Design and error analysis of a surface reflector for a laser tracking measurement system

The aim of the research project described in this paper was to extend the operating range of a commercially available laser tracking measurement system by developing a surface reflector with improved measurement accuracy, calibration ability and longer reach than the commercially available device. Two prototype surface reflectors were designed and manufactured. The new design extended the reach of the stylus and provided a mechanism enabling faster calibration with greater adjustment sensitivity. A calibration procedure was developed which was reasonably simple and effective, taking less than 1 h to complete. With further development it is considered that both the calibration time and the misalignment could be reduced. The calibrated surface reflectors were tested to determine the effect of misalignment on the systematic error and to compare the relative systematic error of the prototypes with that of a commercially available surface reflector.