HAMAR LASER STEALTH Series, General Training Manual

Page: 34 / 113

30
Measuring a Machining Center
The following section describes
how the laser is used to measure
straightness, flatness, squareness,
levelness and parallelism on a 6-
axis horizontal floor mill. Note
that if a machine is going to be
aligned, rather than just measured,
it is important to put the laser on
an instrument stand. If the laser is
on the machine bed or table,
adjustments will likely move the
laser and affect the setup.
Setting Up (Bucking-in)
the Laser
When setting up the laser to
measure either straightness or
flatness, you must first position the laser plane(s) so that they
are parallel to the reference points on the machine. This process
is called "bucking in" the laser. To speed up the setup process,
the use of three reference targets is highly recommended.
•
For measuring straightness, two reference points are
needed.
•
For measuring flatness, three reference points are needed.
•
For measuring the flatness, straightness and squareness of a
machining center, five reference points are needed.
In this procedure, we’ll use three targets for the initial 3-point
setup and one target for the 2-point setup.
Once the laser has been set up to its reference points, the targets
can be repositioned to measure the various surfaces or lines of
motion for deviation from the references. A plus (+) reading
indicates a target is higher than the reference points, and a
minus (-) reading indicates it is lower.