Engineering Metrology

Marcian Frank Antony T.O (CAD/CAM/Design)

Linear Measurement-Comparators
Necessary measurement of the linear measurement carried out by the Engineer by comparing the size of the work piece or other part with the known size of the end Gauge.ie comparative measurement

Comparators
Dimensional comparators are principal instruments used in Linear Measurement

Many principles have been used to obtain suitable degrees of magnification of the indicating devices relative to the change in dimension being measured.

Types of Comparators
Mechanical Mechanical-Optical Electrical. Fluid displacement.

Characteristics of Comparators
The instrument must be of robust design and construction so as to withstand the effect of ordinary usage without impairing its measuring accuracy. The indicating devices must be such that readings are obtained in least possible time and for this, magnification system used should be such that the readings are dead beat. The system should be free from backlash, and wear effects and the inertia, should be minimum possible. Provision must be made for maximum compensation for temperature effects.

Use of Comparators
In mass production, where components are to be checked at a very fast rate. As laboratory standards from which working or inspection, gauges are set and correlated. For inspecting newly purchased gauges. Attached with some machines, comparators can be used as working gauges to prevent work spoilage and to maintain required tolerances at all stages of manufacturing. In selective assembly of parts, where parts are graded in three groups depending upon their tolerance.

Mechanical Comparators
Systems of Displacement Amplification used in Mechanical Comparators 1. Rack and Pinion. Measuring spindle integral with a rack, engages a pinion which amplifies the movement of plunger through a gear train 2. Cam and gear train. In this case the measuring spindle acts on a cam which transmits the motion to the amplifying gear train.

Mechanical Comparators
Lever with toothed sector. lever with a toothed sector at its end engages a pinion in the hub of a crown gear sector which further meshes with a final pinion to produce indication Compound Levers. Here levers forming a couple with compound action are connected through segments and pinion to produce final pointer movement.

Mechanical Comparators
Twisted Taut Strip. The movement of measuring spindle tilts the knee causing straining which further causes the twisted taut band to rotate proportionally. The motion of strip is displayed by the Attached pointer.

Dial Indicator
The linear movement of the spindle is magnified by means of a gear and pinion train into sizable rotation of the pointer on the dial scale. The indicator is set to zero by the use of slip gauges representing the basic size of the part. This is generally used for inspection of small precision-machined parts.

Dial Indicator
This type of comparator can be used with various attachments so that it may be suitable for large number of works. With a V-block attachment it can be used for checking outof-roundness of a cylindrical component.

Dial Indicator
Centering of Job in a Four Jaw Chuck Setting the Job Parallel to With Respect to another Parallel Surfaces. In Conjunction With Vernier Height Gauges

The Johansson Mikrokator'

Perhaps the simplest, yet most ingenious movement used in this type of instrument is one due to H.Abramson, a Swedish Engineer, and which is made by C. E. Johansson L td.

Johansson Mikrokator

Construction
A thin metal strip carries ,at the center of its length a very high glass tube pointer. From the center the strip is permanently twisted to form right and left hand helices. One end of the strip is fixed to the adjustable cantilever strip the other being anchored to the spring strip elbow, one arm which carries the measuring Plunger.

Working
As the plunger moves up and down the elbow acts as bell crank lever and causes the twisted strip to change its length and thus further twist or untwist. Hence the pointer at the center of the twisted strip rotates an amount proportional to the change in length of the strip.

Working
Mathematical Representation

Working
The purpose of the cantilever strip other than anchorage is used to is to allow an adjustment to be made in amplification. Its effective length may be varied The instrument is surprisingly robust and is produced commercially in a range of 5000 X magnifications under controlled laboratory conditions.

The sigma Comparator

Another mechanical comparator of ingenious, yet simple design is that produced in a range of magnifications by the Sigma Instrument Company.

Construction
The plunger, mounted on a pair of slit diaphragms to give a frictionless linear movement has mounted upon it a knife edge which bears upon the face of the moving member of a cross strip hinge. This consist of the moving component and a fixed member connected by thin flexible strips alternately at right angles at each other.

Working
If an external force applied to the to the moving member it will pivot as would a hinge about the line of intersection of the strips. If the effective length of this arm is L and the distance from the hinge pivot to the knife edge is x then the first stage of the magnification is L/x

Working
To the extremities of the 'Y' arm is attached a phosphor-bronze strip which is passed around a drum of radius r attached to the pointer spindle. If the pointer is of length R then the second stage of the magnification is R/r and the total magnification is L/x R/r

Working
The magnification can be adjusted by slackening one and tightening the other screw, attaching the knife edge to the plunger and thus adjusting distance x, while a range of instruments of differing magnifications can be produced by having drums of different radii r and suitable strips.

