The Pennsylvania State University

The Graduate School

College of Engineering






USE AND CALIBRATION OF ULTRAPRECISION AXES OF ROTATION WITH NANOMETER LEVEL
METROLOGY





A Thesis in

Mechanical Engineering

by

Robert D. Grejda


2002 Robert D. Grejda








Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements
for the Degree of


Doctor of Philosophy


December 2002



We approve the thesis of Robert D. Grejda


Date of Signature




______________________________________ ______________________
Eric R. Marsh
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Thesis Advisor
Chair of Committee




______________________________________ ______________________
Edward C. DeMeter
Professor of Industrial Engineering




______________________________________ ______________________
H. Joseph Sommer III
Professor of Mechanical Engineering




______________________________________ ______________________
Martin W. Trethewey
Professor of Mechanical Engineering




______________________________________ ______________________
W. Tyler Estler
Physicist, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Special Member



______________________________________ ______________________
Richard C. Benson
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering

iii
Abstract
This dissertation seeks to advance the state of the art in axis of rotation metrology. A spindle calibration
device is designed and built to resolve and quantify the nanometer level error motions of ultraprecision
axes of rotation. The calibrator has the ability to determine all error motions (radial, axial, and tilt for
fixed and rotating sensitive directions) of the spindle under test. A new and unique adaptation of the
Donaldson reversal technique is implemented to achieve sub-nanometer repeatability and nanometer-
level uncertainty in spindle measurements.
The calibrator uses a rotary table and reversal chuck to perform Donaldson reversal with a single
displacement indicator that does not move between the normal and reversed measurements. The rotary
table also gives the calibrator the ability to employ other error separation techniques as well as reversal.
Experimentation indicates that error motion results between Donaldson reversal test, a 16-step multistep
test, and a three probe method test agree to better than 2 nanometers (0.08 in.). Additionally, an
alternative method of separating the spindle error motions from measurements based on the general
error motion case is presented. This reversal method uses displacement indicators that are not oriented
purely in the radial or axial direction as in the case with Donaldson and Estler reversal.
The Master Axis method for measuring spindle error motions is investigated in detail and validated
with artifact-based measurement techniques to agree within the sub-nanometer repeatability of the
calibrator. The details of implementing Donaldson reversal with the Master Axis are also presented; both
rotor and stator of the spindle under test are required to complete the separation of error motions.
Additionally, the importance of determining the error motion for any fixed sensitive direction is
discussed, comparing calculated and experimental results. Testing shows that error motion magnitudes
can vary by nearly a factor of two depending on the choice of fixed sensitive direction. Moreover, the
calculated and measured results for any fixed sensitive direction agree to less than 1 nanometer
(0.04 in.), indicating that the fixed sensitive direction error motion can be completely determined from
two measurements.
iv
Finally, the results of a spindle calibration are integrated into a mathematical model of a measuring
machine generated using homogeneous transformation matrices (HTMs). This model is used to
determine the sensitivity of the machines measurement results to geometric errors inherent to the
machine. The model also enables the orientation angles of spindles used in the machine to be chosen
such that the error in measurement is minimized. Simulated measurement results indicate that a 50%
reduction in error can be achieved when intelligent choices are made for the spindle orientations.
v
Table of Contents
List of Figures.............................................................................................................................................................vii
List of Tables ...............................................................................................................................................................xi
Acknowledgements....................................................................................................................................................xii
Chapter 1: Axis of Rotation Metrology....................................................................................................................1
1.1 Introduction....................................................................................................................................................1
1.2 Definitions and the Axis of Rotation Standard.........................................................................................3
1.2.1 Error Motions .......................................................................................................................................4
1.2.2 Synchronous vs. Asynchronous .........................................................................................................8
1.2.3 Artifact Misalignment ........................................................................................................................14
1.2.4 Sensitive Direction .............................................................................................................................20
1.2.5 Error Motion as a Function of Orientation Angle .......................................................................25
1.3 Previous Work..............................................................................................................................................28
1.4 Contribution of the Dissertation...............................................................................................................32
1.5 Conclusions...................................................................................................................................................33
Chapter 2: Reversals and Other Error Separation Techniques ..........................................................................34
2.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................................34
2.2 Error Separation Methods..........................................................................................................................34
2.2.1 Multiprobe Error Separation............................................................................................................35
2.2.2 Multistep Error Separation ...............................................................................................................39
2.3 Reversal Techniques....................................................................................................................................42
2.3.1 Donaldson Reversal ...........................................................................................................................42
2.3.2 Estler Face Motion Reversal.............................................................................................................45
2.3.3 Generalized Reversal Formulation ..................................................................................................46
2.4 Single Probe and Master Axis Reversal ....................................................................................................52
2.4.1 Single Probe Reversal.........................................................................................................................52
2.4.2 Master Axis Reversal..........................................................................................................................55
2.5 Conclusions...................................................................................................................................................57
Chapter 3: Spindle Calibrator Design, Testing and Characterization................................................................58
3.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................................58
3.1.1 Hardware..............................................................................................................................................58
3.1.2 Data Acquisition & Analysis.............................................................................................................60
3.2 Calibrator Testing ........................................................................................................................................62
3.2.1 Temperature ........................................................................................................................................63
3.2.2 Vibration..............................................................................................................................................66
3.2.3 Instrumentation ..................................................................................................................................69
3.3 Repeatability and Reproducibility..............................................................................................................73
3.4 Uncertainty Budget ......................................................................................................................................77
3.5 Conclusions...................................................................................................................................................78
Chapter 4: Spindle Testing .......................................................................................................................................79
4.1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................................79
4.2 Asynchronous Error Motion .....................................................................................................................79
vi
4.3 Error Separation Comparison using the Spindle Calibrator .................................................................85
4.4 Master Axis Validation................................................................................................................................91
4.5 Five Degree of Freedom Calibrations ......................................................................................................95
4.6 Radial Error Motion as a Function of Orientation Angle.....................................................................99
4.7 Conclusions................................................................................................................................................ 103
Chapter 5: HTM Modeling of Measuring Machine........................................................................................... 104
5.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................................... 104
5.2 Measuring Machine Design..................................................................................................................... 105
5.3 General Transformations......................................................................................................................... 108
5.4 Computation of Errors ............................................................................................................................ 111
5.5 Conclusions................................................................................................................................................ 122
Chapter 6: Conclusion............................................................................................................................................ 123
References ................................................................................................................................................................ 125
Appendix A: Roller Bearing Spindle Case Study ............................................................................................... 130
A.1 Test Setup.................................................................................................................................................. 131
A.2 Results........................................................................................................................................................ 132
A.2.1 Error Motion Results..................................................................................................................... 132
A.2.2 Defect Frequencies......................................................................................................................... 135

vii
List of Figures
Figure 1.1: (a) Synchronous and (b) asynchronous radial error motion of a hard disk spindle for
128 revolutions of the spindle and fixed sensitive direction
(total radial error motion = 125 nm). ...............................................................................................3
Figure 1.2: (a) Axial, (b) face, (c) radial, (d) tilt error motions of an axis of rotation
after B89.3.4M [14]. .............................................................................................................................4
Figure 1.3: Determining tilt error motion from (a) axial and face measurements and (b) radial
measurements. ......................................................................................................................................6
Figure 1.4: A displacement indicator measures the combined contributions of the spindle error
motion and the form error of the target surface. ...........................................................................8
Figure 1.5: Polar plots of (a) total, (b) synchronous, and (c) asynchronous error motion.............................10
Figure 1.6: DFT of total error motion data from Figure 1.5. .............................................................................11
Figure 1.7: (a) Synchronous and (b) asynchronous spectrum.............................................................................12
Figure 1.8: Comparison of calculating synchronous error motion using averaging and the DFT. ..............13
Figure 1.9: Comparison of calculating asynchronous error motion using averaging and the DFT. ............14
Figure 1.10: Sketch of misaligned artifact (by distance, e) on an axis of rotation............................................15
Figure 1.11: Amplitude of second harmonic contribution to a measurement as a function of
artifact eccentricity and radius. ........................................................................................................17
Figure 1.12: Sketch of a misaligned artifact and displacement indicator for an axial error motion
measurement.......................................................................................................................................18
Figure 1.13: (a) Polar plots of fundamental and residual synchronous axial error motion and (b)
residual synchronous axial error motion with fundamental expressed as magnitude
and phase.............................................................................................................................................20
Figure 1.14: Sensitive and non-sensitive directions of a lever head indicator measuring a perfectly
flat and parallel gage block. ..............................................................................................................21
Figure 1.15: Orthogonal gage arrangement to measure rotating sensitive radial error motion.....................23
Figure 1.16: Vector diagram for determining rotating sensitive direction from orthogonal
measurements after B89.3.4M [14]. ................................................................................................24
Figure 1.17: (a) Polar plot of rotating sensitive direction radial error motion and (b) Lissajous
pattern of axis of rotation using orthogonal probes. ...................................................................25
Figure 1.18: Fixed sensitive synchronous radial error motion for an air bearing spindle at (a) 30
and (b) 140 stator orientations. ......................................................................................................26
viii
Figure 1.19: Sketch of test setup for calculating the radial error motion for an arbitrary fixed
sensitive direction given by the angle . .........................................................................................27
Figure 1.20: Sketch of artifact with circle generating cams for displaying rotating sensitive error
motion polar plots on an oscilloscope after Bryan [19]...............................................................30
Figure 2.1: Three-probe method for roundness and spindle error motion measurement
(after Mitsui [])....................................................................................................................................36
Figure 2.2: Schematic of multistep error separation method after B89.3.4M [14]. .........................................39
Figure 2.3: Donaldson reversal method with (a) forward and (b) reverse setups. ..........................................43
Figure 2.4: Graphical calculation of (a) artifact roundness error and (b) spindle radial error
motion..................................................................................................................................................44
Figure 2.5: Estler face motion reversal. ..................................................................................................................45
Figure 2.6:Sketch of measuring a chamfer or spherical surface. ........................................................................47
Figure 2.7: General error motion measurement sketch. ......................................................................................47
Figure 2.8: Spindle calibrator setup with spherical artifact showing the (a) normal and (b)
reversed setup. ....................................................................................................................................53
Figure 2.9: Solid model of the separated halves of the reversal chuck revealing the spherical pilot............54
Figure 2.10: Sketch of two setups (a) and (b) for Master Axis reversal with a single indicator. ...................56
Figure 3.1: Test setup photographs with (a) double ball artifact and (b) master axis artifact. ......................59
Figure 3.2: Spectrum X(k) showing symmetry about N/2 with positive and negative frequencies.............61
Figure 3.3: Temperature variation and drift for six-hour interval......................................................................64
Figure 3.4: Measured drift for different 30 second intervals fit with 2
nd
order polynomial curve................65
Figure 3.5: Wireframe model of the Moore UMM with typical frequency response function. ....................67
Figure 3.6: Mode shapes of (a) 128 Hz mode and (b) 148 Hz mode. ...............................................................68
Figure 3.7: Energy spectrum of laboratory floor and calibrator column. .........................................................69
Figure 3.8: (a) Capacitance gage cap unmounted and (b) shown on end of gage. ..........................................70
Figure 3.9: Measured capacitance gage noise levels as a function of bandwidth.............................................71
Figure 3.10: Typical calibrator drift measurements. .............................................................................................72
Figure 3.11: Typical spectrum of calibrator drift measurements. ......................................................................73
Figure 3.12: Repeatability of ten consecutive master axis measurements without reversal. ..........................74
ix
Figure 3.13: Synchronous radial error motion of (a) master axis spindle directly on stator center
and (b) spindle under test 177 mm above stator center. .............................................................75
Figure 3.14: Maximum deviation of four reversals for (a) Master Axis spindle and (b) spindle
under test.............................................................................................................................................76
Figure 4.1: Location of fiducial mark on spindle thrust plate. Note the structural loop of the
measurement from stator to rotor. .................................................................................................81
Figure 4.2: Oscilloscope display for 7 revolutions of the spindle at low magnification.................................82
Figure 4.3: Oscilloscope display for 18 revolutions of the spindle at high magnification. ............................83
Figure 4.4: Asynchronous error motion estimate using encoder quadrature as fiducial mark. .....................84
Figure 4.5: Modified multistep procedure for single probe spindle calibrator setup. .....................................87
Figure 4.6: Comparison of spherical artifact form error as measured by Donaldson reversal,
multistep, and multiprobe error separation. ..................................................................................88
Figure 4.7: FFT of spherical artifact roundness error for Donaldson reversal, multistep, and
multiprobe error separation. ............................................................................................................89
Figure 4.8: Comparison of the fixed sensitive direction radial error motion of the spindle as
measured using Donaldson reversal, multistep, and multiprobe error separation
technique. ............................................................................................................................................90
Figure 4.9: FFT of fixed sensitive direction radial error motion for Donaldson reversal,
multistep, and multiprobe error separation. ..................................................................................91
Figure 4.10: Synchronous radial error motion polar plot of spindle under test measured with
lapped artifact and master axis artifact. ..........................................................................................93
Figure 4.11: Difference between Master Axis and Master Ball measurements with FFT..............................94
Figure 4.12: Double ball artifact targeted by five capacitance gages for five degree of freedom
measurements. ....................................................................................................................................95
Figure 4.13: Example of typical polar plots resulting from double ball master artifact. ................................96
Figure 4.14: Synchronous radial error motion for the rotating sensitive direction. ........................................98
Figure 4.15: Synchronous face error motion for the rotating sensitive direction. ..........................................99
Figure 4.16: 0 and 90 fixed sensitive direction radial error motion measurements. ................................. 100
Figure 4.17: Measured vs. calculated synchronous radial error motion for (a) 55 and (b) 150
designated stator orientations. ...................................................................................................... 101
Figure 4.18: Calculated synchronous radial error motion for 180 of stator rotation. ................................ 102
Figure 5.1: Solidworks

model of parallel axis flatness inspection machine................................................. 106

x
Figure 5.2: Parallel axis flatness inspection machine......................................................................................... 107
Figure 5.3: Close-up of flatness measurement probe scanning a diamond turned flat. .............................. 108
Figure 5.4: Sketch of probe arm path scanning a circular part under test. .................................................... 112
Figure 5.5: Section view of the parallel axis flatness measuring instrument showing the positions
of the body fixed coordinate systems. ......................................................................................... 113
Figure 5.6: Error in measurement for non-parallel axis alignment of 40 m/m. ........................................ 118
Figure 5.7: Measurement error for arbitrary spindle and probe orientation angles in the HTM
model of the flatness inspection machine................................................................................... 119
Figure 5.8: Measurement error across diameter of a perfect part as modeled using HTM. ....................... 120
Figure 5.9: Measurement error for engineered spindle and probe orientation angles in the HTM
model of the flatness inspection machine................................................................................... 121
Figure 5.10: Measurement error across diameter of a perfect part modeled using HTM........................... 121
Figure A.1: Internal components of hard disk drive. ........................................................................................ 130
Figure A.2: One ball bearing from a hard disk spindle..................................................................................... 131
Figure A.3: Synchronous and asynchronous radial error motion (4, 8, and 16 revolutions). ..................... 133
Figure A.4: Synchronous and asynchronous radial error motion (32, 64, and 128 revolutions). .............. 134
Figure A.5: FFT result of the 128 revolution test.............................................................................................. 135

xi
List of Tables
Table 1.1: Summary of pertinent spindle measurement work. ...........................................................................29
Table 3.1: Reversal repeatability results and testing conditions summary. .......................................................74
Table 3.2: Uncertainty budget for radial error motion measurement (BW 200 Hz).......................................77
Table 4.1: Master axis vs. lapped artifact summary. .............................................................................................92
Table A.1: Fixed sensitive synchronous and asynchronous radial error motion results. ............................ 132

xii
Acknowledgements
Professional Instruments Company, of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Lion Precision, of Saint Paul, Minnesota;
and the National Science Foundation (DMI-9702897) have been the primary sponsors of the research in
this thesis. Many people affiliated with these organizations have been very generous with their funding,
knowledge, and equipment including David and Jim Arneson, Phil Gerber, Mel Liebers, Dan Oss, Steven
Sanner, and Don Martin. Without their assistance, none of this could be possible.
In addition, the expert advice of my thesis committee, Prof. Eric Marsh, Prof. Edward DeMeter,
Prof. H. Joseph Sommer, Prof. Martin Trethewey, and Dr. W. Tyler Ester, has proven to be invaluable to
the completion of this dissertation. Also, guidance from talented people such as Jim Bryan and Tim
Sheridan, as well as the other members of the working group for ASME B89.3.4M, has been important in
forming my understanding of axes of rotation metrology.
Further thanks to Prof. Eric Marsh for support of this research with exceptional ideas, resources, and
friendship throughout my graduate studies. His effort as an advisor has been extraordinary. Additional
thanks to Byron Knapp for his friendship and support throughout the years of research that went into
this dissertation, as well as other current and past students of the Machine Dynamics Research Lab
including Jerimiah Couey, Mark Glauner, Steven Henry, Peter Jargowsky, Brian OConnor, Dave
Schalcosky, Adam Schaut, and Vincent Vigliano.
Furthermore, thanks to my parents and family who are responsible for much guidance and support
throughout my many years of education. Finally, I am indebted to my wife, Marie, for her support during
my doctoral work. I could have never accomplished any of this research successfully without her
limitless patience, love, and understanding.

