How to judge the accuracy of a used CMM?

Author:           Date:2025-02-26

To determine the accuracy of the used three coordinates, you can start from the following aspects:

 First, check the hardware condition of the equipment

 guide rail: check the surface of the guide rail to see if there are scratches, wear and tear, rust and corrosion, etc., you can judge by observing the glossiness and flatness of the surface of the guide rail. If there is obvious wear and tear, it will reduce the precision of movement during measurement and affect the accuracy of the measurement results.

Screws and gears: Check whether the threads of the screws are worn or deformed, whether the rotation is smooth, and whether there is any stagnation or abnormal sound. Gears with worn teeth, missing teeth and other problems will lead to a decline in transmission precision, affecting the accuracy of coordinate positioning.

Probe: Check whether there is any damage or deformation of the probe, whether the probe can be normally retracted and reset, and whether the connection between the probe and the measuring machine is firm. You can also check the calibration of the probe and ask the seller to provide a recent probe calibration report to find out whether the calibration accuracy of the probe is within the specified range.

Scale and encoder: Check that the surface of the scale is clean and free from scratches and dirt, and that the scale reading is accurate. Encoder if there is a failure or precision degradation, will lead to the measuring machine displacement measurement is not accurate.

Second, check the software and parameter settings

 measurement software: check whether the version of the measurement software is a newer and stable version, whether the function is complete, whether it can run normally. The functions of the software can be tested, such as data acquisition, processing, analysis, graphic display, etc., to see if there is any abnormality.

Precision parameter settings: Check the precision parameter settings of the measuring machine, such as the maximum permissible indication error of length measurement (MPE-E), the maximum permissible detection error (MPE-P), etc., whether it is consistent with the nominal precision of the equipment.

Third, the actual measurement test

 standard parts measurement: the use of standard blocks, standard balls and other standard parts with a known size and shape of the measurement, multiple measurements and record the results, and then compared with the standard value, calculate the deviation between the measured value and the standard value, the smaller the deviation, indicating that the higher the accuracy of the measuring machine.

Repeatability Measurement: Select a relatively simple part or a specific feature and repeat the measurement several times to compare the difference between the measurement results. Statistical analysis methods, such as calculating the standard deviation and variance of the measurement results, can be used to assess the repeatability accuracy of the measuring machine.

Comparison Measurement: Measure the same object using another measuring device that has verified its accuracy, such as high-precision calipers, optical measuring instruments, etc., and compare the results with those of the used CMM.

Fourth, refer to the history of the equipment and maintenance records

 calibration report: check the calibration report of the equipment to understand the most recent calibration time, calibration organisation, calibration results and other information, to confirm whether the calibration results meet the accuracy requirements.

Maintenance records: Ask the seller about the maintenance history of the equipment to find out whether the equipment has ever had failures affecting the accuracy, such as deformation of the guide rail, damage to the probe, failure of the electrical system, etc., and what the effect is after maintenance.

Use records: learn about the frequency of use of the equipment, the use of the environment, the use of age and other information, the frequency of use, the use of harsh environments, the use of long equipment, its accuracy may be greatly affected.

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