Reed Type Comparator

Reed Type Comparator

The reed mechanism is frictionless device for magnifying small motions of spindle. It consists of a fixed block A which is rigidly fastened to the gauge head case, and floating block B, which carries the gauging spindle and is connected horizontally to the fixed block by reeds C. A vertical reed is attached to each block with upper ends joined together. These vertical reeds are shown in the figure by letter D.

Reed Type Comparator

Beyond this joint extends a pointer or target. A linear motion of the spindle moves the free block vertically causing the vertical reed on the floating block to slide past the vertical reed on the fixed block.

Working
The vertical reeds are joined at the upper end, instead of slipping, the movement causes both reeds swing through an arc and as the target is merely an extension of the vertical reeds, it swings through a much wider arc. The amount of target swing is proportional to the distance the floating block has moved but of course very much magnified. The scale may be calibrated by means of gauge block (slip gauges) to indicate any deviation from an initial setting.

Advantages
These are usually cheaper in comparison to other devices of amplifying. These do not require any external supply such as electricity or air and as such the variations in outside supplies do not affect the accuracy. Usually the mechanical comparators have linear scale which is easily understood. These are usually robust and compact and easy to handle. For ordinary workshop conditions, these are suitable and being portable can be issued from a store.

Disadvantages
The mechanical comparators have got more moving parts than other types. Due to more moving parts, the friction is more and ultimately the accuracy is less. Any slackness in moving parts reduces the accuracy considerably. The mechanism has more inertia and this may cause the instruments to be sensitive to vibration. The range of the instrument is limited as the pointer moves over a fixed scale. Error due to parallax is possible as the moving pointer moves over a fixed scale.

Limitations
Comparators using this type of linkage have sensitivities of the order of 0.25 micron per scale division. The mechanical amplification is usually less than 100, but it is multiplied by the optical lens system. It is available in amplifications ranging from x 500 to x 1000.

Optical Mechanical Comparators

In this system, Mechanical amplification= l2/l1 and Optical amplification = l4/l3 * 2. It is multiplied by 2, because if mirror is tilted by an angle , then image will be tilted by 2 * . Thus overall magnification of this system=2*l2/l1 * l4/l3.

Optical Mechanical Comparators

In this system, Mechanical amplification= l2/l1 and Optical amplification = l4/l3 * 2. It is multiplied by 2, because if mirror is tilted by an angle , then image will be tilted by 2 * . Thus overall magnification of this system=2*l2/l1 * l4/l3.

working
In these instruments small displacements of the measuring plunger are amplified by initially a mechanical system consisting usually pivoted levers followed by further amplification by a simple optical system involving the projection of a image. The mechanical system causes a plane reflector to tilt about an axis. The image of an index is then projected

Zeiss Ultra Optimeter

Advantages
It has small number of moving parts and hence a higher accuracy. In the optical comparators, the scale can be made to move past a datum line and thus have high range and no parallax errors. It has very high magnification. Optical lever is weightless.

Disadvantages
As the instrument has high magnification, heat from the lamp, transformer etc. may cause the setting to drift. An electrical supply is necessary. The apparatus is usually large and expensive.

Disadvantages
When the scale is projected on a screen, then it is essential to use the instrument in a dark room in order to take the readings easily. The instruments in which the scale is viewed through the eyepiece of a microscope are not convenient for continuous use.

Pneumatic Comparators
Industrially, pneumatic comparators, in which small variations are made in the dimension being measured with respect to a reference dimension which are shown by variation in either (a)Air Pressure (b)The Velocity of air flow

Advantages of pneumatic Comparator over Mechanical Comparator

High amplifications are possible No physical contact accuracy is high Internal dimensions are readily measured Measurement in tolerance and geometry Less operation and inspection time or less cycle time.

Back Pressure Comparators

The air pressure variation system is based on the use of a two orifice arrangement

Solex Air Gauges

Flow Velocity Comparators

Electrical Comparators

Fluid Displacement Comparators

Slip Gauges
A gauge block (also known as a gage block, Johansson gauge, slip gauge, or Jo block) is a precision ground and lapped length measuring standard. Invented in 1896 by Swedish machinist Carl Edvard Johansson. Gauge blocks are the main means of length standardization used by industry.

Slip Gauges
Each gauge block consists of a block of metal or ceramic with two opposing faces ground precisely flat and parallel, a precise distance apart. Standard grade blocks are made of a hardened steel alloy, while calibration grade blocks are often made of tungsten carbide or chromium carbide because it is harder and wears less

Wringing
Wringing is the process of sliding two blocks together so that their faces lightly bond.

