Investigation of ball screw’s alignment error based on dynamic modeling and magnitude analysis of worktable sensed vibration signals

Purpose The alignment precision of existing methods is limited by the precision of detecting element and worker’s experience, which the parallelism between ball screw and guide way is not guaranteed effectively. Thus, this paper aims to propose a method of detecting ball screw’s alignment error (BSAE) via monitoring the average vibration magnitude induced by rotational frequency of ball screw (VMRFBS). Design/methodology/approach In this study, the ball screw is simplified as a freely supported beam. A mathematical model of the effect of BSAE on the contact angle of the ball and screw is established. The change of contact angle has effect on the deformation and contact stiffness according to the Hertz contact theory. To improve the accuracy of the experimental results, the VMRFBS are analyzed by using average method, and the average values of the VMRFBS at different BSAEs are calculated by using the least squares method. Findings The experimental results show that the average VMRFBS increases with the increasing of BSAE under the BSAE from 0 to 0.2 mm, while the other conditions are unchanged. Originality/value This method provides an approach to monitor the BSAE and improve the alignment accuracy of machine tools and automation equipment, which has a certain guide for improving the alignment accuracy of ball screw.