CHAPTER 3

Tool makers microscope

Introduction:

The toolmaker's microscope is an optical measuring machine equipped for external & internal length
measurements as well as measurements on screw threads, profiles, curvatures & angles. A
toolmakers microscope is a measuring device that can be used to measure up to 1/100th of an mm.
It works on the principle of a screw gauge, but a few changes were added to it to make its operation
easier. It needs application of optics too. A light focuses on the object & through lens we can see the
shadow of the object, which resembles the object. More clear shadow would be enhancing the
accuracy of measurement.

Principle of Measurement: A ray of light from a light source is reflected by a mirror through 90. It
then passes through a transparent glass plate. A shadow image of the outline or counter of the
workspaces passes through the objective of the optical head & is projected by a system of three
prisms to a ground glass screen. Observations are made through an eyepiece. Measurements are
made by means of cross lines engraved on the ground glass screen. The screen can be rotated
through 360 the angle of rotation is read through an auxiliary eyepiece.

Construction: TMM (toolmakers microscope) has got a robust & strong base such that it can bear &
withstand sudden loads. A column with a track is present to carry lens, along with illuminating source
in certain TMMs. Lens has two perpendicular straight lines marked that act as reference lines.
Object to be measured is placed on glass table. Glass table is provided with 3 scales on it, two scales
are meant for measuring in X & Y directions & the movement of table the respective direction. The
other scale is meant for measuring rotation as well as rotation of table.

Working: The component being measured is illuminated by the through light method. A parallel
beam of light illuminates the lower side of work-piece which is then received by the objective lens in
its way to a prism that deflects the light rays in the direction of the measuring ocular & the projection
screen. The direction of illumination can be tilted with respect to the work-piece by tilting the
measuring head & the whole optical system. This inclined illumination is necessary in some cases as in
screw thread measurements.

Application:

Length measurement in Cartesian & polar co-ordinates.

Angle measurements of tools.
Thread measurements i.e., profile major & minor diameters, height of lead, thread angle,
profile position with respect to the thread axis & the shape of thread.
Comparison between centers & drawn patterns & drawing of projected profiles.
Used for measuring the shape of different components like the template, formed cutter,
milling cutter, punching die, and cam

PROFILE PROJECTOR
FLATNESS MEASUREMENT METHDS
Flatness measurement by dial indicator: Explain

Flatness measurement by Comparator: Explain

Flatness measurement by NPL Interferometer: Explain

Chapter 4: SURFACE ROUGHNESS METROLOGY

Surface roughness often shortened to roughness, is a component of surface texture. It is quantified by

the deviations in the direction of the normal vector of a real surface from its ideal form. If these
deviations are large, the surface is rough; if they are small, the surface is smooth. In surface metrology,
roughness is typically considered to be the high-frequency, short-wavelength component of a measured
surface. However, in practice it is often necessary to know both the amplitude and frequency to ensure
that a surface is fit for a purpose. Although a high roughness value is often undesirable, it can be
difficult and expensive to control in manufacturing. Decreasing the roughness of a surface usually
increases its manufacturing cost. This often results in a trade-off between the manufacturing cost of a
component and its performance in application.

Roughness can be measured by manual comparison against a "surface roughness comparator" (a

sample of known surface roughness), but more generally a surface profile measurement is made with a
profilometer. These can be of the contact variety (typically a diamond stylus) or optical (e.g.: a white
light interferometer or laser scanning confocal microscope).

However, controlled roughness can often be desirable. For example, a gloss surface can be too shiny to
the eye and too slippery to the finger (a touchpad is a good example) so a controlled roughness is
required. This is a case where both amplitude and frequency are very important.

Surface texture

In general, the term "surface texture" refers to the primary profile, roughness, waviness and other
surface attributes such as the direction of the surface features (also referred to as the "lay" of the
surface).

The surfaces produced by machining and other methods of manufacturing are generally irregular and
complex. Of practical importance are the geometric irregularities generated by the machining method.
These are defined by the height, width, direction and other random characteristics not of geometric
nature.
The general term applied to define these terms is surface texture, the repetitive or random deviation
from the nominal surface (Figure 3) which forms the pattern of the surface. It includes roughness,
waviness, and lay.

Roughness consists of fine irregularities in the surface texture produced by the machining process.

Waviness is the widely spaced component of surface texture. It is of wider spacing than roughness.
It results from cutting tool deflection and run out.

