Evaluation of the Dimensional Accuracy of a Milled Thin-Walled Part as measured with a CNC Machine Tool Inspection Probe and a Coordinate Measuring Machine

Inspection probes are more and more widely used on CNC machine tools to measure machined parts. These measurements are performed both during and immediately after the machining process. Not only does this approach make it possible to evaluate the manufacturing accuracy of a part before it is removed from the machine tool, but it is also much faster and less expensive than making measurements on coordinate measuring machines. This study undertakes to evaluate the suitability and accuracy of inspection probe measurements of thin-walled parts milled from alloy EN AW-7075 T651. The evaluation was made by comparing measurements made with an inspection probe on a 3-axis CNC milling machine and those made on a coordinate measuring machine. The results showed that the measurements made with the inspection probe had lower accuracy, which was due to the accuracy of the CNC machine tool itself as well as the accuracy of the inspection and measurement systems of the machine tool. In addition, the study investigated the effect of technological parameters of the machining process on the dimensional accuracy of the thin-walled part. The largest deviation values were obtained for the machining process conducted with a cutting speed of
$v_{c}=600$
m/min and a depth of cut of
$a_{p}= 5$
mm.