Development of a Commercial Multiple Degree of Freedom Measurement System

The Multiple Degree of Freedom Measurement (MDFM) System, developed under Wright Laboratory, has been identified as having strong commercial potential as a significant enhancement to existing products in the machine tool industry for machine tool calibration or coordinate measuring machine enhancement. The MDFM is in need of revision to incorporate state-of-the-art technology, to prepare the device for factory floor service, to improve its ease of use, and to expand the versatility of its applications. The proposed project will demonstrate a commercially viable model of an improved MDFM system in the first phase of a three phase SBIR program. Phase I objectives include identification of MDFM applications and markets, improvement of the existing design to suit identified markets, construction of an alpha-version prototype design in preparation for Phase II beta-testing. The likelihood of commercialization of an improved MDFM is high due to industrial machine tool partnerships and expertise maintained by American Research Corporation of Virginia (ALCOVA) as well as a laser-aligned robotics machine tool application currently being prototype at ALCOVA. As a result, ALCOVA offers personnel with the motivation, marketing knowledge and business development experience required for commercialization.