motors is that they produce heat along their entire length: heat is the nemesis of metrology systems and having a heat source along an entire axis is normally disastrous.
Aberlink has overcome this effect by thermally isolating it far from the metrology platform, and then using a novel kinematic isolated drive mechanism to transfer the motor thrust to the centre of gravity on each axis. This move results in no acceleration-induced metrology errors, thus creating the first linear-drive CMM not to suffer from the adverse metrology effects caused by a dissipating heat signature, says the company.
The split Y-axis carriageway design derives all the metrology benefits of a high carriageway and the operational convenience of a low carriageway. In-house manufactured 3D-printed components are deployed to join the unidirectional carbon-fibre tubing used throughout the design. A non-homogenous X beam optimises the stiffness-to-weight ratio along the entire axis.
To help illustrate the scanning capabilities made possible as a result of Aberlink’s MK4 software, the Horizon CMM will be fitted with Renishaw’s PH10M motorised indexing head and SP25M scanning probe.
Also at Control 2019, Aberlink’s latest iterations of the established Xtreme CNC CMMs will be demonstrating the company’s ‘Automation Interface’. Xtreme is designed using a non-Cartesian structure and utilises linear motors and mechanical bearings.
A further demonstration will focus on the Axiom Too HS CMM, the high-specification variant of Aberlink’s best-selling Axiom Too. In addition to boasting an enhanced accuracy specification, the speed of the HS model enables it to perform inspection tasks in a fraction of the time normally taken.