1
Chapter 1: Axis of Rotation Metrology
This chapter introduces the topic of the research: axis of rotation metrology. Fundamental issues
associated with measuring an axis of rotation as well as some of the basic nomenclature for axis of
rotation metrology is introduced. Work of past researchers is outlined and the relationship of this work
to the state of the art in axis of rotation metrology is discussed. Finally, the contributions of this
dissertation are presented.
1.1 Introduction
For the majority of the last century, the national defense industry drove the advancement of the state of
the art in machine tools. Enhancement of nuclear weaponry (guidance gyroscopes and nuclear
detonation cores) demanded manufacturing tolerances that were three orders of magnitude smaller than
those used in normal machining [1]. Ordinary machining and measurement techniques no longer
applied, forcing engineers to design and manufacture components with an exactness that was thought to
be nearly impossible just a generation before [2]. As the cold war ended in the late 1980s, the
engineering focus shifted to the semiconductor fabrication and photonics industries. A new class of
problems faced the machine tool designers yet the technical advancements continued. Microprocessor
speeds increased sixty-fold from 33 MHz to 2.0 GHz while decreasing the package size using advanced
lithography techniques. Additionally, data storage density increased two orders of magnitude from the
mid 1980s to the current state of the art. These examples clearly illustrate what Evans defines as precision
engineering; which he uses to refer to working beyond the state of the art [3].
The diamond turning machines first developed at the national laboratories are excellent examples of
machine tools designed to work beyond the state of the art. These devices machine non-ferrous
materials often with complex geometries to surface figure accuracies better than 25 nanometers (1 in.)
with optical surface finishes less than 5 nanometers R
a
(0.2 in.) [4, 5]. The diamond turning process
requires a stiff, yet highly damped machine base, high levels of temperature control, and accurate
2
geometry of linear and rotary axes. Arguably, the spindle axis could be the most important component
of a diamond turning machine, providing accurate rotation of the part or tool for the machining process.
Poor spindle performance (error motions, dynamics, and thermal growth) can cause workpiece errors
ranging from loss of form accuracy to poor surface finish [6, 7, 8, 9]. Spindle performance is also a major
concern in metrology machines [10]. Modern roundness and cylindrical form metrology instruments
require an accurate reference axis; any deviation from pure rotation causes direct errors in the
measurement. Review of the literature confirms that precision spindles can be significant contributors to
the overall accuracy of a machine or metrology tool. As an example, for many decades the accuracy of
the spindles used in worlds best diamond turning and measuring machines has been carefully controlled
to keep the uncertainty budgets of the machine below the 1 m level [11, 12, 13].
As the state of the art moves closer towards routinely managing nanometers rather than
micrometers, better spindles have been developed for use in machines with stiffer structures. World-
class hydrostatic spindles are inherently accurate due to the elastic averaging effect of the high-pressure
oil or air film between rotating and non-rotating elements. Even rolling element spindles can have error
motions on the order of a few tenths of a micrometer. For example, Figure 1.1a shows the fixed
sensitive direction synchronous radial error motion measured from a hard disk drive spindle to be less
than 25 nm (1 in) for 128 revolutions of the spindle. The asynchronous error motion is shown in
Figure 1.1b to be less than 100 nm (4 in) mostly at the cage rotation frequency of the bearings in the
spindle.
3

(a) (b)
Figure 1.1: (a) Synchronous and (b) asynchronous radial error motion of a hard disk spindle for
128 revolutions of the spindle and fixed sensitive direction (total radial error motion = 125 nm).
Even though the asynchronous error motion shown is less than 0.1 micrometers, it is one of the factors
that limit the density of data storage on a hard disk. Hence, reliable and accurate measurement of error
motion magnitude is a key concern to design high-density storage media. Measurements of these small
error motions require careful machine design as well as implementation of error separation techniques.
1.2 Definitions and the Axis of Rotation Standard
First, it is important to introduce the nomenclature and definitions used throughout the body of this
dissertation. In 1985, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers (ASME) jointly published ANSI/ASME B89.3.4M Axes of Rotation; Methods for
Specifying and Testing [14]. This document, which was assembled over 17 year period, gives comprehensive
details on the vocabulary and testing procedures of axes of rotation. It summarized the work of many of
the researchers described in Section 1.3 and illustrated the state of the art of the time. Some important
4
concepts from the standard are presented with some additional details to introduce the work of this
dissertation.
1.2.1 Error Motions
The axis of rotation standard is primarily concerned with the vocabulary used in measuring the error
motions of axes of rotation. Generally, a spindle, which is the physical embodiment of an axis of
rotation, will have a non-rotating part, or stator, and a rotating part, or rotor. Mechanical (balls, rollers,
etc.) or fluid bearings (air, oil, etc.) are used to allow rotation of the rotor with respect to the stator. For
the spindle, perfect rotation is the only desired motion; motion in any other degree of freedom is
considered an error motion. If a reference coordinate is attached to the rotor with the Z axis aligned with
the axis of rotation, any linear motion in X, Y, Z, or angular motion in
x
, or
y
is an error motion.
Figure 1.2 shows schematics showing the measurement of the spindle error motions.

(a) axial motion
radial
location
(b) face motion
axial
location
(c) radial motion (d) tilt motion
displacement
indicator

Figure 1.2: (a) Axial, (b) face, (c) radial, (d) tilt error motions of an axis of rotation after B89.3.4M [14].
5
All measurements are made with a displacement indicator (shown as the shaded arrow) targeting a
master artifact. Axial error motion measurements are made with the indicator or gage aligned coaxially
with the axis of rotation as shown in Figure 1.2a. Radial measurements are made with the displacement
indicator perpendicular to the axis of rotation at an arbitrary axial location (Figure 1.2c). This axial
location is described as the distance from a reference point on the stator to the displacement indicator
location. It is necessary to report this axial location with radial measurements because tilt motions will
affect the results depending on this axial location. Face motion is measured in the axial direction;
however, the displacement indicator is offset from the axis of rotation as shown in Figure 1.2b. Again
this radial location is to be reported with the face measurement because tilt motion affects the results
depending on the radial location. The tilt motion, shown in Figure 1.2d is not measured directly, rather it
is derived from two radial measurements or two face motion measurements as shown schematically in
Figure 1.3.
6
Rotor
A
r
t
i
f
a
c
t

r
L
Rotor Artifact
( )
1
R ( )
2
R
( ) Z
( ) F
(b)
(a)
Stator
Stator

Figure 1.3: Determining tilt error motion from (a) axial and face measurements and (b) radial
measurements.
From Figure 1.3a, the tilt error motion is calculated from the axial error motion measurement, ( ) Z , and
the face error motion measurement, ( ) F , which are separated by the distance r using Equation 1.1.
The same calculation can be made from two radial measurements, ( )
1
R and ( )
2
R , separated by
distance L as shown in Equation 1.2. The tilt error motion is designated as ( ) A .

7

( ) ( ) ( ) [ ] Z F
r
A =
1
(1.1)

( ) ( ) ( ) [ ]
1 2
1
R R
L
A = (1.2)


All spindle error motion measurements are made with the displacement indicator targeting a
precision artifact mounted to the rotor of the spindle. The artifact used in spindle metrology is typically a
precision sphere, cylinder, or flat that has a high level of roundness for a radial measurements or circular
flatness for a face measurements. It can be very tempting to forgo use of the artifact and use the outer
rotor diameter or spindle face as the reference surface for the displacement indicators. However,
measurement values from any of these surfaces are not a measure of the error motion of the spindle, but
rather a combination of spindle error motion and the form error that the indicators target against. An
extreme example of this issue is shown in Figure 1.4. Even though the spindle with the square rotor may
be perfect, the indicator will display a non-zero reading as it follows the contour of the square.
8

stator
rotor
displacement
indicator

Figure 1.4: A displacement indicator measures the combined contributions of the spindle error motion
and the form error of the target surface.
For most types of spindles, the form accuracy of available artifacts is typically at least 10 times better
than the magnitude of the spindle error motions. When this is the case, the form error of the artifact
(typically 25 to 100 nm) is safely neglected and the measured values from the indicator are treated as the
error motion of the spindle. However, the error motions of ultra-precision spindles approach or surpass
even the highest quality artifacts requiring either a reversal or some other error separation technique to
accurately determine the error motion. A comprehensive discussion of these techniques is presented in
Chapter 2.
1.2.2 Synchronous vs. Asynchronous
If the artifact against which the displacement indicator gages is perfectly round, the displacement
indicator will measure the total error motion of the spindle. The total error motion for any of the
measurement configurations from Figure 1.2 can be described as having synchronous and asynchronous
9
components. The synchronous error motion is the portion of the total error motion that repeats from
revolution to revolution. The asynchronous error motion is the portion of the total error motion that does
not repeat from revolution to revolution. In mathematical terms, the synchronous error motion is made
up of harmonics that occur at integer multiples of the rotation frequency of the spindle. Conversely, the
asynchronous error motion is the portion of the total that does not occur at integer multiples of the
rotation frequency. In practice, the synchronous and asynchronous can be determined in either the time
or frequency domain.
When using a polar chart, the synchronous is easily found by radially averaging the data at equal
angular increments around the polar plot. The asynchronous can be plotted after subtracting the
synchronous from each revolution of data. The asynchronous error motion value is usually reported as
the maximum width of the total error motion polar plot for all of the revolutions of data. Figure 1.5
illustrates polar plotting of the total, synchronous, and asynchronous error motion. In Figure 1.5a, the
synchronous error motion is the bold line plotted over the total error motion plot. Figure 1.5b shows the
asynchronous error motion polar plot. The data shown consists of 8 revolutions with 256 samples per
revolution.
10

(a) synchronous error motion polar plot (c) asynchronous error motion polar plot
superimposed on the total error motion

Figure 1.5: Polar plots of (a) total, (b) synchronous, and (c) asynchronous error motion.
The synchronous and asynchronous error motion can also be determined in the frequency domain.
For the data shown above, the Discrete Fourier Transformation (DFT) is taken for an integer number of
revolutions of the total error motion. The frequency bins that correspond to integer multiples of the
rotation rate contain the complex amplitudes of the synchronous error motion components. The content
in all other bins contain the complex amplitudes of the asynchronous error motion. Figure 1.6 shows the
DFT for the first 20 cycles per revolution of the data presented in Figure 1.5.
synchronous
11





DFT

Figure 1.6: DFT of total error motion data from Figure 1.5.
Figure 1.7a and Figure 1.7b show the synchronous and asynchronous portions of the spectrum from
Figure 1.6 separated from each other. Note that in the synchronous spectrum, all non-integer bins have
zero amplitude while in the asynchronous spectrum the integer numbered bins are zero.
12

(a)
(b)

Figure 1.7: (a) Synchronous and (b) asynchronous spectrum.
The Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (IDFT) of the integer and non-integer frequency components in
Figure 1.7 results in the same time domain representation of the synchronous and asynchronous error
motion.
As expected, both methods produce the same synchronous and asynchronous result. Figure 1.8
shows the comparison of calculating the synchronous error motion using averaging and the Fourier
transform. Figure 1.9 shows the comparison for calculating the asynchronous error motion. The first
plot in the group consists of two lines that overlay; one is the synchronous result from averaging and the
other is from the DFT. The second plot in each group is the difference between the methods, which has
amplitudes that approach the floating-point accuracy of MATLAB (
16
10 2

), which is used to perform
13
the DFT and IDFT of the data. Additional detail on the Fourier transform for use in spindle metrology
is given later in this dissertation in Section 3.1.2.

Figure 1.8: Comparison of calculating synchronous error motion using averaging and the DFT.
14

Figure 1.9: Comparison of calculating asynchronous error motion using averaging and the DFT.
1.2.3 Artifact Misalignment
Prior to measurement of radial, axial, or face error motions of the spindle, the precision surfaces of the
artifact are aligned to the axis of rotation. However, the artifact can never be perfectly aligned and
depending on the type of measurement (radial vs. axial) the effects of the misalignment are handled
differently. For example, consider a radial error motion measurements made with a cylindrical artifact.
Figure 1.10 is a section view of a cylindrical artifact with radius, R, whose center, S, is not aligned with
the axis of rotation. The misalignment is designated as e.
15

e
R
cos e
sin e
Axis of
Rotation, O
Artifact
Center, S
Displacement
Indicator
( ) M
A
Cylinder

Figure 1.10: Sketch of misaligned artifact (by distance, e) on an axis of rotation.
If the axis of rotation is perfect, the displacement indicator will detect the change in length of
segment OA, which lies on the line between the indicator sensing point, A, and the axis of rotation, O.
The length of OA can be written in terms of the misalignment, e, and the radius of the cylinder, R, as
shown in Equation 1.3.



2 2 2
sin cos e R e OA + + = (1.3)


When the amount of misalignment is assumed to be small compared to the radius of the artifact, the
second term of Equation 1.3 can be simplified using Taylor series expansion in terms of
2
sin , resulting
in Equation 1.4. For example, typical artifacts have radii on the order of 10 mm while misalignments can
be on the order of 100 micrometers to 10 nanometers.
16



2
2
sin
2
cos
R
e
R e OA + + = (1.4)


Equation 1.5 results from using a trigonometric identity for
2
sin in Equation 1.4.


( ) 2 cos 1
4
cos
2
+ + =
R
e
R e OA (1.5)


The first two terms of Equation 1.5 are the polar form of a limaon [15]. The limaon is only slightly
convex because e is much smaller than R. Therefore, in most applications, the centering error can be
removed from the measurement by applying a best-fit circle to the measurement. This best fit circle
removes the effect of misalignment of the artifact to the axis of rotation for radial measurements. The
misalignment is not an error motion; thus for radial error motion measurements, the fundamental error is
always removed from the data.
At this point, it is important to recognize the last term in the expression for OA which affects the
second harmonic of the fundamental, or measurement values at a frequency of 2 . Variations in the
measurement that occur at 2 cycles per revolution and higher appear as error motion for an axis of
rotation. Fortunately, these terms are small for the misalignments generally found in spindle metrology
or measurement of out-of-roundness, but may have an effect in very high precision applications [16].
In this work, a spherical artifact of radius 12.5 mm (0.50 inches) and master axis air bearing spindle
artifact with radius 71.5 mm (2.81 inches) are used for the spindle measurements. Prior to measurement,
the alignment to the axis of rotation is typically less than 125 nanometers. For these nominal values, the
maximum amplitude of the second harmonic term is 0.6 and 0.1 picometers for the sphere and master
axis. The effect does reach 1 nanometer in amplitude when e is 5 m for a smaller 6 mm radius sphere.
Figure 1.11 illustrates that the amplitude of the second harmonic can be significant for eccentricities
above 1 micrometer depending upon the radius of the artifact.
17

Figure 1.11: Amplitude of second harmonic contribution to a measurement as a function of artifact
eccentricity and radius.
Any eccentricity in the artifact leads to a significant once per revolution component in the
measurement, even if both the spindle and artifact are perfect. In fact, the artifact would be perfectly
centered if the once per revolution spectral line has zero amplitude. For this reason, this once around
spectral line is always removed mathematically for radial error motion measurements. However, it is not
appropriate to remove this once around component in axial error motion measurements. In the axial
direction, the fundamental component of the measurement does exist as an error motion, in addition to
any component that may occur from misalignment of an artifact. Figure 1.12 is a sketch of an axial
motion measurement using a spherical artifact with radius, R. The center of the sphere, O, is displaced
from the axis of rotation a distance, e, while the axis of the displacement indicator is offset from the axis
of rotation by an arbitrary amount, d. When the spindle has moved one-half of a revolution, the center
of the artifact is shown to be at O (which is also at distance e from the axis of rotation).
18

e
d
R
displacement
indicator

axis of
rotation
O
C
O
A
a

Figure 1.12: Sketch of a misaligned artifact and displacement indicator for an axial error motion
measurement.
Due to the errors in centering the displacement indicator and the artifact, a once per revolution
component of amplitude is present in the measurement. The amplitude, , can be written as a
function of the artifact radius and the misalignments by considering two right triangles from Figure 1.12,
OAC and AC O , and writing Equations 1.6 and 1.7.



2 2 2
) ( a d e R + + = (1.6)


2 2 2
) ( ) ( d e a R + + = (1.7)


2
R is eliminated by combining Equations 1.6 and 1.7 and the remaining terms are expanded out as shown
in Equation 1.8.
19



2 2 2 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 d ed e a a a d ed e + + + + = + + + (1.8)


The
2
e ,
2
d , and
2
a terms cancel from each side of Equation 1.8 and the
2
term is considered to be
small. Therefore, Equation 1.8 is simplified an additional step to create Equation 1.9.


ed a 4 2 (1.9)


If the centering errors, e and d, are considered to be small compared to the radius of the artifact, R
(i.e. R e << and R d << ), Equation 1.6 can be used to approximate a R . Hence, the amplitude of the
once per revolution component can be written as Equation 1.10.



R
ed 2
(1.10)


In this work, the artifact is centered to less than 125 nanometers (5 in) and the displacement
indicator is aligned to less than 2.5 micrometers (100 in) for an axial error motion measurement. When
using a 12.7 mm (0.50 in) spherical artifact, these alignment errors translate into an additional
fundamental component of 50 picometers (0.002 in) in amplitude.
When reporting axial error motion results, the fundamental component cannot be excluded from the
data and is reported as fundamental synchronous axial error motion. It may be plotted with the results of an
axial error motion measurement as shown in Figure 1.13a. This causes the polar plot of the axial error
motion to be offset from the polar plot center. When the scaling is appropriate, it is also acceptable to
provide the magnitude and phase of the fundamental axial error motion and remove it from the data.
The remainder is the residual synchronous axial error motion and together with the fundamental provides the
complete description of the axis of rotations synchronous axial error motion. Figure 1.13b shows the
20
fundamental component removed from the polar plot with the fundamental recorded as a magnitude and
phase.

(a) (b)
Figure 1.13: (a) Polar plots of fundamental and residual synchronous axial error motion and (b) residual
synchronous axial error motion with fundamental expressed as magnitude and phase.
1.2.4 Sensitive Direction
The term sensitive direction has a meaning in spindle metrology that is directly coupled to the
application of the spindle in a machining or measurement system. The meaning of sensitive direction for
a displacement indicator is discussed before introducing the concepts of fixed and rotating sensitive
directions of an axis of rotation.
Sensors are usually designed to measure a single specific input (i.e. accelerometer - acceleration,
capacitance gage or LVDT displacement, load cell - force). These sensors usually are packaged to have
a specific sensitive direction. A single axis accelerometer, for example, is sensitive to vertical
accelerations when it is mounted with a vertical orientation, but is designed to be relatively insensitive
horizontal acceleration inputs. A displacement indicator often has a specific line of action that is
21
considered its sensitive direction. Figure 1.14 shows the sensitive direction for a lever-head displacement
indicator measuring a gage block. When an ideal indicator gages against a perfect flat, the output of the
gage is equal to the displacement in the sensitive direction. The measured displacement is zero for
motions in the other two directions shown.

sensitive
direction
non-sensitive
directions

Figure 1.14: Sensitive and non-sensitive directions of a lever head indicator measuring a perfectly flat and
parallel gage block.
In most measuring or machining applications either the part is rotated relative to a fixed tool or gage,
or the tool or gage is rotated relative to a fixed part. In both instances, spindle error motions are
machined into a part or appear as errors in a measured part. In the first case (rotate part fixed
tool/gage), the sensitive direction for machining or measuring has a fixed orientation with respect to the
stator of the spindle. The error motion affecting the process is the fixed sensitive direction error motion
22
of the spindle. In the second case (fixed part rotating tool/gage), the sensitive direction is rotating with
the rotor of the spindle. Hence, the error motion of interest is the rotating sensitive direction error
motion of the spindle. The standard machine tool examples for fixed and rotating sensitive directions are
a lathe spindle (fixed) and jig-boring spindle (rotating). Roundness measuring machines are commercially
available with spindles that rotate a part with respect to fixed gage (fixed) or rotate a gage around a fixed
part (rotating).
Measurement of the fixed sensitive direction error motions for spindles are accomplished with one
displacement indicator positioned to measure the fixed sensitive direction of choice (a second
measurement 180 from the first may be necessary if a reversal is required). For rotating sensitive
direction, the measurement method can be more complicated and less intuitive. Ideally, the rotating
sensitive error motion could be measured using a displacement indicator mounted to the rotor of a
spindle that gages against a cylindrical bore. This method is often impractical given the wiring that
accompanies most electronic gageheads, capacitance gages, or LVDTs, complicating the measurement of
more than a few revolutions of data. Instead, a two gagehead system has been devised by Tlusty that is
used to measure the rotating sensitive direction error motion [17]. His early work discusses a system to
measure radial error motion however; the technique can be applied to face and tilt error motions as well.
Figure 1.15 shows a sketch of the setup (note that in this case, two additional measurements would be
used in a reversal technique).
23

stator rotor
Y gage
X gage
reference
artifact
90

Figure 1.15: Orthogonal gage arrangement to measure rotating sensitive radial error motion.
The rotating sensitive direction radial error motion is then calculated by projecting the error motion from
each gage into an instantaneous sensitive direction as shown by the vector diagram in Figure 1.16. AF is
in the instantaneous sensitive direction; AB and AD designate the x and y measurements which can
also be written as X and Y . The length of AF, also known as the rotating sensitive error
motion, is determined using Equation 1.11.


