Apparatus for and method of measuring workpiece on machine tool

摘要

A workpiece measuring apparatus has an external module provided outside an NC device to acquire position data of one or more movable axes of a movable unit having a measuring head attached thereto. The position data of the measuring head is acquired at the same time interval as that for the distance measurement by the measuring head. The position of the workpiece is acquired by calculation from the acquired distance measurement data and the position data of the measuring head. The continuous shape of the workpiece can be measured by performing continuous measurement while moving the measuring head. Therefore, no modification or change is required such as adding a new function to the NC device. In addition, the present invention is applicable to any machine tool equipped with an NC device of any configuration, without being restricted by constraints of the NC device.