The process of wringing involves four steps

Wiping a clean gauge block across an oiled pad Wiping any extra oil off the gauge block using a dry pad The block is then slid perpendicularly across the other block while applying moderate pressure until they form a cruciform. Finally, the block is rotated until it is inline with the other block.

Slip Gauges

Slip Gauges
Available in a set of 81, 49, 41, 35 & 25 pieces (inch unit) Available in a set of 112, 105, 87, 50, 33 & 27 pieces (metric unit)

Typical Gage Block Set

Range (mm) Steps (mm) No. of Pieces 09 49 49 04 01 112

1.001 1.009 0.001 1.010 1.490 0.010 0.50 24.50 0.050 25, 50, 75, 25 100 1.0005 --TOTAL

Grades of Slip gauges

Reference (AAA): Small tolerance(0.05 m or 0.000002 in) used to establish standards Calibration (AA): (Tolerance +0.10 m to 0.05 m) used to calibrate inspection blocks and very high precision gauging Inspection (A): (Tolerance +0.15 m to 0.05 m) used as toolroom standards for setting other gauging tools Workshop (B): large tolerance (tolerance +0.25 m to 0.15 m) used as shop standards for precision measurement

Handling of Slip Gauges

In use, the blocks are removed from the set, cleaned of their protective coating (petroleum jelly or oil) and wrung together to form a stack of the required dimension, with the minimum number of blocks.

Handling of Slip Gauges

Gauge blocks are calibrated to be accurate at 68 F (20 C) and should be kept at this temperature when taking measurements. This mitigates the effects of thermal expansion. The wear blocks, made of a harder substance like tungsten carbide, are included at each end of the stack, whenever possible, to protect the gauge blocks from being damaged in use.

Sine Bar
Used when accuracy of angle must be checked to less than 5 minutes Consists of steel bar with two cylinders of equal diameter fastened near ends
Centers of cylinders exactly 90 to edge Distance between centers usually 5 or 10 inches and 100 or 200 millimeters.

Made of stabilized tool hardened steel

Characteristics Permissible Tolerance

Flatness of upper and lower surfaces 0.001 mm Parallelism of upper and lower surfaces w.r.t. datum surface when resting on it 0.001 mm Flatness of side faces 0.005 mm Squareness of side faces to upper surface 0.003/25 mm Parallelism of side faces to the axes of rollers 0.01/25 mm

Characteristics Permissible Tolerance

Parallelism of side faces to the axes of rollers 0.01/25 mm Flatness of end faces 0.003 mm Mean diameter of rollers 0.002 mm Distance between the roller axes 0.003 mm

Sine Bar

Features of Sine Bar

The two rollers must have equal diameter and be true cylinders. The rollers must be set parallel to each other and to the upper face. The precise centre distance between the rollers must be known. The upper face must have a high degree of flatness.

Use of Sine Bar

Measuring known angles or locating any work to a given angle.

Use of Sine Bar

Checking of unknown angles

Use of Sine Bar

Assingment
Limitations Precautions in use of Sine Bar Sine Table Sine Center

Auto collimator
Principle

1.The distance between the reflector and the lens has no effect on the Separation distance between source and image. 2. For high sensitivity, i.e. a large value of x for it small angular deviation,,a long focal length is required.

Auto collimator

Limit Gauges
Gage is a device / equipment used for investigating the dimensional fitness of a part for a specified function Gaging is defined as a process of measuring manufactured materials to assure the specified uniformity of size and contour required by the industries Gaging accomplishes two functions:
Controls the dimensions of a product within the prescribed limitations Segregates or rejects products that are outside these limitations

System of Limits and Fits

Why Limits Required? It is impossible to make a part to a specified definite size except by remote chance. If by chance a part is made exactly to the size required, it is impossible to measure it accurately enough to prove it.

Fits
Interference fit. The minimum permitted diameter of the shaft is larger than the maximum allowable diameter of The hole.

Fit
Transition fit. diameter of the largest allowable hole is greater than that of the smallest shaft, but the smallest hole is smaller than the largest shaft.

 Clearance fit. The largest permitted shaft diameter is smaller than the diameter of the smallest hole.

Definitions
Limits of size. These are the maximum and minimum sizes allowed in a given component. Tolerance is the maximum size variation which will be tolerated on a given component. Allowance is the size difference between the limiting conditions of, size on the two components.

Representation of Fits
Hole basis system. For a given nominal size the limits on the hole are kept constant and a series of fits are obtained by varying the limits on the shafts.

 Shaft basis system. A series of fits can be arranged for a given nominal size using a standard shaft and varying the limits on the hoIe.

Queries - Discussion