( ) ( ) sin cos Y X + = AF (1.11)


24

x
y
A
F
B
D
C
E

( ) X
( ) Y

Figure 1.16: Vector diagram for determining rotating sensitive direction from orthogonal measurements
after B89.3.4M [14].
Both the fixed and rotating sensitive direction measurements are a narrow view of the actual error
motion of the axis of rotation; and as higher precision technology becomes available in areas such as hard
disk drive bearings, the simple fixed or rotating sensitive direction view may not contain enough detail.
For a data reader head that is floating a few nanometers above the surface of a hard disk substrate, any
motion of the track away from its intended location could be considered an error motion. Therefore, it is
often important to keep track of the non-sensitive motions. Noguchi, et al. have done work to show
evaluation of spindle error motions in this manner [18]. For each angular position of the spindle rotor,
error motions in both the X and Y direction are recorded as in Figure 1.15. However, in Noguchis
work, the measurements are not projected into a rotating sensitive direction; each measurement
contributes to the location of the axis of rotation at the specific rotor location.
The error motion in the non-sensitive direction transforms the error motion polar plot from the
shape of a turned diameter or bored hole into a plot of the motion of the instantaneous center of the axis
25
of rotation. When the X and Y gages are plotted against one another and displayed on a Cartesian plot, a
Lissajous pattern results that show the location of the axis of rotation. Figure 1.17 shows two methods
for plotting error motion, as a polar plot (in this case the rotating sensitive error motion) or as a Lissajous
pattern.
2 nm
(a) (b)

Figure 1.17: (a) Polar plot of rotating sensitive direction radial error motion and (b) Lissajous pattern of
axis of rotation using orthogonal probes.
Figure 1.17b shows the actual path of the axis of rotation, but the angular positioning has been lost (there
is no zero to 360 scale). Use of a computer enables the Lissajous pattern to be displayed as an
animation where each frame of the animation represents a new angular position.
1.2.5 Error Motion as a Function of Orientation Angle
Section 1.2.4 briefly introduces the techniques to measure both fixed and rotating sensitive error motions.
Any single fixed sensitive direction error motion, although easily accomplished with a single displacement
indicator, only provides a small amount of information about the error motion of the spindle. Every axis
26
of rotation has an infinite number of fixed sensitive directions and the error motion at each of these
sensitive directions is different. Figure 1.18 shows the fixed sensitive error motion measured at two
different stator orientations or orientation angles of an air bearing spindle.

(a) (b)
Figure 1.18: Fixed sensitive synchronous radial error motion for an air bearing spindle at (a) 30 and
(b) 140 stator orientations.
The difference in error motion depending on orientation angle may be substantial, as will be shown later
in this dissertation. Fortunately, an infinite number of measurements are not required to determine all
fixed sensitive direction solutions.
A rotating sensitive direction measurement can be used to calculate the fixed sensitive direction
results for an arbitrary orientation of the stator. An orthogonal gage arrangement like the setup shown in
Figure 1.15, is used but rather than projecting the measurements into a rotating sensitive direction, the
measurements from each gage are projected into a chosen fixed sensitive direction. Figure 1.19 is a
sketch of the setup. The angular datum (0) is the X direction displacement indicator. The equation for
27
determining the fixed sensitive error motion, ( ) R at orientation angle, , is given in Equation 1.12.
Again, X and Y are the measurements made at 0 and 90.


( ) ( ) ( ) sin cos Y X R + = (1.12)



X gage
Y

g
a
g
e

0
90
stator
rotor
artifact
( ) X
( ) Y
( ) R

Figure 1.19: Sketch of test setup for calculating the radial error motion for an arbitrary fixed sensitive
direction given by the angle .
Widespread use of mapping a spindle for any fixed sensitive direction with just two measurements could
be very helpful in installing a spindle in a machine. In roundness measuring machines, for example, the
orientation angle with the smallest radial error motion could be aligned with the displacement indicator to
minimize the effect of error motion on the measurement. If so desired, parts made on a lathe could even
28
be inspected in-process by first characterizing the radial and tilt error motions of the spindle at the proper
angular orientation of its stator. Part roundness could be simply evaluated by subtracting the radial (or
face) error motion from the in-process measurement.
1.3 Previous Work
Machine tool manufacturers and customers often agree to build and purchase machines based on
performance; customers often specify the machines ability to create a specific part while a manufacturer
bases the machine performance given a specific set of operating conditions [19]. The spindle, being an
integral part of the machine tool, often has its own specific requirements for performance. Hence,
spindle error motions and dynamic characteristics are a key concern for the designer and buyer of a
machine tool or measuring instrument.
Testing of machine tools and their components has roots back to the early 1900s. Schlesinger was
the first to establish specific tests for qualifying the performance of machine tools and components like
the spindle [20]. Schlesingers tests of a machine tool spindle use a mechanical displacement indicator on
the nose or rotor recording the total indicated reading (TIR) or full indicator movement (FIM) as the
accuracy of the spindle [21]. For decades, and even today, spindles are measured using this method. As
previously discussed in Section 1.2.1, this is not an estimate of the error motion of the spindle, but an
indication of the roundness of the spindle nose or concentricity of the nose to the axis of rotation
superimposed on any spindle error motions. Because the nose, or rotor, of the spindle is often ground
after assembly or installation in the machine, a flawed spindle can measure with zero TIR and
misinterpreted as having zero error motion.
Generally, the accuracy specifications for the machine tool spindles described in his work were
required to be on the order of 10 micrometers or less depending on the type of machine being tested.
Although this requirement is somewhat lax by todays standards, during Schlesigners time this level of
accuracy was certainly state of the art. Many researchers over the years following Schlesinger improved
on his work and published the results from spindle error motion tests, illustrating the advantages of
29
improved setups and different artifact types, data collection, and analyses. These improvements
increased the resolution and accuracy of spindle measurements to the 25 nanometer level. Table 1.1 is a
short summary of early literature regarding spindle measurements [22-30]. Within the description of each
is a characteristic error motion value of spindles measured during the course of the authors work,
indicating the level of resolution at the time of publication.
Table 1.1: Summary of pertinent spindle measurement work.
Author Topic
Bryan, Clouser, Holland,
1967 [22]
Introduces specific terminology, describes tests for error motion,
compliance, spindle warm up, and error separation. ~125 nm
Vanherck, Peters, 1973 [23]
Digital sampling and collection of spindle error motion; discusses
use of Fourier techniques in error motion analysis.
Goddard, Cowley, Burdekin,
1973 [24]
Reviews Tlusty and Bryan, uses eccentric disc to cancel out master
sphere eccentricity. ~250 nm +
Arora, et al., 1977 [25]
Review, resolver mounted on spindle used to phase match and
cancel eccentricity of master sphere. ~700 nm
Kakino, Yamamoto, 1977 [26]
Rotating gage in spindle targets a fixed master sphere resulting in a
true rotating sensitive direction measurement. ~1000 nm +
Murthy, et al., 1978 [27]
Review, uses analog and digital filter to remove sphere eccentricity
in measurements. ~700 nm
Yao-Sun, 1985 [28]
Review of instruments developed in China for measurement of
fixed and rotating sensitive error motions. ~100 nm
Chapman, 1985 [29]
Instrument capable of measuring radial and axial error motions
using analog and digital methods on a master cylinder. ~50 nm
Hansen, 1988 [30]
General-purpose digital instrument with double sphere artifact for
measuring radial and axial error motions simultaneously.


Work from the authors in Table 1.1 during the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s often focused on
implementation of computer hardware and software into spindle analysis. For example, different
methods for analog and digital compensation of eccentricity of the master artifact were a major topic
during this time. Without the benefit of a modern computer, elaborate cams and offset cylinders were
30
used to generate base circles for displaying error motion profiles on analog oscilloscope screens as shown
in Figure 1.20. Other researchers focused their efforts on improving setups for making rotating sensitive
direction measurements. Deviating from Tlustys orthogonal probe setup, capacitive and inductive
displacement indicators were mounted directly on spindle rotors and slip rings were used to acquire data
in order to directly measure rotating sensitive direction.

wobble plate
cylindrical artifact
surface
circle generating
cams
( ) M
cos
sin
displacement
indicators

Figure 1.20: Sketch of artifact with circle generating cams for displaying rotating sensitive error motion
polar plots on an oscilloscope after Bryan [19].
Not all of the work at this time was just setup refinement. Bryan, et al.s paper was the basis for a
new document by International Institution for Production Engineering Research (CIRP) committee
members in 1975 and again in 1976 on unifying the terminology of axes of rotation [31, 32]. These
papers became the basis of the American Standard on Axes of Rotation that was eventually published
in 1985 [14].
31
Digital processing of spindle measurements, after being introduced by Vanherck and Peters in 1973,
became feasible in the 1980s as encoders and resolvers appeared more frequently on spindles in machine
tools. Encoders allows for the rotational position of the spindle to be recorded as well as a trigger to
sample error motion data as a function of position rather than time. Researchers like Arora, et al. used
resolvers to monitor the phase of artifact eccentricity and efficiently remove it [25]. Murthy et al. used
digital notch filters tuned to the spindle rotation rate as a method to remove artifact eccentricity [27].
One of the most important advances in spindle metrology outside of the work by Bryan and Tlusty
was the development of high resolution capacitance gaging. Look to Foldvari and Lion for excellent
background material [33]. Prior to the refinement of better capacitance gages, eddy current sensors were
one of the primary tools of the spindle metrologist; however eddy current based systems were often
susceptible to inaccuracies from material types or quality [19]. By the late 1980s researchers were
developing high-resolution instruments with capacitance sensors to measure the error motion of high
performance spindles [34]. Chapman designed and built a custom spindle analyzer capable of measuring
the radial, axial, and tilt error motions of a spindle [29]. Custom capacitance sensors were a large part of
this analyzer design, which included a special cylindrical artifact and electronics giving the instrument a
resolution of 5 nanometers. Furthermore, the paper describes that the analyzer has the capability of the
system to be used in situations where reversal may be required; signaling that this instrument is one of the
first to be capable of resolving the error motions of ultraprecision spindles.
During the 1990s, commercial equipment or analyzers became available to analyze the error motion
of spindles. Lion Precision of St. Paul, Minnesota was one of the first to market spindle analyzer
software complete with capacitance gaging, probe nests, and dual sphere artifacts [35]. The analysis
software is not only capable of making measurements of any error motion, but also measurements of
temperature drift and compliance; all of which can be a concern when measuring a spindle incorporated
into a machine tool. The equipment is capable of being used on a variety of spindle styles, including
high-speed spindles, where data may be acquired and analyzed with or without the use of an encoder or
resolver. Additionally, optical probes have been used in both research and commercial spindle
32
measurement applications [36, 37]. The optical probes used in these systems offer high-resolution
displacement measurement with large standoff distances.
Todays high-resolution non-contact gaging together with a foundation in the fundamentals in the
Axes of Rotation Standard and the work of its authors is the basis for the advancement of spindle
metrology. In order to resolve the error motions of next generation spindles, a spindle analyzer must
certainly incorporate some form of an error separation technique. It is the goal of this research to
document new techniques that are capable of advancing the state of the art in spindle metrology. For
this research, a spindle measurement test stand is proposed that incorporates a special reversal technique
to quantify the nanometer level spindle error motions of hydrostatic spindles used in precision
manufacturing and measuring machines. Additional experiments are performed on the axes of rotation
and test stand to qualify the results.
1.4 Contribution of the Dissertation
This work begins with the development of a versatile, high-resolution spindle calibration device designed
and built to determine the nanometer level error motions of air bearing spindles. One of the essential
new features of this calibrator is the incorporation of an ultra-precision rotary table that allows
Donaldson and Estler reversals to be carried out using a single fixed probe. The calibrator has the ability
to determine all error motions (radial, axial, tilt) of the spindle under test with sub-nanometer
repeatability and nanometer level uncertainty. Furthermore, the design allows convenient
experimentation with any of the error separation techniques or reversal methods used in spindle
metrology. A comparison of the error separation methods for radial error motion show agreement to
better than 2 nanometers (0.08 in.). A new form of the reversal equations based on the general error
motion case is presented as an alternative method for separating spindle error motions from artifact
error.
Additionally, work is performed using the recently developed Master Axis method for measuring
spindle error motions. The practical issues of completing a Master Axis reversal are discussed in detail.
33
For the first time, the method is validated with traditional measurement techniques and show agreement
of synchronous error motions to within 1 nanometer (0.04 in.). The importance of determining the
error motion values for an arbitrary sensitive direction is also discussed, comparing calculated and
experimental results. Finally, the results of a spindle calibration are integrated into a mathematical model
of a measuring machine formulated using Homogeneous Transformation Matrices (HTM). This model is
used to determine the sensitivity of measurement results to geometric errors of the machine and is used
to optimize performance of the axes of rotation in the machine design.
1.5 Conclusions
Background of axis of rotation metrology has been presented in detail to aid the reader in understanding
the work presented in the remainder of the dissertation. A thorough discussion of the terminology and
measurement concerns such as sensitive direction and artifact alignment are addressed. A review of the
literature indicates that a need exists for a high resolution and high accuracy spindle measurement system
to resolve the error motion of ultraprecision spindles.
34
Chapter 2: Reversals and Other Error Separation Techniques
2.1 Introduction
Reversal and other error separation techniques are one of the fundamental concepts of dimensional
metrology. Reversal methods are very powerful yet elegant methods, and result in complete separation of
the errors of a part and measuring instrument. Reversal methods therefore enable the calibration of
artifacts, parts, and instruments without the need for comparison with the master artifacts maintained by
national standards laboratories. The multi separation methods do not separate all errors from
instrument and part, but are used in certain situations. Evans, Hocken, and Estler have published a
comprehensive survey of reversal and absolute testing techniques, including measurement of
straightedges, optical flats, angular position, and interferometric polarizers [38]. A portion of their review
introduces the three approaches for separating spindle error motions from artifact errors and points out
the underlying differences and similarities.
This section describes, in detail, classical error separation techniques and reversals used in precision
spindle metrology. Additional work in this dissertation extends the mathematics presented by Donaldson
and Estler in their reversals to a general form. The general form can be used in conjunction with existing
techniques (Donaldson reversal and an axial error motion measurement) to determine the tilt error
motion from artifact errors for artifacts other than flats and cylinders. Furthermore, a modification to
the Donaldson reversal method is also presented which requires only a single displacement indicator to
separate the error motion and artifact error. Finally, the procedure for performing error separation using
the master axis method is discussed in detail.
2.2 Error Separation Methods
The multiprobe and multistep techniques described in this section are considered error separation
methods rather than reversals. Evans, et al. describes these methods as model-based because they
35
make specific assumptions about the form of the errors in the measurement [38]. Both methods
model errors in the measurement with a Fourier series; the multiprobe method assumes a Fourier series
model for the artifact errors while the multistep method assumes the series for the spindle errors.
Redundant measurements are collected in both cases and averaging and circle closure principles are
applied to aid in removing both systematic and random errors during the course of a test. The
advantages and disadvantages of these methods in comparison to reversal are discussed below.
2.2.1 Multiprobe Error Separation
Whitehouse is responsible for much of the research on this technique, which uses multiple gages
targeting an artifact, collecting redundant information to separate errors [39]. This method, commonly
known as a multiprobe error separation method, uses three or more probes, to measure the combination of
spindle error motion and the artifact out of roundness. Figure 2.1 shows the measurement of an out of
round part with roundness profile, ( ) P , with three displacement indicators, A, B, and C. Indicators B
and C are separated in the XY plane from indicator A by angles and . As the artifact rotates on the
spindle, three simultaneous measurements are made, ( )
A
m , ( )
B
m , and ( )
C
m . This approach works
directly with the measured data even in the presence of asynchronous error motion of the spindle. The
reversal methods discussed later in this work are only meaningful for the synchronous component of the
measured data.
36

SPINDLE
ARTIFACT
C
A
B



Y
X
( )
B
m
( )
A
m
( )
C
m
( ) P


Figure 2.1: Three-probe method for roundness and spindle error motion measurement
(after Mitsui [40]).
The measurements of the three displacement indicators, A, B and C, can be written as a summation of
the part roundness ( ) P with an appropriate phase shift from the indicator location and the x and y
component of the radial error motion, ( ) x and ( ) y as shown in Equations 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3:


( ) ( ) ( ) x P m
A
+ = (2.1)

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) sin cos y x P m
B
+ + = (2.2)

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) sin cos y x P m
C
+ + = (2.3)


The spindle error is eliminated by multiplying the equations for ( )
A
m , ( )
B
m , and ( )
C
m , by 1, a, and
b, respectively and summing the measurements. The constants, a and b, are found by solving Equations
2.4 and 2.5 simultaneously.



37
0 1 cos cos = + + b a (2.4)

0 sin sin = b a (2.5)


By finding a and b, the contribution of the spindle error motion in the summed measurements are forced
to be zero. The roundness of the artifact is assumed to be in the form of an infinite Fourier series,
shown in Equation 2.6, where
k
A and
k
B are the Fourier coefficients.


( ) ( )

=
+ =
1
sin cos
k
k k
k B k A P (2.6)


Equation 2.7 shows the result when the series is substituted into the summed measurement.


( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( )

=
+ +
+ + + = + +
1
1 1
sin cos
sin cos sin cos
k
k k
k
k k
k
k k C B A
k B k A b
k B k A a k B k A bm am m

L
(2.7)


Angle addition identities are used for the sin and cos terms, allowing Equation 2.7 to be expanded.
Common terms of k A
k
cos , k A
k
sin , k B
k
cos , and k B
k
sin are collected as shown in
Equation 2.8. The left-hand side of Equation 2.7 is also written as ( ) M , where
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
C B A
bm am m M + + = for compactness.



( ) ( ) ( )
( ) ( )

=
+ + +
+ + + + =
1 1
1 1
sin sin cos cos cos 1 sin
sin sin sin cos cos 1 cos
k
k
k
k
k
k
k
k
k a k b k B k b k a k B
k b k a k A k b k a k A M

L
(2.8)


38
Note the similarity of the bracketed expressions in Equation 2.8 with Equations 2.4 and 2.5. When
1 = k , each of the four summations in 2.8 is zero as defined by Equations 2.4 and 2.5. Defining
k b k a
k
cos cos 1 + + = and k a k b
k
sin sin = results in Equation 2.9.


( ) ( ) ( )


=

=
+ + =
2 2
sin cos
k
k k k k
k
k k k k
k A B k B A M (2.9)


The coefficients of k cos and k sin are the Fourier coefficients of the summed measurements,
therefore,
k
A and
k
B can be found by solving the matrix equation shown in 2.10.
k
F and
k
G are the
Fourier coefficients of ( ) M .



)
`

=
)
`

k
k
k
k
k k
k k
G
F
B
A


(2.10)


With
k
A and
k
B now known, the artifact roundness, ( ) P , becomes fully defined. The roundness is
then used to determine the x and y components of the spindle error motion. The x component is found
by using Equation 2.1 directly as shown in Equation 2.11.


( ) ( ) ( ) P m x
A
= (2.11)


To determine the y component of spindle error motion Equation 2.2 is multiplied by cos and
Equation 2.3 is multiplied by cos . Subtraction is then used to determine the y component as shown in
Equation 2.12.


( )
( ) ( ) [ ] ( ) ( ) [ ]
( )

+
+ + +
=
sin
cos cos P m P m
y
C B
(2.12)


39
This method requires accurate knowledge of the separation angles of the probes and close matched
sensitivity of the gages. Ideally, the gages should be aligned to be in the same axial plane so that if the
spindle were perfect, the only difference in the measurements would be a phase shift of the roundness.
Much work has been done in investigating the effect of the angular spacing of the gages. The angular
spacing can distort the harmonic content of the measurement. For example, when the gages are spaced
evenly, low order harmonics are suppressed. The effect becomes less severe for asymmetric
arrangements but never offers complete separation of spindle and roundness errors [41]. Further
research using four or more probes to reduce the suppression of harmonics has been performed;
however, the use of additional probes can introduce additional errors from imperfect gage
alignment [42, 43].
2.2.2 Multistep Error Separation
The multistep error separation method is a technique in which the artifact is indexed in angular
increments without moving or adding additional probes [44, 45]. Figure 2.2 shows a schematic of the
measurement method.

1 2 3 N Step
Artifact
Spindle
Displacement
Indicator
1
m
2
m
3
m N
m

2
) 1 ( N

Figure 2.2: Schematic of multistep error separation method after B89.3.4M [14].
40
Figure 2.2 indicates that the probe or displacement indicator measures the error motion of the spindle
from the same orientation angle for each measurement. Each of the measurements can be written in the
form of Equation 2.13, which contains the radial error motion of the spindle, ( ) R , and the artifact
error, ( ) P . The artifact form error, however, is phase shifted by increments of in each measurement.


( ) ( ) ( ) 1 + + = N P R m
N
(2.13)


Summing each of the measurements results in Equation 2.14. Solving Equation 2.14 for the radial error
motion of the spindle gives Equation 2.15.


( ) ( )


= =
+ + =
1
0 1
N
k
N
j
j
k P NR m (2.14)

( ) ( ) ( )


= =
+ =
1
0 1
1 1
N
k
N
j
j
k P
N
m
N
R (2.15)


The artifact error can be expressed as a Fourier series as shown in Equation 2.16.


( ) ( )

=
+ =
1
sin cos
n
n n
n B n A P (2.16)


Equation 2.16 is substituted into Equation 2.15 resulting in Equation 2.17.


( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) [ ]


=

= =
+ + + =
1
0 1 1
sin cos
1 1
N
k n
n n
N
j
j
k n B k n A
N
m
N
R (2.17)


Euler identities are used to write thesin and cos terms as exponentials as shown in Equation 2.18. Note
that 1 = i .

41

( ) ( )
( ) ( )
[ ]


=

=
+ +
=
+ =
1
0 1 1
1 1
N
k n
k in
n
k in
n
N
j
j
e b e a
N
m
N
R

(2.18)


Looking at of the each of the terms of the double summation indicates that all terms will sum to zero
except terms that are integer multiples of the number of steps. This can be written as Equation 2.19,
with the complex exponentials written again as sin and cos .


( ) ( ) ( )


=

=
+ =
1
1
0
sin cos
1
k
kN kN
N
j
j
kN B kN A m
N
R (2.19)


Generally speaking, averaging the measurement results separates the radial error motion of the spindle,
from the artifact form except at the frequencies that are at harmonics of the number of steps. For
example, if 12 steps are used in the method, spindle and artifact error occurring at 12 cycles per
revolution (cpr), 24 cpr, 36 cpr, etc. are not separated. Therefore, caution should be used when
interpreting the results. However, when a sufficient number of steps (20, for example) are used, the first
distorted harmonic occurs at a relatively high frequency (20 cpr or greater). For precision artifacts, which
are often lapped, the amplitude of the artifact error occurring at these higher harmonics are small, so the
spindle error, ( ) R , can be approximated as Equation 2.20. Calculation of the artifact error requires
taking an individual trace and subtracting the spindle error, leaving the part error, ( ) P , as shown in
Equation 2.21.


( ) ( )

1
0
1
N
j
j
m
N
R (2.20)

( ) ( ) ( ) R m j P
j
= + (2.21)


Whitehouse has shown that the multistep and multiprobe methods are insensitive to specific harmonics
of the error motion depending on the number of gages, positioning of the gages, or steps used in
42
acquiring the data [46]. Other inaccuracies can be introduced by imperfectly positioned gages or using
multiple gages of unequal sensitivity. As is shown in the next section, Donaldson and Estlers reversal
techniques completely separate all harmonics of the error motion and artifact form. Care still must be
taken in performing the reversal to minimize the errors from reversing a gage and artifact with respect to
the axis of rotation.
2.3 Reversal Techniques
The reversals methods described below differ from the multi-step and multi-probe error separation
techniques in that they provide complete information about the two items (spindle and artifact) under
test. Additionally, this dissertation extends the Donaldson and Estler reversals to a general formulation
that can be used to perform a five-degree of freedom calibration with a single spherical artifact.
2.3.1 Donaldson Reversal
Bryans comprehensive work on spindle and machine tool metrology is one of the first to illustrate the
need for separating the form error of a master from the error motion of a spindle [22]. In all spindle
measurements, the displacement indicator will measure a combination of the spindle error motion and
artifact error. As the roundness of spherical master artifacts approaches the error motion of the spindle
under test, reversal is required to separate the information. Donaldson published a technique in a sidebar
to Bryans paper illustrating his technique to separate roundness from radial error motion [47]. This
method, which is analogous to straightedge reversal, is shown schematically in Figure 2.3.
43

stator stator
rotor rotor
master
reversed
master
displacement
indicator
displacement
indicator
reversed
0

( )
1
M ( )
2
M

(a) (b)
Figure 2.3: Donaldson reversal method with (a) forward and (b) reverse setups.
In the first setup the angular orientation of the stator, rotor, artifact, and displacement indicator are
aligned as designated with the black fiducial marks in Figure 2.3(a). In the second setup, the
displacement indicator and artifact are rotated 180 with respect to the rotor and stator of the spindle
(note again the alignment of the marks in Figure 2.3(b). The measurements ( )
1
M and ( )
2
M in
Equations 2.22 and 2.23 are a combination of the spindles radial error motion, ( ) R , and the roundness
or form error of the sphere, ( ) P .


( ) ( ) ( ) R P M + =
1
(2.22)

( ) ( ) ( ) R P M =
2
(2.23)


For the second setup the spindle errors reverse sign resulting in two equations that require only
algebraic manipulation to solve for the artifact roundness and spindle error. Adding the two equations
44
results in the roundness or form error of the artifact, ( ) P , (Equation 2.24) while subtraction results in
the error motion of the spindle, ( ) R , (Equation 2.25).


( )
( ) ( )
2
2 1

M M
P
+
= (2.24)

( )
( ) ( )
2
2 1

M M
R

= (2.25)


Figure 2.4 shows the graphical result of the Donaldson reversal. In the first polar plot, sketch (a), the
first and second measurement, ( )
1
M and ( )
2
M , are radially averaged around the entire circle to find
the roundness of the artifact. The radial error motion can be determined by graphically averaging ( )
1
M
and - ( )
2
M over the entire circle.

( ) P
( )
1
M
( )
2
M
( ) R
( )
1
M
( )
2
M
(a) (b)
Figure 2.4: Graphical calculation of (a) artifact roundness error and (b) spindle radial error motion.
45
2.3.2 Estler Face Motion Reversal
Estler extended Donaldsons method to the separation of face error motions from the circular flatness of
an artifact [38]. The procedure is similar to the Donaldson method but applied to the axial direction of
measurement rather than the radial direction. Figure 2.5 shows a schematic of the test setup. Off-axis
measurements ( )
1
M and ( )
2
M are at a radial distance r from the axis of rotation. The indicator
making these measurement must be rotated 180 with the artifact between setup (a) and (b). ( )
3
M and
( )
4
M are measurements made collinear with the axis of rotation.

Stator
Rotor
artifact

r
Stator
Rotor

spindle reference spindle reference

artifact
reference
artifact
reference
( )
1
M
( )
3
M
( )
2
M
( )
4
M
r
(a) (b)
Figure 2.5: Estler face motion reversal.
( )
1
M and ( )
2
M include the combined effects of the circular flatness of the part, ( ) P , the tilt error
motion, ( ) A , and the axial error motion, ( ) Z , as shown in Equations 2.26 and 2.27.


( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Z r A P M + + =
1
(2.26)

( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Z r A P M + =
2
(2.27)
46


( )
3
M and ( )
4
M contain just the axial error motion, ( ) Z , and can be averaged together, as Estler
points out with Equation 2.28 to decrease the uncertainty of the measurement [38].


( )
( ) ( )
2
4 3

M M
Z
+
= (2.28)


The addition and subtraction of Equations 2.26 and 2.27 result in the separation of the circular flatness of
the artifact and the tilt error motion of the spindle, shown in Equations 2.29 and 2.30.


( )
( ) ( )
( )

A
M M
P
+
=
2
2 1
(2.29)

( )
( ) ( )
r
M M
A
2
2 1

= (2.30)


The following section will show how the formulation of Donaldson and Estler reversal can be derived
from a general error motion case in which the measurements are made in neither a purely radial or axial
direction.
2.3.3 Generalized Reversal Formulation
During the course of this research, it was found that the two reversal techniques described in the
previous sections (Donaldson and Estler) can be derived from an expression for the general error motion
case. First, the normal and reversed expressions of a measurement for an arbitrary probe location and
sensitive direction are written. When the appropriate measurement geometry applies (radial or axial), the
equations reduce to Donaldson and Estler reversal. The general reversal formulation is derived by
considering a probe oriented in an arbitrary direction, as shown in Figure 2.6.
47

displacement
indicator

Figure 2.6:Sketch of measuring a chamfer or spherical surface.
Figure 2.7 shows a sketch of the general case of error motion. The displacement indicator designated
with the arrow at angle , has a sensitive direction with components in both the axial and radial direction.
r
Radial
Error
( )
o
90 , = R
( )
o
0 , = Z
Axial
Error
( ) , M

Displacement
Indicator
a
b

Figure 2.7: General error motion measurement sketch.
The error motion at direction angle , designated ( ) , M , can be written as projections of the radial and
axial motion into the sensitive direction of the displacement indicator in addition to the contribution
48
from tilt error motion for the measurement position, ( ) b a, , on the perfect reference artifact. The result
is shown in Equation 2.31.


( ) ( ) ( ) ( )[ ] cos sin cos sin , b a A Z R M + + + = (2.31)


Considering ( ) , M for specific values of , a, and b in the general error motion expression results in
the well known expressions for radial, axial, and face measurements, and hence can be used to derive the
Donaldson and Estler reversal equations. For example, when
o
90 = and the probe is at the equator of
the sphere (a = 0 and b = sphere radius, r), Equation 2.31 simplifies to Equation 2.32.



( ) ( ) ( ) ( )[ ]
( ) ( )

R M
r A Z R M
=
+ + + =
o
o o o o o
90 ,
90 cos 90 sin 0 90 cos 90 sin 90 ,
(2.32)


Similarly, axial error motion, ( ) Z , is measured directly when the probe is placed at
o
0 = (for this
location b = 0, i.e. the probe is directly on axis and a = r). This is shown in Equation 2.33.



( ) ( ) ( ) ( )[ ]
( ) ( )

Z M
r A Z R M
=
+ + + =
o
o o o o o
0 ,
0 cos 0 0 sin 0 cos 0 sin 0 ,
(2.33)


If an imperfect artifact is considered, the reversal principles described in Section 2.3 can be applied and
the Donaldson and Estler reversal equations can be derived from the general error motion equation.
Now, Equation 2.31 has an additional term to describe the form error of the master artifact, ( ) , P , as
shown in Equation 2.34.


( ) ( ) ( ) ( )[ ] ( ) , cos sin cos sin , P b a A Z R M + + + + = (2.34)


49
For Donaldson reversal, measurements are required at
o
90 = and
o
90 = , in addition to having the
artifact reversed between the measurements. The artifact form error will have the following relationship
from the first and second measurement (Equation 2.35).


( ) ( )
o o
90 , 90 , = P P (2.35)


The two measurements expressed in the general form can be written as Equations 2.32 and 2.33 are
identical to Equations 2.22 and 2.23, presented in Section 2.3.1 and can be added and subtracted to yield
the form error of the artifact at the equator, ( )
o
90 , P , and the radial error motion of the spindle, ( ) R .



( ) ( ) ( ) ( )[ ] ( )
( ) ( ) ( )
o o
o o o o o o
90 , 90 ,
90 , 90 cos 90 sin 0 90 cos 90 sin 90 ,
1
1


P R M
P r A Z R M
+ =
+ + + + =
(2.36)



( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) [ ] ( )
( ) ( ) ( )
o o
o o o o o o
90 , 90 ,
90 , 90 cos 90 sin 0 90 cos 90 sin 90 ,
2
2


P R M
P r A Z R M
+ =
+ + + + =
(2.37)


Estler reversal can be derived using the same analysis with a flat artifact instead of a sphere. In this case,
o
0 = for all of the displacement indicator positions. For the measurement geometry shown previously
in Figure 2.5, measurements ( ) ,
3
M and ( ) ,
4
M are just axial motion measurements and are
described in the same way as Equation 2.32. ( ) ,
1
M and ( ) ,
2
M are described by Equations 2.38
and 2.39 where a is arbitrary based on the part size and b = r is the radius that the displacement indicator
is positioned.



( ) ( ) ( ) ( )[ ] ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
o o
o o o o o o
0 , 0 ,
0 , 0 cos 0 sin 0 cos 0 sin 0 ,
1
1


P r A Z M
P r a A Z R M
+ + =
+ + + + =
(2.38)


50

( ) ( ) ( ) ( )[ ] ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
o o
o o o o o o
0 , 0 ,
0 , 0 cos 0 sin 0 cos 0 sin 0 ,
2
2


P r A Z M
P r a A Z R M
+ =
+ + + =
(2.39)


The circular flatness of the part can now be more succinctly written as ( ) r P , rather than ( )
o
0 , P
making Equations 2.38 and 2.39 equivalent to the expressions given in Equations 2.26 and 2.27 for Estler
reversal.
With radial and axial error motion known from measurements on the equator of the sphere and
coaxial with the axis of rotation, the general error motion expression can be extended to separate the
error motions of the spindle from the form error of an artifact at any arbitrary sensitive direction, .
Now the measurement, ( )
1 1
, M , can be made at an arbitrary angle in first step of the reversal, and
( )
2 2
, M with the artifact reversed. The measurements have the form of shown below in
Equations 2.40 and 2.41,


( ) ( ) ( ) ( )[ ] ( )
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
, cos sin cos sin , P b a A Z R M + + + + = (2.40)

( ) ( ) ( ) ( )[ ] ( )
2 2 2 2 2 2 2
, cos sin cos sin , P b a A Z R M + + + = (2.41)


where ( ) R is the radial error motion, ( ) Z is the axial error motion, ( ) A is the tilt error motion, L
and R are the spatial axial and radial measurement locations, and ( ) , P is the form error of the sphere
at angle with respect to the vertical. From the first to second setup,
1 2
= so the trigonometric
angle identities ( )
1 1
sin sin = and ( )
1 1
cos cos = may be used to rewrite Equation 2.40 and
Equation 2.41. Making these substitutions, and writing
1
as just , ( )
1 1
, M and ( )
2 2
, M can be
written as Equations 2.42 and 2.43.


( ) ( ) ( ) ( )[ ] ( ) , cos sin cos sin ,
1
P b a A Z R M + + + + = (2.42)

( ) ( ) ( ) ( )[ ] ( ) , cos sin cos sin ,
2
P b a A Z R M + + + = (2.43)

51

With ( )
1 1
, M and ( )
2 2
, M in this form, Equations 2.42 and 2.43 can be added and subtracted to
result in determining the form error of the sphere at angle and the tilt error motion, ( ) A , of the
spindle as shown in Equations 2.44 and 2.45.


( )
( ) ( )
( )

cos
2
, ,
,
2 1
Z
M M
P
+
= (2.44)

( )
( ) ( ) ( )
[ ]

cos sin 2
sin 2 , ,
2 1
b a
R M M
A
+
+
= (2.45)


Estler points out that the formulation can exclude coordinates a and b by writing the probe tip position in
polar coordinates using the sphere radius, r, the and the probe angle, [48]. Thus, Equation 2.45 can be
written as shown in Equation 2.46.


