Bosch Rexroth innovates for thousandth of a millimetre

Modern car engines achieve today mileages of well over 100,000 kilometres. One reason is that machine tool manufacture the piston, cylinder and other components to a few thousandths of a millimetre. In order to measure this precision also, the engineers at Bosch Rexroth to have a measurement system improved so that the position of the carriage to +/- four thousandths of a millimetre detected – for comparison, a human hair is 15 times thicker in cross section.

Four thousandths of a millimetre, which is 15 times thinner than a human hair: How accurately does the integrated measurement system developed Bosch Rexroth engineers from Schweinfurt. What’s noteworthy is that it achieves this accuracy even under the harsh conditions of metal cutting with strong vibrations and high forces.

"We etch in a steel strip an extremely fine division, so to speak, a ruler, which is firmly connected to the rail," says Matthias Wolf, Product Manager for the Integrated Measurement System by Bosch Rexroth, the function. On the profile rail carriages for example, moves back and the tool. An integrated electronic sensor detects the division on the ruler and calculates the position of the carriage micrometer accuracy.

In addition to accuracy counts robustness: In work rooms of machine tools flying metal chips and splashing coolants. Therefore, manufacturers must accommodate conventional measurement systems outside of the work area or protect consuming. "The further the measured point is, however, removed from the tool tip, the more accurate the measurement," says the product manager. The Integrated Measurement System Rexroth is therefore encapsulated so that it is insensitive to dirt, excessive vibration and even heavy impacts. Therefore, it can measure very close to the tool or workpiece.

By linear guides with Integrated Measurement System save machine manufacturers complicated installation of additional measuring systems and the necessary protective measures. Bosch Rexroth supplies in Schweinfurt traditionally numerous machine tool manufacturers with linear guides. For Matthias Wolf, it is clear that they will choose and more frequently for the variants with the integrated measuring system: "Integrated distance measuring systems like the Bosch Rexroth in the future replace all other solutions because they are more accurate, robust and thus cheaper to use ".

Bosch Rexroth’s product and service range includes hydraulics, electric drives and controls, gear technology as well as linear and assembly technology from a single source. With a presence in more than 80 countries around 36,700 employees, in 2013 the company generated sales of around 5.7 billion euros.