DYNAMIC MOTION ANALYSIS SOFTWARE

Renishaw offers its QuickView? software that gives engineers continuous "streaming" data on machine dynamics, viewable on a live oscilloscope-type display. An intuitive software package, QuickView enables real-time, high-resolution dynamic motion analysis of linear or angular positioning accuracy, velocities, accelerations and vibrations. A simple graphical interface allows very flexible operation, avoiding the need for predefined measurement targets and sequences – just point and measure, ideal for ad-hoc system investigations. Essentially, Renishaw has combined the superb accuracy and resolution of its interferometer systems with the ease of use of a conventional oscilloscope.

QuickView is available for the venerable ML10 laser interferometer and new, faster and lighter XL-80 system. The flexible analytical software extends the Renishaw laser interferometer from a device for machine tool calibration into a powerful, cost-effective tool for maintenance diagnosis, engineering development and testing, and industrial and academic research. A Renishaw interferometer with QuickView software provides a cost-effective alternative to accelerometers and vibrometers, plus the superior accuracy of true differential measurement. Just as electronic engineers rely on oscilloscopes to study high-speed variations in voltage or current, QuickView software permits mechanical engineers to study minute variations in linear or angular displacements, velocities, or accelerations in all kinds of machines and mechanical devices. Display options, combined with inherent low noise of the XL-80/ML10 lasers, permit users to see features on the screen down to 1 nm (linear) or 0.01 arc/sec (angular) resolution.

Applications include everything from miniaturized, high-speed stages in the electronics and biotechnology fields to transducers, actuators, machine tools, measuring machines, and many kinds and sizes of multi-axis motion systems. Functionalities of the QuickView software include:

The XL-80 laser interferometer streams data at 50MHz, enabling the QuickView software to display the result as a position-vs.-time trace on the screen in real time. Conventional time-base and gain controls enable adjustment of the time-base (x-axis) from 10 ms to 20 seconds and the position axis from 100 nm to 5 m. Additional on-screen buttons allow selection of AC or DC coupling and a range of low-pass filters with response times of 0 ms, 2 ms, 5 ms, and 10 ms. AC coupling is especially useful when measuring vibration, enabling any slow drift in position (due to thermal expansion, for example) to be rejected. The QuickView software has the ability – unlike a conventional oscilloscope – to differentiate incoming data to obtain velocity or acceleration versus time traces. Velocities are obtained by calculating the differences between adjacent laser position readings, while accelerations are computed from the difference between adjacent laser velocity readings. Low-pass filters on the Renishaw interferometers are especially useful in removing noise from velocity and acceleration traces.

Compared to an accelerometer, a Renishaw interferometer system provides superior linear and angular accuracies for assessing dynamic positioning performance and repeatability. Linear position data, for example, is accurate to ±0.7 ppm (e.g. ±0.7 µm over a 1 meter move). All interferometric measurements are based on the wavelength of a known and regulated laser light source. Distance measurements based on the wavelength of light are recognized internationally as the primary measurement standard, giving the user assured traceability of a measurement back to national standards laboratories. For more information on the QuickView software and XL-80 laser interferometer, contact Clive Warren, Business Manager- Calibration Products, Renishaw Inc. Phone 847-286-9953. Fax 847-286-9974. Email: Clive.Warren@Renishaw.com
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