DESIGN OF LINEAR DRIVE SYSTEMS TO RETROFIT A COORDINATE MEASURING MACHINE

Coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) have come a long way since the early models. For the consolidated architectures, one of the actual tendencies is to improve the dynamic parameters of the CMM. On the other hand, in many companies there are many coordinate measuring machines, manually controlled, whose performance can be improved by a retrofit action. The paper presents the results obtained from the retrofit action for a manual coordinate measuring machine TESA MicroMS 343. In the first part, the main drive system, generally used to motorize a CMM, are analyzed. Following this study, the linear drive nut was chosen because this drive system ensures an optimal ratio between performance, compact design and price. The second part of the paper presents the design solutions for the X, Y, and Z-axis drive systems and the "new" CMM numerically controlled.