Lay is the direction of the predominant surface pattern and is determined by the machining process
used in producing the surface.
1. Dial Indicator
Dial indicators are mechanical instruments for measuring distance variations. Most dial indicators amplify
a contact point reading by use of an internal gear train mechanism. The standard nomenclature for dial
indicator components is shown in the diagram above.

The vertical or horizontal displacement of a spindle with a removable contact tip is transferred to a dial
face. The measurement is identified via use of an indicating hand. Commonly available indicators have
discriminations (smallest graduations) from 0.00002 to 0.001 with a wide assortment of measuring
ranges. The proper dial must be selected for the length measurement and required discrimination.
Pneumatic Comparators (Solex Gauge)
It works on the principle of pressure difference generated by the air flow. Air is
supplied at constant pressure through the orifice and the air escapes in the form of jets
through a restricted space which exerts a back pressure. The variation in the back pressure is
then used to find the dimensions of a component.

Working: As shown in Figure (a) the air is compressed in the compressor at high pressure which
is equal to Water head H. The excess air escapes in the form of bubbles. Then the metric amount of
air is passed through the orifice at the constant pressure. Due to restricted area, at A1 position, the
back pressure is generated by the head of water displaced in the manometer tube. To determine the
roundness of the job, the job is rotated along the jet axis, if no variation in the pressure reading is
obtained then we can say that the job is perfectly circular at position A1. Then the same procedure
is repeated at various positions A2, A3, A4, position and variation in the pressure reading is found
out. Also the diameter is measured at position A1 corresponding to the portion against two jets and
diameter is also measured at various position along the length of the bore
Any variation in the dimension changes the value of h, e.g. Change in dimension of 0.002 mm
changes the value of h from 3 to 20 mm. Moderate and constant supply pressure is required to have
the high sensitivity of the instrument.
Electric Comparators

An electrical comparator consists of a base a stand, power unit, measuring unit, indication unit and
amplification unit. In this comparator, the measuring contact movement is changed into an electrical
signal and then this signal is recorded by a device that can be adjusted in terms of plunger movement.
For this, an AC Wheatstone bridge circuit including a galvanometer is used.

This electric comparator comprises of a tough stylus, an iron armature that breaks against the W and
spring and W1.If the armature is located between the coils W & W1, then the inductance of these coils
is equal; the Wheatstone bridge is stable and forms the datum line.

When the workpiece is located under the stylus for the measurement purpose due to the difference in
datum. The armature, component size would either be raised up or down. It defeats the Wheatstone
bridge balance that results the unbalanced current flow. This current is directly adjusted into difference
in size of the component which is expanded by an amplifier specified by the galvanometer.These
comparators have a precision of 0.001 mm. The main advantages of these comparators are no moving
parts, sensitivity and accuracy over long periods.
Chapter 5:
Derivation for an effective diameter or pitch diameter by three wire method.
 Co-ordinate Measuring Machine

A coordinate measuring machine (CMM) is a device for measuring the physical geometrical
characteristics of an object. This machine may be manually controlled by an operator or it may be
computer controlled. Measurements are defined by a probe attached to the third moving axis of this
machine. Probes may be mechanical, optical, laser, or white light, among others. A machine which
takes readings in six degrees of freedom and displays these readings in mathematical form is
known as a CMM.

The typical 3D "bridge" CMM is composed of three axes, X, Y and Z. These axes are orthogonal to
each other in a typical three-dimensional coordinate system. Each axis has a scale system that
indicates the location of that axis. The machine reads the input from the touch probe, as directed by
the operator or programmer. The machine then uses the X,Y,Z coordinates of each of these points
to determine size and position with micrometer precision typically.

Coordinate-measuring machines include three main components:

The main structure which includes three axes of motion. The material used to construct the
moving frame has varied over the years. Granite and steel were used in the early CMM's.
Today all the major CMM manufacturers build frames from aluminum alloy or some derivative
and also use ceramic to increase the stiffness of the Z axis for scanning applications. Few
CMM builders today still manufacture granite frame CMM due to market requirement for
improved metrology dynamics and increasing trend to install CMM outside of the quality lab.
Typically only low volume CMM builders and domestic manufacturers in China and India are
still manufacturing granite CMM due to low technology approach and easy entry to become a
CMM frame builder. The increasing trend towards scanning also requires the CMM Z axis to
be stiffer and new materials have been introduced such as ceramic and silicon carbide.
Probing system
Data collection and reduction system - typically includes a machine controller, desktop
computer and application software.