A general data logger for the measurement of the dynamics and the parameter estimation of machine tools

The measurement of the static and dynamic response of machine tools requires sophisticated data acquisition systems. It is often required in the same experiment to access measurements from lasers, linear scales, rotary encoders, non-contact probes, temperature sensors etc. These usually need to be accessed in real time and at high sampling rates. It is sometimes necessary to output data to the machine tool for identification and control purposes. The resulting data needs to be processed by powerful but flexible signal processing software in order to extract the frequency responses and machine parameters such as damping ratios. Finally, the results need to be presented graphically and made available for transfer to other systems such as Matlab. As outlined in this paper, many commercial systems are available to accomplish these tasks, but a custom-built system has overcome problems and limitations associated with their use. A simple application of the resulting bespoke data logger system is presented involving the measurement of static and dynamic errors of a machine tool.