Abstract
Although laser interferometer is widely accepted as a tool for measurement of motion accuracy the set-up procedure is time-consuming because of the strict requirement on alignment between laser head and optic units. This paper presents a 4-axis auto-aligning system which is useful for easy set-up of laser interferometer so as to evaluate precision of a 2-axis feeding system. This paper proposes two ideas for alignment in laser interferometer set-up: one is use of mirror and retroreflectors. and the other is taking advantage of the pre-defined movement and peculiar characteristic of retroreflecotrs. The pros and cons of the two methods are discussed. Illustrative experimental results are presented in which the developed system is applied to a XY table.
