Research on the calibration method of a new multifunctional calibrator based on AACMM

Calibrators can effectively improve the calibration accuracy of articulated coordinate measuring machine (AACMM). However, the traditional calibration method of a calibrator is usually cumbersome. To study the influence of sampling strategies of various calibration methods on the calibration effect of AACMM, we design a new multifunctional calibrator for AACMM kinematics parameters, and propose three calibration methods with high accuracy and high efficiency. In the multifunctional calibrator, 84 different calibration points are provided by changing the rotation angle of calibration bar and the inclination angle of calibration plate. Compared with previous calibrators, the calibrator can obtain more positions and directions. The length calibration, multi-point calibration and virtual center distance calibration methods are proposed to calibrate kinematic parameter of AACMM. In addition, the sampling strategy for the three calibration methods is explored. Finally, the consistency of single-axis coordinate measurement is verified based on the three calibration methods. The results show that the three calibration methods can effectively improve the measurement accuracy of AACMM. Especially, the length calibration method has the highest accuracy of the three methods. The multi-point calibration method can significantly improve the calibration efficiency.