Tool compensation by means of touch trigger probes in CNC turning

The current demand for high quality products has lead to the necessity of a total dimensional control of workpieces produced in order to avoid dimensional errors. Inspection techniques were developed and progressively integrated into machine tools leading to the on-machine-measuring (OMM) concept. Among other methods, touch-trigger-probes (TTPs) inspired on CMMs were adopted but their actual on-machine accuracy is not reported by manufacturers. Therefore, this work describes the main applications and characteristics of two types of TTPs for CNC lathes or turning centers and analyzes their utilization for presetting of tools.