( )
( ) ( ) ( )

cos sin 2
sin 2 , ,
2 1
r
R M M
A
+
= (2.46)


This illustrates how the radial, axial, and tilt error motions can be separated from artifact form errors.
Note that the method still requires five measurements to determine the radial, axial and tilt error motions
of the spindle (Donaldson reversal axial measurement reversal at of the probe). However, the
math indicates that the five measurements could be made on a single spherical artifact, instead of the
more traditional dual sphere artifact. Practically, a sphere of large radius may be needed to determine
small tilt error motions and has the highest sensitivity to tilt error motions when the displacement
indicator has a sensitive direction of
o
45 = . Additionally, the method can be used to directly measure
and separate the form errors of a sphere at arbitrary values of or the form of chamfered surfaces that
are not perpendicular to parallel to the axis of rotation. The ideal implementation may require specific
hardware to move the probe for reversal, possibly on an orthogonal axis of rotation.
52
Further investigation into the method indicates that the generalized reversal method has the potential
to yield an incorrect result. The generalized reversal method is insensitive to a tilt error motion whose
apex is coincident with the center of the sphere. Estler reversal and the use of a dual sphere master
artifact do not suffer from this problem no matter where the origin of the tilt occurs. The probability
of the center of the sphere and the tilt origins aligning are actually quite low, however, it is important to
note and understand this limitation.
2.4 Single Probe and Master Axis Reversal
In the course of this work, it was found that a modification to the Donaldson method greatly simplifies
the execution of the reversal. It is found that by placing the spindle and artifact on a precision rotary
table, the reversal may be carried out without moving the displacement indicator. Furthermore, a special
chuck (termed a reversal chuck) is used between the spindle and artifact to allow accurate 180 rotation
of the artifact with respect to the spindle. The procedure can easily be extended to the Estler method for
separating the face error motion from the circular flatness of an artifact. Additionally, the rotary table
approach is extended to the recently published Master Axis technique.
2.4.1 Single Probe Reversal
In practice, the procedure of accurately reversing the displacement indicator and artifact can be difficult.
For a radial measurement, both the axial position and the orientation of the indicator (normal to the
artifact tangent plane) need to be maintained while moving from the first to second setup. Handling of
the gage can induce thermal gradients and increase the time needed for the reversal to allow for soak-out.
Additionally, incomplete reversal of the gage or artifact will shear the data from the reversed
measurement and cause error.
Work by Chapman describes application of Donaldson reversal to his general-purpose spindle
analyzer design which somewhat simplifies the reversal [29]. Eight capacitance gages are used to measure
radial, axial, and face error motions on a cylindrical artifact. Donaldson reversal is performed using
53
radially opposing gages, which do not move from the initial to reversed setup; only 180 rotation of the
artifact is required to complete the procedure. Both gages require accurate alignment prior to carrying
out the measurements. The sensitivity of the gages must also closely match in order not to introduce
errors into the reversal.
Figure 2.8 shows a model of one of the reversal setups used in this work, a single probe reversal with
a displacement indicator targeting a spherical artifact. In Donaldsons work, the reversal is performed by
rotating the gage and artifact 180 with respect to a fixed spindle, reversing the sign of the spindle errors
as measured by the displacement indicator. In this work, the probe does not move between the original
and reversed measurement. Thus, in order to have the reversal of sign of the spindle errors, both the
rotor and stator of the spindle are rotated 180 with respect to the indicator.

rotary
table
spindle
under
test
reversal
chuck
spherical
artifact
displacement
indicator
0 180
0
0
180
0

(a) (b)
Figure 2.8: Spindle calibrator setup with spherical artifact showing the (a) normal and (b) reversed setup.
54
In the procedure illustrated above, the stator of the spindle under test is mounted on an indexable
rotary axis or rotary table, which is used to rotate the stator of the spindle and achieve half of the
reversal. Rotating only the stator does not change the sign of the errors as measured by the displacement
indicator, rather it shifts the phase of the error motion by 180. The reversal chuck, shown in Figure 2.9,
is used to complete the reversal. The chuck couples the rotor of the spindle under test to an artifact or
master axis. The top and bottom half of the chuck may rotate relative to one another. A spherical pilot
built into the chuck maintains the centering of the artifact during rotation. Four jig-ground locating holes
on the face of the chuck are used with a ground pin to locate the top and bottom halves 180 with
respect to each other.
locating holes
bottom
top
spherical pilot
carbide cylindrical
socket

Figure 2.9: Solid model of the separated halves of the reversal chuck revealing the spherical pilot.
55
This modification allows the entire reversal, including rotating sensitive direction measurements, to be
made with a single gage at a fixed location. The reversal is performed with minimal handling of the
artifact and the indexing is carried out with a precision rotary table and reversal chuck. This allows the
spindle to be reversed with respect to the artifact and gage, rather than the conventional method of
moving the gage and artifact with respect to the spindle. The rotary table can position the axis stator to
better than 15 arc-seconds over an entire rotation which makes it an excellent tool for multistep error
separation and multiprobe error separation as well as Donaldson and Estler reversal. The reversal chuck
is accurate to better than 30 arc-seconds.
2.4.2 Master Axis Reversal
Traditionally, error motion measurements are made using a lapped artifact, however recently, researchers
have used a master axis of rotation as an alternative artifact for measuring error motion [49]. During a
master axis measurement, the standard artifact is replaced with a precision air bearing spindle. The rotor
of the master axis, or reference spindle, rotates with the spindle under test just as an artifact does in
traditional measurements; however the master axis stator is restrained from rotation. The restraint does
not influence the remaining five degrees of freedom or error motions. In this work, this is accomplished
by mounting a steel arm with a lapped steel sphere at one end on the UMM frame. The sphere provides
point contact with a gage block mounted on the spindle stator of the master axis to minimize friction.
Capacitance gages target the non-rotating stator, which measure the combined error motion of both
of the spindles. Donaldson reversal or other error separation techniques are then used to separate the
master axis error motion from the spindle under test. In the case of Donaldson reversal, the rotor and
stator of the spindle under test are both required to be reversed to the master axis rotor and stator.
Using a master axis in performing Donaldson and Estler reversal requires additional care to determine
the spindle error motions. The capacitance gage targets a non-rotating stator as the reference artifact.
Because the stator is restrained only in rotation the measured displacements sensed by the displacement
indicator are a combination of the radial error motions of both of the spindles. When a measurement is
56
made in the reversed direction, it is imperative to maintain the same sign of the error for the master
axis. To ensure this, the stator of the master axis spindle must be rotated 180 with the indicator. This is
illustrated in Figure 2.10. The anti-rotation restraint is not shown for clarity.
0
180
0
0
180
0
Displacement
Indicator
(a) (b)
Spindle
Under Test
Master
Axis

Figure 2.10: Sketch of two setups (a) and (b) for Master Axis reversal with a single indicator.
Previous work suggests that an air bearing master axis used for spindle measurement may have
advantages over traditional techniques [50]. First, the best reference spindles have error motions an order
of magnitude smaller than the best lapped artifacts. Second, the capacitance gages can be properly
grounded when targeting the non-rotating stator and will not low-pass filter the measurement data
through convolution of the target spot size. Additionally, the non-rotating stator acts as a convenient
location to apply static or dynamic loads to the spindle under tests, which more appropriately determine
the error motions of a machining spindle which often are subjected to various loading while
operating [51].
57
2.5 Conclusions
A generalized form of the reversal equations is presented along with the classical derivations of
Donaldson and Estler reversal. It is shown that the multistep and multiprobe error separation techniques
are inferior to the reversal methods. The development of single probe reversal with rotary table and
reversal chuck is also described and can be used with either a Master Axis or a spherical artifact for the
experiments in this dissertation.
58
Chapter 3: Spindle Calibrator Design, Testing and Characterization
3.1 Introduction
This section describes the design, hardware, and characterization of a spindle calibrator built to quantify
the nanometer level error motions of air bearing spindles. It is one of the goals in this dissertation to
better determine the error motions of these spindles. The hardware used in implementing the single
probe reversal for both standard and master axis artifacts is described. The performance of the calibrator
and instrumentation is described through the use of specific tests of vibration, temperature response, and
noise. Repeatability and reproducibility tests are performed and an uncertainty budget for the calibrator
is developed.
3.1.1 Hardware
The calibrator hardware consists of a Professional Instruments BLOCK-HEAD

4R air bearing spindle

mounted on a Moore Tool Company LRT ultra-precision rotary table, both oriented with vertically. The
reversal chuck shown in detail in Section 2.4, also from Professional Instruments, is equipped with a
lapped spherical pilot to facilitate the quick and accurate reversal of artifacts with respect to the spindle.
The chuck also features jig-ground locating holes at 0 and 180 for reversal of the artifact with respect to
the rotor of the spindle under test. The spherical pilot maintains the centering of the artifact during
indexing or reversal to 100 nanometers. Lion Precision 0.5 nm/mV capacitance gages target a lapped ball
or master axis artifact. The entire assembly bolts to a Moore Tool Company No. 3 Universal Measuring
Machine (UMM). The capacitance gage is mounted on the spindle housing of the UMM. The three
UMM make it very convenient to accurately position the gage. Figure 3.1 shows the setup with two
different artifact types, lapped ball and master axis. Measurements using both methods are discussed
later in this document.
59

(a) (b)
Figure 3.1: Test setup photographs with (a) double ball artifact and (b) master axis artifact.
The spindles tested in this dissertation are Professional Instruments BLOCK-HEAD

style air
bearing spindles. The manufacturers specifications show as having radial and axial error motions less
than 25 nanometers (1 microinch) and tilt error motions less than 0.1 microradian (0.02 arc-seconds) [52].
The 4R and 4B model spindles used in these experiments also exhibit high stiffness in the radial, axial and
tilt directions, which make them ideal for use in ultraprecision applications like diamond machining and
ultraprecision instrumentation.
The test hardware operates with custom designed National Instruments LabWindows/CVI software
that carries out the data acquisition, analysis, and displays the results on an intuitive user interface [53].
ANSI/ASME B89.3.4M Axes of Rotation: Methods for Specifying and Testing is followed throughout
the analysis of the data [14]. In addition to analog anti-aliasing filtering, frequency domain techniques,
Spindle under test
Spindle under test
Double ball
Master axis
Gage
Gage
Rotation
Restraint
60
like those discussed by Thompson, are used for the data sets and are described in more detail in the
following section [54].
3.1.2 Data Acquisition & Analysis
All capacitance gage data are sampled for an integer number of revolutions triggered by the digital output
of the rotary encoder mounted on the spindle axis. The discretized measurement can be conveniently
analyzed in the Fourier domain using the Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT). Equation 3.1 shows for an
input vector, x(n), with length N, the DFT is X(k). The DFT is performed within CVI or MATLAB
using the built-in FFT commands available.

1 =
1 1 2
=
N
n
N
) )(n j(k
x(n)e X(k) for 1 k N (3.1)


The resulting complex vector, X(k), contains double-sided frequency information from the signal,
starting from zero frequency, with a Nyquist frequency equal to half of the number of encoder counts on
the axis. The encoder triggered sampling of the error signal automatically collects the dataset in the
spatial domain (angular displacement about the axis of rotation). Therefore, frequency is in terms of
cycles per revolution (cpr) rather than the more familiar cycles per second (Hz). Figure 3.2 shows the
sketch of a spectrum X(k) plotted as a function of k. The negative frequency content is a mirror image
of the positive side of the spectrum beginning at k = N/2 + 1.
61

1 2 3 N/2+1 4 5 6 N
k
|X(k)|
positive frequencies negative frequencies
s
y
m
m
e
t
r
y

l
i
n
e

7

Figure 3.2: Spectrum X(k) showing symmetry about N/2 with positive and negative frequencies.
The spacing of the frequency bins, cpr, depends on the number of full spindle revolutions
(window length) and can be written as Equation 3.2.



ns revolutio of number
1
cpr = (3.2)


Low pass filtering and removal of the fundamental components of the data (e.g., eccentricity of an
artifact for a radial error motion measurement) can now be performed in the Fourier domain by
removing the content from the appropriate bins on X(k). For example, suppose that Figure 3.2 shows
the spectrum from an error signal consisting of 1 revolution and sampled with a 1024 count encoder.
Calculating cpr, shows that each bin is equivalent to 1 cpr and that the usable bandwidth is 512 cpr. In
order to remove the fundamental component of the error motion, the k = 2 and k = N bins are assigned
to be zero. Therefore, X(2) = 0 and X(1024) = 0. Furthermore, low pass filtering of spectral content
above an arbitrary cutoff frequency is accomplished by assigning zero to multiple bins throughout the
62
middle of the spectrum. For example, a low pass filter with a bandwidth of 20 cpr is designed by
assigning zero to bins k = 22 through k = N-20.
This type of filtering imposes a brick wall cutoff without distorting the phase of the components in
the pass region, which is important in roundness and error motion analysis. The inverse DFT is used to
return the X(k) data to the original sampled time domain, x(n), as shown in Equation 3.3.

1 =
1 1 2
1
=
N
n
N
) )(n j(k
X(k)e
N
x(n) for 1 n N (3.3)


This is efficiently calculated with the inverse-FFT or IFFT functions common in software packages such
as CVI or MATLAB. Now with the data back in the spatial domain, traditional visualization techniques
such as polar plotting can be applied to the data sets. These frequency domain techniques work well for
the low asynchronous error motions of the spindles used in this research. Care must be taken when
measuring rolling element bearings where the repeatability may influence the amount of leakage of
spectral content into adjacent bins in a data set.
3.2 Calibrator Testing
A number of experiments, including spindle measurements, are performed on the spindle calibrator to
investigate its performance. Measurements are made to quantify noise in gaging, structural vibration, and
temperature variations that contribute to asynchronous error motion values for spindle measurements.
Repeatability of the calibrator is determined for measurements made with and without reversal of the
artifact. The result of the testing is a comprehensive uncertainty budget that quantifies the accuracy of
the spindle calibrator.
Uncertainty budgeting, also commonly known as error budgeting, is a useful tool used in precision
machine design to identify and estimate the type and magnitudes of errors in a machine. Donaldson
pioneered the use of the error budget as a deterministic tool in designing the Large Optics Diamond
Turning Machine (LODTM) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the early 1980s [55]. Other
63
researchers have since applied uncertainty budgets to the design of a variety machines or to pinpoint large
contributors of error to the performance of a machine tool [56, 57]. Once assembled into the budget,
error sources can be dealt with systematically and deterministically [58].
Contributors to the uncertainty budget are generally arrived at in two ways, either by statistical
methods or other methods [59, 60]. The quantities evaluated using statistical methods, or Type A
uncertainties, can be measured directly or modeled mathematically. Type B uncertainties, or the
quantities evaluated using other methods, can come from manufacturers specifications, calibration
certificates or estimates based on a limited number of observations and engineering expertise. After the
uncertainty magnitudes are determined for each component, the standard deviation estimates of both the
A and B type uncertainties are combined to find the combined standard uncertainty using root sum of
squares.
The following sections describe tests performed to estimate some of the uncertainty budget terms for
temperature fluctuation, vibration, and sensor noise of the spindle calibrator.
3.2.1 Temperature
For many precision machining or measuring instruments, temperature variation can easily be the
largest term in an uncertainty budget [61]. Researchers in the precision machine design field consistently
emphasize the importance of temperature control during machining or measuring, often implementing air
or oil showering systems to eliminate temperature gradients [62, 63, 64, 65]. For the spindle calibrator,
temperature variation is a significant concern. Gradients may cause expansion or contraction of the
structural loop of the machine and affect the measured error motion over the course of a test.
To investigate the role of temperature, some simple drift tests are performed on the spindle
calibrator. Figure 3.3 shows the temperature variation and measured drift across the spindle calibrator
structural loop over a six-hour period. A capacitance gage radially targets a non-rotating lapped artifact
and the air temperature is measured with a thermistor within a few millimeters of the gage location.
64

Figure 3.3: Temperature variation and drift for six-hour interval.
The temperature and radial drift both show interesting features over the six-hour period. There is a slight
linear drift over the entire period; however, the room air conditioning cycling is the most prevalent
feature, which cycles between 13 and 14 times every hour with an amplitude of 0.1 C.
Knowing the long-term temperature stability of the calibrator is key, however, it is also important to
consider the magnitude of drift that occurs over the duration of the spindle test (nominally 30 seconds).
Figure 3.4 shows three 30 second intervals extracted from the data presented in Figure 3.3. The shapes
of the measured drift depend on their position within the 4.3 minute HVAC cycle and each one is well
approximated by a simple 2
nd
order polynomial.
65


Figure 3.4: Measured drift for different 30 second intervals fit with 2
nd
order polynomial curve.
The R
2
values greater than 0.80 is one of the indicators a sufficient fit has been achieved to approximate
the drift sampled (60 samples) within each interval [66]. Hence, in the processing of spindle
measurements, a 2
nd
order polynomial is fit and removed from the data to remove drift caused by
variations in ambient temperature. For a spindle measurement that consists of 32 revolutions, this 2
nd

order polynomial affects values well below 1 cpr; attenuating terms below approximately 0.016 cpr. After
66
fitting, the errors caused by temperature variation are conservatively estimated to be always be less than
1 nm, which is more than 3 times the largest residual value from the fitting performed Figure 3.4.
3.2.2 Vibration
As is the case with any machine tool, energy sources in the machine and environment cause vibration in
the metrology loop and affect the accuracy of the measuring machine or measurement. Ideally, the
sources of vibration should be eliminated to improve performance. This is not always practical;
laboratories and shop floors alike will always have ambient vibration caused by sources ranging from
worker activity to operation of heavy machinery. Machine designers must then take advantage of
isolation techniques and devices to minimize the transmissibility of ambient vibration to precision
machines [67]. For the spindle calibrator, the vibration level near the setup can cause disturbances with
magnitudes much greater than the nanometer level error motions that are being measured. Micro/Level
passive elastomer isolation mounts from Vibro/Dynamics are used to reduce the low frequency
transmissibility by 10 dB and higher frequency transmissibility (above 50 Hz) by 30 dB [68].
The structural modes of the spindle calibrator play an important role in the usable bandwidth of the
instrument. The modes of the calibrator structure (the Moore No. 3 UMM) are measured by performing
an experimental modal analysis (EMA). The details of EMA are explained thoroughly elsewhere and the
interested reader is directed for both theoretical and practical to work by other researchers [69, 70]. For
this modal analysis, the structure is excited using a Kistler modal hammer (Model #9724A2000) while the
response is measured at multiple points using a Kistler tri-axial accelerometer (Model #8690C50).
Figure 3.5 shows a representative accelerance frequency response function of the spindle calibrator
(UMM) column as well as the wireframe model of the calibrator base. The wireframe model and curve
fitting of the collected frequency response functions is performed using STARModal analysis software.
67







measurement location

Figure 3.5: Wireframe model of the Moore UMM with typical frequency response function.
The results of the EMA show that the first structural mode of the calibrator occurs at 128 Hz. In
this mode shown in Figure 3.6a, the C-frame structure of the machine is opening and closing which
affects axial error motion measurements. At 148 Hz the column bends in the other direction and affects
radial error measurements as shown Figure 3.6b. The 16 Hz and lower modes are rigid body motions of
the entire machine on its three passive isolator mounts. The structural modes limit the bandwidth of the
instrument to less than 100 Hz. In terms of error motion bandwidth at the testing speeds described
throughout this work (66 RPM), this is equivalent to approximately 90 cycles per revolution. Faster
spindle speeds during testing will further decrease the bandwidth of the measurement.
68


