R-test is widely used to measure the rotary axis errors of five-axis machine tools due to its accuracy and convenience. There are some deficiencies in the research on the customized design of contact R-test under certain requirements of measuring range and accuracy. A novel hardware configuration method of contact R-test is proposed in this paper to realize customized configuration of hardware parameters of R-test. Firstly, a theoretical measurement model is established according to the structural characteristics of the contact R-test and is used as the evaluation model for measuring accuracy. Secondly, the influence of hardware parameters on the performance indexes is analyzed and the corresponding performance-constrained model is established. Thirdly, the configuration method of hardware parameters based on constraint models is proposed using the exhaustive search method and variable parameter method respectively. Finally, a prototype based on the configuration method is developed and calibrated on the Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM), then the measuring performance evaluation and on-machine error measuring experiment are performed. The results show that the configuration method satisfies certain measuring requirements without range and precision waste. The proposed methods can guide the customized design of contact R-test.

R-test is widely used to measure the rotary axis error of five-axis machine tools due to its high accuracy and convenient. There are some deficiencies in the research on measurement performance optimization such as the customized design under certain requirements. The novel hardware configuration methods of the contact R-test are proposed in this paper to realize customization. Firstly, the theoretical measurement model and the calibration model are established to be used as the measurement accuracy evaluation model. Secondly, the influence of hardware parameters on the measurement performance indexes of the measurement system is analyzed and the corresponding constraint models for measurement performance are established. Thirdly, the optimal configuration methods of hardware parameters based on constraint models are proposed using exhaustive search method and variable parameter method respectively . Finally, a prototype that is configured with the hardware parameters based on the above configuration methods, is developed to calibrate on the Coordinate Measuring Machine(CMM) and complete the measurement performance evaluation. The evaluation results show that the hardware configuration methods meet the certain measurement requirements without range and precision waste. The proposed methods provide guidance and reference for the customized design of contact R-test.