A novel design concept for a thermally stable linear scale using two different materials

Linear scale has significant impacts on the machine tool accuracy, since the positioning of the linear axes are controlled by its measurement. This paper presents a novel concept of linear scale design which can provide high thermal stability with low cost. This concept applies two different materials: a steel linear scale attached mechanically on a carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) tube. Attaching this two materials, the thermal behavior of the steel scale can be mechanically compensated by the CFRP tube when the temperature changes. The potential of the design concept is analyzed based on the experiment results.