(a) (b)
Figure 3.6: Mode shapes of (a) 128 Hz mode and (b) 148 Hz mode.
Additional investigations of the calibrator structure and environment have determined that the base
is primarily excited through floor vibration. Figure 3.7 shows the spectrum of the vertical floor vibration
measured with a Kistler accelerometer (Model 8690C5 1000 mV/g sensitivity) for a 200 Hz bandwidth
for 500 averages. Normal laboratory traffic occurs during the course of the tests, which include the
operation of heavy machinery outside of the building and foot traffic in the area near the calibrator.
Inspection of the time traces during the 2000 second sampling window show that frequent transients are
the source for the narrow band energy that occurs frequently in the 40 to 120 Hz range. Fortunately, the
isolation system performs exceptionally well for frequencies in this range as shown by the second trace in
Figure 3.7. Figure 3.7 shows both the spectrum of the floor and machine vibration measured
simultaneously. Note the structural peak near 130 Hz corresponding to the machine structural a natural
mode in the machine spectrum as well as electrical noise peaks at 60 and 120 Hz.
69

Figure 3.7: Energy spectrum of laboratory floor and calibrator column.
3.2.3 Instrumentation
The noise floor of the gaging system is important in determining the resolution of the entire system and
its contribution to the uncertainty budget. Lion Precision capacitance gages (DMT-12 driver with C1-C
probes) target the artifact or air bearing reference spindles during testing. These gages have a 9.5 mm
(0.375 inches) body and a sensor spot size of approximately 1.7 mm (0.067 inches). The tuned gage
amplifier outputs a voltage range 10 volts over a measurement range of 10 micrometers (0.0004 inches).
The published resolution of the gages is 1.27 nm (0.05 microinches) at a bandwidth of 100 Hz.
The calibration of the capacitance gage is the means by which the unit of length is realized for this
measurement system. It is important to understand the uncertainty in the calibration of the gage and use
it as a term in the uncertainty budget. The manufacturer specifies the combined uncertainty of the gage
calibration to be 12.7 nanometers plus 12.9 nanometers per millimeter of range. When using the gage
in the calibrator, the gage is adjusted to the center of the useable range (without the help of the DC trim
potentiometer on the gage amplifier box). This assures that the gage is in the middle of the range and at
optimum standoff as recommended by the manufacturer. Depending on the artifact used during
measurement (sphere vs. Master Axis), the total range of the capacitance gage that is typically used is
between 10 and 125 nanometers. This makes the length dependent term of the calibration uncertainty
70
negligibly small (less than 2 picometers). If the calibration error is assumed to have a rectangular
distribution, the calibration uncertainty limit of 12.7 nanometers can be transformed into an uncertainty
component of 7.3 nanometers by dividing the limit by 3 .
Testing of the noise floor of the gages is performed using a capped gage test. The capacitance
gage is capped with small conductive cover, shown in Figure 3.8a and Figure 3.8b, offering a very small
structural loop (minimizing effects of vibration and temperature) and insuring proper ground. The
capped gage is then placed inside a temperature-insulated environment with a thermistor to record the air
temperature. The temperature remains a constant 21.95 C, 0.01 C during each measurement period.
Data are recorded for a time period of 30 seconds at bandwidths ranging from 0 - 50 Hz to 0 - 1600 Hz.
Figure 3.9 shows the measurement during a 30 second period with the frequency bandwidth decreasing
from 1600 Hz to 50 Hz. The peak to valley and rms noise levels for each of the bandwidth settings are
shown in each plot. The gages are shown to have very low noise, and peak to valley values are under
1.5 nm at 1600 Hz.

(a) (b)
Figure 3.8: (a) Capacitance gage cap unmounted and (b) shown on end of gage.
71

Figure 3.9: Measured capacitance gage noise levels as a function of bandwidth.
The above experiments estimate the contribution of each error budget term independently. In
practice, the vibration of the machine, noise in the gage, and thermal drift occur simultaneously. To
estimate their combined contribution, the calibrator is arranged with the capacitance gages aimed at a
non-rotating target. Data are acquired with a signal analyzer and post processed in MATLAB to look at
the combined structural error motion and thermal drift. For a 30 second sample time and a bandwidth of
200 Hz, amplitudes of 3 to 8 nm are typically observed as shown in Figure 3.10. This value is a peak to
valley amplitude that includes thermal drift, capacitance gage noise, as well as vibration of the structural
loop. This performance is exceptional considering the size of the structural loop of the calibrator.
72

Figure 3.10: Typical calibrator drift measurements.
Figure 3.11 shows a typical spectrum of time data similar to the results presented in Figure 3.10. None of
the peaks in the 200 Hz bandwidth of the measurement exceed 150 picometers, indicating that the overall
noise at individual frequencies in the measurement is quite small.
73

Figure 3.11: Typical spectrum of calibrator drift measurements.
3.3 Repeatability and Reproducibility
Repeatability of the calibrator measurements is an indicator of the performance as well as the resolution
of the instrument [71]. For the first set of repeatability tests, synchronous radial error motion
measurements are made over the course of many days using the Master Axis method (introduced in
Section 2.4.2) to measure the Professional Instruments 4R spindles shown in Figure 3.1b. Figure 3.12
shows the repeatability of the combined synchronous radial error motion magnitude of the two spindles,
in addition to all other errors sources except reversal, which was not performed in this part of the
experiment. The spindles are operated at 0.83 Mpa (120 psi) without motorization at 66 RPM (1 RPM)
for 32 revolutions of the spindle. The data are analog anti-alias filtered to 135 cycles per revolution and
then digitally filtered to 50 cycles per revolution. Each x indicates a measured value. The bold line is
the mean and the dashed lines above and below the mean indicates 2 standard deviations. The standard
deviation for these tests is 80 picometers. The maximum asynchronous error motion for each test is also
recorded; asynchronous values range from 3.9 to 4.6 nm for the tests.
74

Figure 3.12: Repeatability of ten consecutive master axis measurements without reversal.
Repeatability after Donaldson reversal is demonstrated by performing multiple reversals with the same
dual spindle arrangement. Table 3.1 summarizes the testing conditions for this set of repeatability tests
in which four Master Axis reversals are performed, resulting in the synchronous radial error motion of
the Master Axis and the spindle under test.
Table 3.1: Reversal repeatability results and testing conditions summary.
Radial Error
Motion
Bottom Spindle
(under test)
Top Spindle
(Master Axis)
synchronous 5.2 2.4
#1
asynchronous 4.2
synchronous 5.4 2.4
#2
asynchronous 4.6
synchronous 5.4 2.5
#3
asynchronous 4.0
synchronous 5.2 2.4
#4
asynchronous 3.9
50 cpr cutoff 32 revolutions 66 RPM
axial position = 177 mm above bottom stator center


75
Figure 3.13 shows the synchronous error motion results for the top (Master axis) and the bottom spindle
(spindle under test) from Figure 3.1b. The results of four consecutive reversals are all shown on each
polar plot for each spindle.
(a)
(b)
Master
Axis
Spindle
under
test
177 mm

Figure 3.13: Synchronous radial error motion of (a) master axis spindle directly on stator center and
(b) spindle under test 177 mm above stator center.
76
The results are for an axial location 177 mm (7 inches) above the stator center of the bottom spindle
(directly on center of the top spindle stator). Again, the asynchronous error motion for this series of
reversals is consistently near the 4 nm level. A closer look at the repeatability can be made by comparing
the four synchronous error motion tests at each of the 512 points sampled within each revolution of the
spindle. Figure 3.14a and Figure 3.14b show the maximum deviation between each of the four
measurements shown in the polar plots of Figure 3.13a and Figure 3.13b. For these tests, the maximum
deviation between the forum tests for each spindle is less than 0.2 nanometers peak to peak.

(a)
(b)

Figure 3.14: Maximum deviation of four reversals for (a) Master Axis spindle and (b) spindle under test.
77
Inspection of the FFT of Figure 3.14a and Figure 3.14b, shows no content in the 50 cpr bandwidth
greater than 15 picometers in amplitude. These tests demonstrate the sub-nanometer repeatability of
both the air bearing spindles and the measurement procedure. With this finding, the error motion of
bearings can be confidently mapped for a variety of applications.
3.4 Uncertainty Budget
Table 3.2 presents the uncertainty budget for fixed sensitive spindle error motions measured in the radial
direction.
Table 3.2: Uncertainty budget for radial error motion measurement (BW 200 Hz).
Component
Evaluation
Type
Distribution
Variation
limit
Uncertainty
component
Gaging
Noise B Rectangular 1.5 0.87
Temperature B Normal 1.0 0.50
Calibration B Rectangular 12.7 7.33

Machine Base
Temperature B Normal 2.0 1.0
Vibration B Normal 5.0 2.5

Reversal Errors
Artifact
Positioning
B Normal 0.1 0.05
Reversal
Chuck/Rotary
Table
B Normal 1.0 0.50

Bearing Air
Pressure
Fluctuation
B Normal 0.6 0.3

Data Acquisition
Board Noise
A 0.1 0.02


Combined Standard Uncertainty 7.9 nm


78
3.5 Conclusions
The spindle calibrator designed and built using the rotary table and reversal chuck enables Donaldson
reversal with a single, fixed gage. Testing on the calibrator shows that sub-nanometer repeatability and
reproducibility with nanometer uncertainty levels is achievable for measurement of ultraprecision air
bearing spindles. Structural modes of vibration limit the bandwidth of the measurements to less than
100 Hz. Temperature variation is compensated with a 2
nd
order polynomial fit to the data. The noise of
the capacitance gage is quantified to be less than 1 nanometer. Repeatability and reproducibility is tested
using Master Axis tests; results show that synchronous radial error motion measurements performed over
the course of week have a standard deviation less than 0.1 nanometers.
79
Chapter 4: Spindle Testing
4.1 Introduction
This section describes some of the important results using the spindle calibrator hardware that was
described in the previous section. First, the asynchronous error motions of the air bearing spindles are
quantified. Master axis measurements are then made on ultraprecision air bearing spindles. Comparing
error motion results obtained with a spherical artifact validates the use of a master axis of rotation as a
reference artifact. Five degree of freedom measurements are then made to determine all of the error
motions of an axis for use in another measurement system. In addition, the results of measuring and
calculating all fixed sensitive direction error motion measurements are shown.
Unless otherwise stated, the spindle tests are performed without motorization; prior to each test,
spindles are brought to speed by hand and allowed to coast during the testing period. Nominally, fixed
sensitive direction tests are performed at 66 revolutions per minute ( 1 rpm) for 32 revolutions;
resulting in a testing period that lasts less than 30 seconds. A low pass 50 cpr filter is applied to the data
set before analysis. The software processes the data and obtains an error motion result within a few
seconds of the completion of the test.
4.2 Asynchronous Error Motion
Before pursuing the calibration of synchronous radial, axial, and tilt error motions of the air bearing
spindles used in this dissertation, it is important to quantify the asynchronous radial and axial error
motions of the spindles. The asynchronous error motion of axes of rotation can result in poor surface
finish in machining or errors reading tracks in a hard disk drive. Asynchronous error motion refers to the
portion of error motion that does not repeat from revolution to revolution. In practice it is hard to
correctly identify the exact asynchronous values for a spindle for a few reasons. First, when making
spindle measurements any motion that is not synchronized with the rotation of the spindle will appear as
80
asynchronous error motion of the spindle. External sources of error include vibration of the test stand,
temperature effects, and electrical noise, contributors which are not inherent to the axis of rotation.
Secondly, the asynchronous error motion cannot be resolved using reversal techniques. This makes the
quantification of the asynchronous error motion of an ultraprecision spindle a daunting task.
Fortunately, through intelligent machine design and careful metrology, a proper estimation of the
asynchronous error motion of a spindle can be found. For example, making the structural loop of the
spindle very small and stiff can minimize vibration and temperature effects on the measurement.
Mounting the displacement indicator directly on the spindle stator targeting the rotor may be the best
way to quantify the asynchronous motion of the spindle.
One method of estimating the asynchronous motion of a spindle is by using a Single Point
Asynchronous Motion (SPAM) test [72]. This method does not require a complete spindle measurement
for the estimation of the asynchronous but is very helpful in estimating the actual asynchronous values.
The method involves making a fiducial mark (high or low spot) on a rotating element of the spindle (i.e.
rotor). Figure 4.1 shows a Professional Instruments model 4B air bearing spindle with permanent marker
on the rotor diameter for use in a SPAM test. It is important to note that the internal air bearing
compensation is identical for both the 4R and 4B models and it can assumed that the asynchronous
motion of each bearing is the same as confirmed by other researchers [49].
81

Figure 4.1: Location of fiducial mark on spindle thrust plate. Note the structural loop of the
measurement from stator to rotor.
As the spindle rotates (for these tests the speed is ~100 RPM), the capacitance gage output is
displayed on an analog oscilloscope and recorded with long exposure digital photography of the
oscilloscope screen. The analog scope is advantageous because the trace displayed has not been sampled,
not aliasing the amplitude of the high or low spot given different sampling rates of a scope. The
bandwidth of the measurement is also insensitive to the rotation speed to the spindle under test. For the
asynchronous measurements described in this section, a Tektronix 455 analog scope is used with Lion
Precision 0.5 nm/mV capacitance gages. Figure 4.2 shows the capacitance gage output for the 7
revolutions of the spindle. The trace shows the form of the rotor with the fiducial mark designating one
revolution.
rotor
stator
fiducial
mark
Capacitance gage
82

Figure 4.2: Oscilloscope display for 7 revolutions of the spindle at low magnification.
Any variation in amplitude of the once per revolution mark from revolution to revolution is an
estimate of the asynchronous error motion of the spindle. In order to better estimate the asynchronous
error motions, the oscilloscope display is adjusted so only the peaks from each of the revolutions are
visible. Figure 4.3 shows the result for 18 revolutions of the spindle with the magnification of the display
at 2.5 nanometers per division. The variation in peak amplitude is estimated to be a division or 1.25
nanometers. The maximum and minimum peaks are designated with an x. This value is approximately
the same magnitude of capacitance gage noise noted previously in sections 3.2.3 and 3.4. Therefore, it
could be reasoned that the asynchronous radial error motion the spindle under test is less than
1.25 nanometers.
1 rev
50 nm
83

Figure 4.3: Oscilloscope display for 18 revolutions of the spindle at high magnification.
The SPAM test only provides an estimate of the asynchronous error motion because the asynchronous
value is always presented as the maximum deviation for all of the revolutions of data during a spindle
test [14]. Different values may be observed depending on the position of the mark on the rotor,
consequently, improved estimates of the asynchronous value can be found by performing the SPAM test
at more than one location of the fiducial mark on the rotor of the spindle. Further tesing of the 4B
indicates that the asynchronous value generally falls in a range of 1 to 1.5 nanometers for any position of
the fiducial mark.
Another version of the SPAM test can be performed when the error motion measurements are
sampled using the quadrature output of an encoder mounted on the spindle. The square wave output or
2.5 nm /div
x
x
84
index channel acts as an electronic fiducial mark designating a specific angular position of the spindle.
Therefore, a physical mark on a rotating portion of the spindle is no longer necessary. The measurement
from the displacement indicator can be compared for multiple revolutions of the same angular position
of the rotor. The change in magnitude of the measurement is interpreted the same way as in the SPAM
test described previously.
Figure 4.4 shows the asynchronous estimate for a model 4R air bearing spindle measured using the
spindle calibrator and the modified SPAM technique. The measurement values for 32 revolutions of the
spindle are shown. The separation of the maximum and minimum values is the estimated asynchronous
radial error motion value. In this case, the measurement loop includes the entire calibrator machine
frame and rotary table. This could easily explain the increase in the asynchronous estimation from the
results shown in Figure 4.3.

Figure 4.4: Asynchronous error motion estimate using encoder quadrature as fiducial mark.
As shown in Figure 4.3 and Figure 4.4, the asynchronous error motion estimates are very small and
are nearly equal in magnitude to the measured noise for the capacitance gage shown in Figure 3.9 of
Section 3.2.3. During the testing shown in the upcoming sections the asynchronous error motion values
are calculated for all of the revolutions of the test and the maximum is given for the worst-case angular
85
orientation. Hence, the asynchronous values reported for these tests are not estimates, rather the actual
asynchronous values for the test. These values are typically between 3 and 6 nanometers; which is
consistent with the drift measurements shown in Figure 3.10 of Section 3.2.3. Correlation from these
tests with the values given in Section 3.2.3 and the information provided in the uncertainty budget would
indicate that most or all of the asynchronous error motion is actually due to the measurement setup and
instrumentation.
4.3 Error Separation Comparison using the Spindle Calibrator
The versatility of the spindle calibrator hardware using the rotary table and reversal chuck allow
Donaldson reversal, multiprobe, and multistep error separation techniques to be performed to separate
the radial error motion of the spindle from the form error of the artifact. This experiment intercompares
the fixed sensitive direction radial error motion and sphere form error obtained from Donaldson reversal,
a 16-position multistep test, and a 3-probe error separation test.
An unmotorized Professional Instruments, Co. 4R air bearing spindle supplied with 120 psi pressure
air is used for this series of experiments. Data are acquired at a spindle speed of 66 RPM for 32
revolutions of the spindle at a bandwidth of 50 cpr. The radial error motion of the spindle is measured at
an axial position 177 mm from the geometric center of the stator using a lapped spherical artifact as the
capacitance gage target. The asynchronous error motion is monitored for every test and is consistently
between 3 and 5 nanometers for each test, independent of the error separation technique used.
First, a consistent stator orientation is chosen of 0 as the sensitive direction for each of the tests.
The Donaldson reversal is performed using the procedures described previously, resulting in the ball
form error being completely separated from the synchronous radial error motion of the spindle. Next,
the multistep technique is performed using a step size of 22.5. In total, 16 measurements are made with
an additional re-measurement of the 0 position to check the repeatability with the first measurement.
With the spindle calibrator, the multistep procedure is slightly modified from the original described in
Section 2.2.2. Instead of only indexing the artifact, the spindle stator and artifact are indexed through the
86
16 positions using the rotary table of the calibrator setup. This changes both the orientation of the
artifact and the spindle stator with respect to the probe; however, a fixed probe to artifact relationship
as shown in Section 2.2.2 is maintained by shifting the data after collection. The form error of the
artifact is determined from averaging the measurements, and can be subtracted from the original
measurement to result in the spindle error motion. Figure 4.5 shows a summary of the procedure.
87

Index Spindle & Artifact on Rotary
Table to Collect Measurements
Shift Data in Software to Simulate
Stationary Artifact with Respect to Probe

N
Form Error of
Artifact
Sum and
Divide by N
( )
1
M
( )
2
M
( )
N
M

Figure 4.5: Modified multistep procedure for single probe spindle calibrator setup.
The multiprobe method is performed using the same data set collected for the 16-step multistep test
but now shifting of the sets is required. The data collected from the 0, 122.5, and the 202.5 position
are chosen as the three probe positions for the technique. The spacing is not symmetric to avoid the
suppression of the 3
rd
harmonic of the error motion [42]. The procedure presented in detail in Appendix
88
A is followed, which results in the form error of the artifact and the spindle error motion as measured at
the 0 stator orientation.
Figure 4.6 shows the form error of the lapped spherical artifact as calculated from each method. The
trace, which sharply dips towards the center of the polar plot at approximately 160, is from the
Donaldson reversal result. The data for this test was collected a few weeks ahead of the set for the
multistep and multiprobe methods. It is speculated that the artifact was improperly cleaned between the
two testing periods.

Figure 4.6: Comparison of spherical artifact form error as measured by Donaldson reversal, multistep,
and multiprobe error separation.
89
The repeatability over the rest of the trace is excellent, less than 1 nanometer; even though the calibrator
was disassembled completely between the measurements in order to have it installed in a different
laboratory room. Additionally, the spheres form error value as measured by each technique agrees to 0.5
nanometers. Figure 4.7 shows the FFT of the ball roundness for the entire 50 cpr bandwidth for each of
the three methods.

Figure 4.7: FFT of spherical artifact roundness error for Donaldson reversal, multistep, and multiprobe
error separation.
The results for the fixed sensitive direction synchronous radial error motion are shown in Figure 4.8.
The Donaldson and multistep results agree quite closely, 0.5 nanometers for the entire polar plot,
90
however, the multiprobe results differ by 1.5 nanometers in some locations. This discrepancy may be
attributed to the fact that the multiprobe method tends to misrepresent the content of all frequency
content of the error motion during separation, rather than just at specific at the harmonics (as is the case
in multistep testing). It is hypothesized that the results would converge closer to the Donaldson and
multistep results if four or more probes were used together with an algorithm to minimize the
suppression of the frequency content of the results [42]. Furthermore, the close agreement of the
multistep result to the Donaldson result may be attributed to the small step size used in the technique,
distorting the separation only at 16, 32, 48 cpr, etc. Figure 4.9 shows the FFT of the radial error motion
for the entire 50 cpr bandwidth for each of the three methods.

Figure 4.8: Comparison of the fixed sensitive direction radial error motion of the spindle as measured
using Donaldson reversal, multistep, and multiprobe error separation technique.
91

Figure 4.9: FFT of fixed sensitive direction radial error motion for Donaldson reversal, multistep, and
multiprobe error separation.
These results indicate that the spindle calibrator is capable of resolving the nanometer level error motion
of the spindles using any of the error separation techniques available to the spindle metrologist.
4.4 Master Axis Validation
In this experiment, spindle error motion measurements made with the Master Axis method is compared
to traditional methods using a lapped artifact for the first time. Results show that both techniques yield
the same synchronous error motion result to within the repeatability of the calibrator. The experiment
shows that synchronous radial error motion measurements made on the same spindle with either a
92
reference spindle or lapped artifacts agree to less than 1 nm. Additionally, the master axis measurements
typically exhibit less asynchronous error motion than measurements made with lapped artifacts.
Using the two measurement configurations shown in Figure 3.1, (sphere and master axis) the radial
error motion of the spindle under test is computed using Donaldson reversal. The sensitive direction for
the spindle under test is the same for each test. The lapped artifact test results in a synchronous radial
error motion of 7.7 nm of the spindle after reversal. The roundness of the artifact was found to be
75 nm. The master axis measurement results show a synchronous radial error motion of 8.3 nm for the
spindle under test. Table 4.1 summarizes the test conditions and error motion values.
Table 4.1: Master axis vs. lapped artifact summary.
Radial Error
Motion
synchronous
(nm)
asynchronous
(nm)
Master Axis 8.3 4.3
Lapped Artifact 7.7 5.5
50 cpr cutoff 32 revolutions 66 RPM
gage position = 254 mm above stator center


Figure 4.10 shows the polar plot comparison of the synchronous radial error motion polar plots from
each method. A portion of the polar plot has been expanded to more closely look at the difference
between the results.


93









Lapped
Artifact
Master
Axis

Figure 4.10: Synchronous radial error motion polar plot of spindle under test measured with lapped
artifact and master axis artifact.
For this experiment, the synchronous radial error motion is measured using both methods for an
axial position 254 mm (10 inches) above the center of the spindle stator. However, centering of the
artifacts between tests requires movement of the calibrator z-axis. The course adjustment of the z-axis
complicates repositioning of the probe holder to the same vertical position, which may be source of error
between the measurements.
Figure 4.11 is a Cartesian plot of the difference between the two methods as a function of rotational
position as well as the FFT of the difference. A systematic three cycles per revolution disagreement
94
between the two methods exist, however the root cause is unknown. One possible source may come
from small variations in static air pressure supply to the bearings between tests. Slight increases in
pressure from test to test may amplify low frequency content of the error motion. Additionally, the
shape of the capacitance gage target (cylinder vs. sphere) and the difference in artifact radii affect the
sensitivity of the capacitance gage. The probe manufacturer, when comparing measurements made on a
small radius sphere compared to a large radius cylinder or flat, has observed a change in sensitivity of
5 - 10%.

Figure 4.11: Difference between Master Axis and Master Ball measurements with FFT.
95
4.5 Five Degree of Freedom Calibrations
To this point, only radial error motions at specific axial positions have been discussed. However, the
accuracy of turning, facing, and general contouring is affected by radial, axial and face error motion. The
B89.3.4M Axes of Rotation standard appendix outlines the procedure for making multiple measurements
on a spindle to determine the error motion at any axial or radial position [14]. Two radial measurements
at different axial locations allow the tilt error motion to be calculated for a designated sensitive direction.
This is accomplished in practice by using a cylindrical or double ball artifact or the master axis method.
Once the tilt error motion is known, an axial error motion measurement allows the face error motion to
be calculated. Figure 4.12 shows this schematically on a double ball artifact. By using five measurements,
the radial, tilt, and face error motion for any sensitive fixed or rotating sensitive direction can be
determined.

Figure 4.12: Double ball artifact targeted by five capacitance gages for five degree of freedom
measurements.
96
The artifact surfaces are spaced axially in Figure 4.12 to facilitate calculation of tilt error motion. The
orthogonal measurements enable the calculation of rotating sensitive error motions as well as the fixed
sensitive direction error motions at any arbitrary angular position. A final measurement is made in the
axial direction to obtain the axial error motion. The sketch in Figure 4.13 shows measurements made on
a double ball master. In the X and Y radial measurements, the shape of the polar plots is slightly larger
on the ball farther from the base of the artifact, showing that the radial error motion is affected by the tilt
error motion.

Figure 4.13: Example of typical polar plots resulting from double ball master artifact.
X
1
X
2
Y
2
Y
1
Axial

97
In this work, five-gage spindle calibrations are performed using both the master axis method and the
Lion Precision double ball artifacts. The experiments shown here use the Master Axis method with
Donaldson reversal to quantify the radial, axial, tilt, and face error motions of the reference and test
spindles at any axial or radial position. First, error motion measurements are made on a ring mounted to
the stator of the master axis as shown in Figure 3.1b at designated stator orientations of 0 and 90, with
each measurement requiring a reversal. The capacitance gage is then moved 50 mm axially on the master
axis and measurements are taken for the same designated stator orientations. The measurements are
made at a spindle speed of 66 RPM for 32 revolutions of the spindle at a bandwidth of 50 cpr. The
maximum asynchronous error motion for each test is again recorded; asynchronous values range from 3
to 6 nm.
Figure 4.14 and Figure 4.15 show two results from these tests. Figure 4.14 is the rotating sensitive
radial error motion for axial positions 400 mm from the center of the bearing stator. On the right on
the figure, slices (polar plots) are shown with the synchronous radial error motion magnitude value in
nanometers at the center.












98


Figure 4.14: Synchronous radial error motion for the rotating sensitive direction.
The magnitude of the error motion at the middle of the Professional Instruments 4R stator is 2.2 nm,
with the tilt error motions contributing to the increasing the radial error motion further away from the
center. The top slice shows the synchronous radial error motion of 9.8 nm at 300 mm (12 inches) above
the stator center. Additionally, the synchronous radial error motion 250 mm (10 inches) below the stator
center is 7.1nm.
Figure 4.15 shows the rotating sensitive face error motion for radial positions ranging from 0 to
400 mm. Synchronous error motion slices are shown to the right of the figure for on axis and radial
positions of 150 mm and 300 mm. Two magnitudes are shown for the axial error motion measurement;
the fundamental axial error motion is 1.1 nm and the residual axial error motion is 2.6 nm. Again, the tilt
9.8 nm
2.2 nm
7.1 nm
99
error motions contribute more error away from the axis of rotation, from a magnitude of 2.6 nm on-axis
to 12 nm at 400 mm (16 inches).


Figure 4.15: Synchronous face error motion for the rotating sensitive direction.
4.6 Radial Error Motion as a Function of Orientation Angle
In this experiment, the fixed sensitive direction radial error motions are predicted for any orientation
angle of the spindle using the data measured at 0 and 90. The details and merits of the analysis have
been presented in Section 1.2.5. The predictions are compared to actual measurements taken at two
arbitrary orientations, 55 and 150. The testing is performed at 66 RPM for 32 revolutions of the
spindle and a bandwidth of 50 cpr. The measurements are made at an axial distance of 190 mm above
the center of the spindle stator. Donaldson reversal is used to separate the form errors of a lapped
artifact from the radial error motion of the spindle.
10.8 nm
6.2 nm
1.1 nm
2.6 nm
100
First the fixed sensitive direction radial error motion measurements are made at the 0 and 90 stator
positions. The results of the radial error motion at these positions are shown in Figure 4.16.

Figure 4.16: 0 and 90 fixed sensitive direction radial error motion measurements.
Using Equation 1.7, the fixed sensitive direction radial error motion is calculated for the 55 and 150
orientations and plotted together with actual measurements made at those locations. The results are
shown in Figure 4.17a in Figure 4.17b. The error motion magnitudes for both the predicted and actual
measurements are shown at the center of the plots. Note that these error motions have distinctively
different shapes and magnitudes. Also, the calculated and measured error motion values agree to better
than 0.5 nm for both test cases.
101

(a) (b)
Figure 4.17: Measured vs. calculated synchronous radial error motion for (a) 55 and (b) 150 designated
stator orientations.
Figure 4.18 shows the calculated magnitude of the synchronous radial error motion for each fixed
sensitive direction of the spindle stator. In this example, the radial error motion varies by a factor two as
a function of orientation of the spindle for a fixed sensitive direction measurement. The magnitudes of
four measured orientations are also shown on the plot. Because error motion measurements made 180
are opposite in sign, the plot in Figure 4.18 repeats itself from 180 to 360.
102

Figure 4.18: Calculated synchronous radial error motion for 180 of stator rotation.
The synchronous radial error motion is substantially less at stator orientations between 140 and 157
than between 60 and 80. When using this spindle in very high precision applications, this stator
orientation should be chosen as a machining point or for a fixed measurement gage to help reduce the
influence of the error motion on the process. It is unlikely that most machine tool builders are currently
exploiting preferential stator positioning to lower error motions.
103
4.7 Conclusions
Many experiments illustrating the versatility and resolution of the spindle calibrator are performed.
Experimental results comparing the error separation techniques commonly used for separating radial
error motion from artifact roundness are presented. Each method shows agreement to less than
2.0 nanometers for the synchronous radial error motion of the spindle and the form error of the artifact.
The Donaldson reversal and multistep technique show excellent agreement likely due to the small step
size used in the multistep method. Measurements made with the Master Axis agree with measurements
made with a traditional lapped artifact to less than 1 nanometer. Five degree of freedom measurements
are performed, illustrating the capability of the calibrator to resolve nanometer level radial, axial, and
nanoradian level tilt error motions of the ultraprecision spindles. Lastly, an emphasis is made on the
effect or orientation angle on the measured error motions of the spindle. Measured and calculated results
of these tests agree to less 0.5 nanometers.
104
Chapter 5: HTM Modeling of Measuring Machine
5.1 Introduction
This chapter describes the mathematical modeling of a parallel axis flatness inspection instrument. The
machine uses the ultraprecision axes of rotation calibrated by methods previously described in the
dissertation. A model of the machine geometry is generated using Homogeneous Transformation
Matrices (HTMs). To begin, background into the six general transformations is presented. The
transformations are combined to model the geometry of the machine to determine the sensitivity of
measurements to specific alignment errors of the axes. Actual calibration results from the air bearing
spindles are used to simulate the effect of axis error on the measurement. Furthermore, the performance
of the machine can be optimized using the HTM model to orient the spindles in a manner to minimize
the contribution of the error motion to the measurement.
An important step in determining the performance of the measuring machine is to identify possible
sources of error. For the parallel axis flatness inspection machine, most of the contributors previously
discussed in Section 3.2 need to be considered in addition to the alignment imperfections. Table 5.1 is a
list of possible error contributors for the measuring machine. The spindle and alignment error terms will
be accounted for with the HTM modeling in the following sections.
105
Table 5.1: Possible error sources for proposed instrument geometry.
Spindle Errors Temperature
Part Spindle Radial, Axial & Tilt

Probe Spindle Radial, Axial & Tilt Structural Loop Vibration


Part Position Encoder Errors
Tilt errors

Centering Probe Alignment Errors
X Offset
Parallelism of spindle axes Z Offset
Tilt Alignment
Spindle Axis Offsets

X Offset Probe Noise
Y Offset Resolution
Z Offset Accuracy


5.2 Measuring Machine Design
The HTM modeling and analysis is performed on a flatness inspection machine. The machine has two
Professional Instruments 4R air bearing spindles with parallel axes of rotation mounted vertically. One
axis provides rotation of a workpiece (part under test) and the other carries a Lion Precision capacitance
gage used as the measurement probe. With the workpiece rotating (coasting on the work spindle), a
stepper motor steps the probe arm in a circular arc across the surface of the part. Custom designed
National Instruments-CVI software acquires encoder triggered displacement data for concentric rings on
the part surface. Prior to being built, iterations of the instrument design were made using the
SolidWorks

solid modeling package. Careful design planning is used to ensure that the machine is
dynamically stiff (i.e. the structural loop is made as small as possible) while taking advantage of the
nanometer level error motions of the spindles. A rendered model of the final concept is shown in
Figure 5.1.
106

Figure 5.1: Solidworks

model of parallel axis flatness inspection machine.

The machine has the capacity to measure optical quality parts up to 152 mm (6 inches) in diameter
and 69.8 mm (2.75 inches) thick. A non-contact sensor such as a capacitance gage is typically used for
flatness measurements, however the probe holder at the end of the probe arm is easily changed to accept
a contact or optical based displacement probe. Both axes are equipped with 4096-count Heidenhain
encoders; the part spindle encoder triggers the data acquisition while the probe spindle encoder is used as
position feedback for the probe. Additional details on the construction, software, and performance of
the instrument can be found in an all-inclusive thesis on the machine [73]. Figure 5.2 and Figure 5.3 are
photographs of the finished machine.
107

Figure 5.2: Parallel axis flatness inspection machine.
base
probe
probe arm
probe spindle
workpiece spindle
part under
test
108

Figure 5.3: Close-up of flatness measurement probe scanning a diamond turned flat.
5.3 General Transformations
The coordinate transformations used in HTM model are based upon the combination of simple
translation and rotation matrices. The transformations are shown in detail in Slocums text as well as
other well-known rigid body dynamics texts [56, 74, 75]. The general form is the transformation is
shown in Equation 5.1. The first three columns contain direction cosines describing the orientation of a
body fixed frame with respect to the reference frame. The fourth column describes the position of the
origin of the body fixed frame with respect to the reference frame. For the general description, the
reference frame is designated with the superscript R while the body fixed is described with the
subscript, n.
109



(
(
(
(

=
1 0 0 0
z kz ky kx
y jz jy jx
x iz iy ix
n
R
P O O O
P O O O
P O O O
T (5.1)


The transformation of coordinates defined in the rigid body frame, {X
n
, Y
n
, Z
n
}, into coordinates in the
reference frame, {X
R
, Y
R
, Z
R
} is shown in Equation 5.2.



(
(
(
(

=
(
(
(
(

1 1
n
n
n
n
R
R
R
R
X
X
X
X
X
X
T (5.2)


The transformation matrix,
R
T
n
, is composed of translation or rotation matrices multiplied in series. The
translations and rotation matrices are shown in Equations 5.3 through 5.8. The offsets x, y, and z, are the
translations of the system while
x
,
y
, and
z
are rotations about the axes.



(
(
(
(

=
1 0 0 0
0 1 0 0
0 0 1 0
0 0 1
xtrans
x
T
(
(
(
(

=
1 0 0 0
0 1 0 0
0 1 0
0 0 0 1
ytrans
y
T
(
(
(
(

=
1 0 0 0
1 0 0
0 0 1 0
0 0 0 1
ztrans
z
T

(5.3) (5.4) (5.5)



(
(
(
(

=
1 0 0 0
0 cos sin 0
0 sin cos 0
0 0 0 1
xrot
x x
x x


T
(
(
(
(

=
1 0 0 0
0 cos 0 sin
0 0 1 0
0 sin 0 cos
yrot
y y
y y


T
(
(
(
(

=
1 0 0 0
0 1 0 0
0 0 cos sin
0 0 sin cos
zrot z z
z z


T

(5.6) (5.7) (5.8)



110
When each of the transformations in Equations 5.3 through 5.8 is combined, the most general form of a
transformation matrix, T
gen
, is written as Equation 5.9.


(
(
(
(

+ + +
+ +
+
=
1 0 0 0
cos cos sin sin cos cos sin sin sin cos sin cos
cos sin sin sin sin cos cos sin cos cos sin sin
sin sin cos cos cos
gen
z y x z y x z x z x z y x
y y x z y x z x z x z y x
x y z y z y
z
y
x



T

(5.9)


The general transformation in Equation 5.9 can be used to describe an axis of rotation, where the
z

term is usually rotation of the spindle. In the case when the rotations (tilt errors of a spindle) are small as
is the case with the air bearings of this dissertation, Equation 5.9 can be simplified using the small angle
assumptions, sin and 1 cos as written as Equation 5.10. Additionally, any second order terms
that are a product of combining the matrices will also be small, (i.e.
y x
) and can be neglected.



(
(
(
(

+ + +
+
+
=
1 0 0 0
1 sin cos sin cos
cos sin
sin cos
gen_saa
z z y z x z x z y
y x z z
x y z z
z
y
x



T (5.10)


The HTM model is generated for a machine tool or measuring machine by placing rigid body
coordinate systems at points of interest over the entire structural loop. A reference or global coordinate
system is also chosen, which is usually a point on the machine base or ground. For example with a
conventional lathe, rigid body systems may written for the tool tip, spindle face, top of the compound
slide etc., and the reference system may be chosen on the base or machine bed. The general
transformations presented in Equations 5.3 through 5.8 are used to describe the coordinates and
orientation of the rigid body systems with respect to each other.
111
5.4 Computation of Errors
Before the transformations are written it is important to identify the effect of simple geometric errors on
a measurement. Much insight is gained from considering errors independently and determining their
effect on the measurement. For example, one can easily visualize measuring the circular flatness of a part
with non-parallel sides. When mounted to a spindle and measured with a fixed displacement indicator
the effect on the measurement is a once per revolution component with an amplitude proportional to the
parallelism of the sides. Bryan has demonstrated this effect on parts while working in the area of
machine tool metrology [19]. For this analysis, the part parallelism is not modeled in the HTM model
because its effect on the measurement is well understood.
Furthermore, an additional simplification is applied to the model by assuming that the probe moves
in a straight line rather than an arc. Because the probe is mounted to an axis of rotation rather than a
linear slide, the probe moves in both x and y across the face of the part as designated in Figure 5.4.
112

probe arm
path
part under
test
x
y
probe arm
axis of
rotation
part
axis of
rotation
assumed path

Figure 5.4: Sketch of probe arm path scanning a circular part under test.
The probe arm has a radius of 150 mm and the maximum part diameter is 152 mm. Therefore at the
edge of the part, the probe is offset 16.2 mm in the positive y direction from the x-axis. This small offset
gets smaller as the probe travels to the center of the part and will not contribute substantially when
considering its effect on the tilt error motion of the spindle about the x-axis. This circular path of the
probe affects the angular indexing of the concentric measurement rings but is compensated for in the
flatness analysis software. Hence, the probe path is assumed to be straight and in the x direction only.
Figure 5.5 shows a section view of the instrument with the position of the coordinate systems indicated
directly on the sketch.
113
x y
z
base
work
spindle
probe
spindle
stator
stator
workpiece
chuck
rotor
rotor
probe arm
encoders
ws
w, p
ps
(R)

Figure 5.5: Section view of the parallel axis flatness measuring instrument showing the positions of the
body fixed coordinate systems.
Spindle error motions (axial and face) will directly affect the measurement results. The axial and face
error motions of both the part and probe spindles map directly into the form error of the part being
measured. The contribution from the face error motion for each spindle is also a function of the radius
being considered. For the part spindle the radius gets smaller as the probe scans towards the axis of
rotation while for the probe spindle, the radius is fixed. This probe arm radius is nearly two times greater
than the largest part radius that the machine can accommodate, therefore, the face error motion of the
probe spindle can have a greater consequence on the measurement. In machine metrology, this effect of
114
tilt errors on measurements has been documented extensively starting by Abb in the late 1800s [76, 77].
Care must be taken to properly incorporate the Abb errors in the HTM model based on the position of
the two frames and the origin of the tilt error.
Individual transformations are written for the two axes of the flatness measuring instrument, the
probe axis and the work axis. Figure 5.5 shows the positions of the body fixed coordinate systems
attached to points along each axis. The reference coordinate system is chosen to be at the geometric
center of the probe arm spindle and is designated as ps (R). As each transformation is written, they can
be combined and evaluated both symbolically and numerically. The transformations for each rigid body
coordinate system is written by considering the errors in translation and rotation of the coordinate system
including any offsets. The workpiece axis will require two matrices to write the position and orientation
of the workpiece with respect to the reference frame. The probe axis will only require one matrix.
The two workpiece matrices are designated as
w
ws
T and
ws
R
T . The first transformation matrix,
w
ws
T , describes the position of the workpiece, w, relative to the center of the spindle stator, ws.
w
ws
T
contains an x and z offsets denoted as
work
x and
work
z . The
work
x offset is a function of the measurement
location (probe axis angle, ) and probe arm length, R, while the
work
z offset is always the distance from
the workpiece face to the geometric center of the workpiece spindle stator. Axis of rotation error is
included in this matrix as well. The radial error motions,
xw
and
yw
, are a function of the rotation
angle but are in the non-sensitive direction for a flatness measurement, therefore, for this analysis they
will be chosen to be invariant as a function of rotation position. The axial error motion is designated as
zw
and is a function of the workpiece rotation angle,
z
. The tilt errors of the axis are accommodated
by an Abb term in the z translation. This is the face error motion of the spindle and is a function of
the radius (for this analysis, x position of the probe) of the part being measured as well as the rotation of
the spindle. The transformation can be written as Equation 5.11.


115

(
(
(
(

+ +
=
1 0 0 0
tan 1 0 0
0 0 1 0
tan 0 0 1
z y zw work
z
w
ws
R z
R

T (5.11)


Note that the terms
zw
and
y
are a function of
z
found by experiments documented earlier in this
dissertation. The next transformation matrix presented as Equation 5.12 relates the coordinate frame at
the stator of the axis of rotation to the reference frame. The expression for
ws
R
T contains the y and z
offsets, R and
spin
z , as well as the non-parallelism of the axes of rotation about the y-axis, which is
quantified by
yws
.



(
(
(
(

=
1 0 0 0
1 0
0 1 0
0 0 1
spin yws
yws
ws
R
z
R

T (5.12)


Equations 5.11 and 5.12 are multiplied in series to determine the transformation for the workpiece axis.
The result in given in Equations 5.13.



( )
( )
(
(
(
(

+ +

+ + +
= =
1 0 0 0
tan 1 0
0 1 0
tan tan 0 1
yws y z zw spin work yws
yws z y zw work z yws
w
ws
ws
R
w
R
R z z
R
R z R


T T T (5.13)



The transformation of the other axis, the probe axis, can be written directly with respect to the reference
frame. The axial and face error motion of this axis are the important terms along with the offsets of the
origin of the body fixed frame, p. Equation 5.13 shows the transformation, which has a form similar to
Equation 5.11.
116



(
(
(
(

+ +

=
1 0 0 0
1 0 0
0 1 0
tan 0 0 1
R z
R
R
x zp probe
z
p
R

T (5.13)


The z offset of the probe,
probe
z , will be defined as the difference between
work
z and
spin
z . This places the
probe tip at the part surface without any air gap, which is acceptable for this analysis. With the
transformations for both axes completed, the relative error between the probe position and work
position is found using the relationship give in Equation 5.14.



w
R
p
R
rel
T T E
1
= (5.14)


Mathematica

is used to manipulate the matrices (invert the four by four matrix) and the result is shown
in Equation 5.15.



( )
( )
(
(
(
(

+
+ +
=
1 0 0 0
tan 1 0
0 0 1 0
tan 0 1
yws y z x zp zw yws
yws z y zw work yws
rel
R R
R z


E (5.15)


The results shown in Equation 5.15 illustrate the factors that will affect the position and alignment of the
probe, which affects the measurement results, for the flatness inspection machine. The first three
columns are the direction cosines for the probe coordinate system relative to the part coordinate system.
The results indicate that there is a cosine error caused by the non-parallelism of the axes of rotation about
the y-axis. The last column reveals the errors of the origin position in x and z of the probe from the part.
The expression in the third row of the last column is the error in measurement of a perfectly flat part.
Looking closely at the individual terms of this expression, which are repeated as Equation 5.16, shows the
important error sources in the measurement.
117



) ( tan
yws y z x zp zw
R R z + =
axial
error
motion
of
axes
rotating s.d.
face
error of
probe
axis
fixed s.d. face
error of work
axis and
parallelism
error
(5.16)


The error expression in Equation 5.16 is a function of the probe arm rotation,
z
, and the workpiece
rotation,
z
. Because the machine is arranged to collect concentric rings of data, measurement errors
occur within each ring (circular flatness) and from ring to ring (form across face of the part). A
MATLAB

script file is used to fold in spindle calibration results and machine geometry to the error
model and plot the results.
A quantitative look at each of the terms of Equation 5.16 indicates that the parallelism error of the
axes,
yws
, will have the largest effect on the error. This value is determined by the parallelism of the
base plate of the machine, which is on the order of 40 m/m (40 in/in). The axial and tilt error
motions of the spindles are on the order of nm and nm/m, three orders of magnitude smaller than the
parallelism magnitude. Figure 5.6 shows the error in measurement across the 152 mm (6 inch) diameter
of a perfectly flat workpiece in which the parallelism error is 40 m/m. The effects of the axial and face
error motions are not visible because of the three order of magnitude difference between the alignment
and spindle errors.
118

Figure 5.6: Error in measurement for non-parallel axis alignment of 40 m/m.
The current instrument design does not implement any mechanical methods to align the axes prior to
use. Therefore, the parallelism is removed from the data so that the displayed results indicate only
circular flatness of the part under test rather than a global flatness value.
Once the non-parallelism of the axes is removed the effect of the spindle error motions on the
measurement error is investigated. For this configuration, the work spindle is being used with a fixed
sensitive direction while the probe spindle is used with a rotating sensitive direction. The choice of stator
orientation for the work spindle could be an important consideration for determining the error
measurement. Additionally, because the probe spindle rotates less than 27 to a scan a part to the center,
an educated choice can be made for mounting the probe to the rotor of the spindle with minimal rotating
sensitive direction face error motion contribution to the measurement. The following examples display
the consequence choosing stator orientations.
Figure 5.7 shows the measurement error for the entire surface of a 152 mm (6 inches) diameter
workpiece, in which the work spindle stator orientation is arbitrarily chosen. Simulating the measurement
shows the range of the error over the entire surface to be 5.7 nanometers. The actual error motion
values from the spindles measured in earlier chapter are used in the simulation.
40 m/m
119

Figure 5.7: Measurement error for arbitrary spindle and probe orientation angles in the HTM model of
the flatness inspection machine.
Figure 5.8 is a slice of the 3D error plot across the diameter. The ends of the slice have x and y
coordinates of (-80, 0) and (80,0) mm in relation to the 3D plot. Note the discontinuity at the center of
the slice where only the axial error motion of the spindles contributes to the error.
120

Figure 5.8: Measurement error across diameter of a perfect part as modeled using HTM.
If care is taken in choosing the orientation of the work spindle so that the tilt error motion in the
direction of the scan is minimized, the errors in the measurement can be reduced. The angular position
of the probe can also be chosen on the probe spindle such that the rotating sensitive direction face error
motion is minimized. Figure 5.9 shows the result on the measurement error. The deviation over the
entire surface is 3.2 nanometers, which is a 56% reduction in the synchronous error. Figure 5.10 shows a
slice in the same orientation as in Figure 5.8.
121

Figure 5.9: Measurement error for engineered spindle and probe orientation angles in the HTM model
of the flatness inspection machine.

Figure 5.10: Measurement error across diameter of a perfect part modeled using HTM.
122
5.5 Conclusions
A HTM model of a parallel flatness inspection machine is created to determine the sensitivity of machine
errors (alignment and axis errors) on a measurement. The parallelism of the base plate of the machine
has the largest effect on the measurement. However, the effect of the spindle error motions on the
measurement may be minimized using the HTM model. Careful positioning of the spindles to minimize
the tilt error motion can decrease the amount of error in flatness measurement by more than 50% for this
machine design.
123
Chapter 6: Conclusion
This dissertation documents several new developments in axis of rotation metrology. First, a spindle
measurement device (calibrator) is designed and built. The calibrator is capable of measuring any
pertinent spindle error motion (axial, radial, tilt error motions for both fixed and rotating sensitive
directions). The calibrator implements a rotary table and reversal chuck to facilitate Donaldson reversal
with a single, stationary displacement indicator. The use of the rotary table also makes it straightforward
to implement other error separations techniques (multistep and multiprobe) in addition to Donaldson
reversal.
Thorough testing of the calibrator is performed which includes the response of the structure to
temperature and vibration. Temperature control is accomplished by fitting a 2
nd
order polynomial to data
and the vibration characteristics are determined to find the spindle measurement bandwidth (less than
100 Hz). Testing of the capacitance gaging indicates that the noise inherent to the sensor is less than
1 nanometer peak to peak. Measurement results indicate that the calibrator exhibits sub-nanometer
resolution, repeatability, and reproducibility. An uncertainty budget is formed using the testing results to
determine that the calibrator exhibits nanometer-level accuracy.
Using the spindle calibrator, results that indicate advancement of the state of the art are achieved.
The major accomplishments are outlined here:

Extensive testing with the Master Axis method has been performed. For the first
time, comparisons of the Master Axis method measurements with results from
lapped artifacts are shown to agree to less than 1 nanometer (0.04 in.).

The practical issues of performing a Master Axis reversal are also discussed; both
stator and rotor of the Master Axis are to be reversed with respect to the spindle
under test.

Additional results comparing the synchronous radial error motion and artifact form
of a spindle using Donaldson reversal, multistep method, and multiprobe technique
are performed. The results indicate that each method resolves the error motion and
form to better than 2 nanometers (0.08 in.).

124
Work on deriving reversal equations from the description of a general error motion
measurement made at an arbitrary direction and orientation angle. Using the
equations in situations for radial or face error motion show that the general case
reduces Donaldson and Estler reversal.

The synchronous radial error motion results for any sensitive direction are presented
showing that calculated and measured results agree to better than 0.5 nanometers
(0.025 in.).

Use of a HTM model of a measuring machine is useful is optimizing spindle
performance to minimize the effect of spindle error on a measurement. Simulated
measurements show that an increase of more than 50% can be achieved on lowering
the error on a circular flatness measurement.


Future work using even higher resolution displacement gages in conjunction with a smaller, stiffer
calibrator structure could increase the performance. These improvements could help better characterize
not only the synchronous error motion but also the asynchronous error motions, structural dynamics of
the air bearings, effect of motorization, and response to supply pressure fluctuations of the ultraprecision
spindles.
125
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130
Appendix A: Roller Bearing Spindle Case Study
In this appendix, the radial error motion of a hard disk drive spindle is measured. Figure A.1 shows the
internal components of a hard disk drive. Dense information storage in the tracks on each platter
requires that the spindle error motion (radial and axial) be very small. In modern drives, the synchronous
error motion is mapped out, but excessive asynchronous error motion limits the data storage density.
Therefore, a cheap yet accurate spindle is required for the disk drive.
The objective is to determine the synchronous and asynchronous radial error motion of the ball
bearing spindle. The behavior of the error motion is also investigated as a function of the number of
revolutions of the spindle. The geometry of the individual bearing is then used to determine the root
cause of some of the error motion components that are very apparent from FFT analysis of the error
motion.
frame
platters
read-write mechanism
spindle

Figure A.1: Internal components of hard disk drive.
131
A.1 Test Setup
For these tests, a spindle from a Seagate Medalist 4321 hard drive (4.3 Gbyte capacity) is tested. The ball
bearing spindle is very compact and lightweight (56 grams / 0.12 lb) with an integral motor. A single
bearing from a similar spindle is shown in Figure A.2 alongside a dime for a size reference.

Figure A.2: One ball bearing from a hard disk spindle.
The radial error motion of this spindle is measured using the Master Axis technique with a
Professional Instruments 4R BLOCK-HEAD

air bearing spindle. Reversal is used to separate the

errors of the spindle under test and the Master Axis. A diamond turned ring glued to the stator of the
hard disk spindle (not pictured) serves as the gaging surface for capacitance sensors. The error motion is
recorded for varying numbers of revolutions of the spindle (4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128) at low spindle
speeds of 100 to 200 RPM. The fixed sensitive direction synchronous and asynchronous radial error
motion is calculated and plotted using MATLAB.
132
A.2 Results
A.2.1 Error Motion Results
Table A.1 summarizes the fixed sensitive direction synchronous and asynchronous radial error motion
results for different numbers of revolutions. The results are characteristic for a ball bearing spindle; for
an increasing number of revolutions, the asynchronous error grows while the synchronous error
decreases.
Table A.1: Fixed sensitive synchronous and asynchronous radial error motion results.
revolutions 4 8 16 32 64 128
synchronous (nm) 29 23 25 23 18 20
asynchronous (nm) 52 74 77 85 99 98


Additional insight is gained by inspecting the trends in the polar plots shown in Figure A.3 and
Figure A.4. In Figure A.3, the synchronous error motion polar plot smoothes quickly from the
four revolution test to the 16 revolutions test. Two of the dominant components of the error motion,
the three and 24 cycles per revolution components, become evident as more revolutions are used in a
test. In Figure A.4, the synchronous polar plot changes very little, however, the asynchronous grows to
nearly twice the value of the four revolution test.
In summary, an accurate representation of the synchronous error motion is developed when at least
32 revolutions of the spindle are considered. The asynchronous, however, continues to increase out to
64 and 128 revolutions and could increase further if any spurious errors occur during future revolutions
of the spindle.
133
4 revolutions
8 revolutions
16 revolutions
Figure A.3: Synchronous and asynchronous radial error motion (4, 8, and 16 revolutions).
134
32 revolutions
64 revolutions
128 revolutions
Figure A.4: Synchronous and asynchronous radial error motion (32, 64, and 128 revolutions).
135
A.2.2 Defect Frequencies
Figure A.5 is the FFT of the radial error motion taken for the 128 revolution test. Harris, as well as other
researchers, have investigated the cause of dominant error motion peaks for rolling element
bearings [78, 79, 80]. These defect frequencies are a function of the geometry of the bearings including
roller size, the number of rollers, inner and outer race diameter, and rolling element contact angle.

Figure A.5: FFT result of the 128 revolution test.
0.58 upr (cage rotation)
3.0 upr (raceway shape)
3.2 upr (ball rotation frequency)
5.2 upr (ball rotation cage rotation)
5.9 upr (ball pass on outer race)