A microscopy approach for in situ inspection of the μCMM stylus for contamination

Feng, Xiaobing; Pascal, Jonathan; Lawes, Simon

Abstract

During the µCMM measurement process, contamination gradually builds up on the surface of the stylus tip and affects dimensional accuracy of the measurement. Regular inspection of the stylus for contamination is essential in determining the appropriate cleaning interval and preventing the dimensional error from becoming significant. However, in situ inspection of a µCMM stylus is challenging due to the size, spherical shape, material and surface properties of a typical stylus. To address the challenges, this study evaluates several non-contact measurement technologies for in situ stylus inspection and based on those findings proposes a cost-effective microscopy approach. The operational principle is then demonstrated by an automated prototype, coordinated directly by the CMM software MCOSMOS, with an effective threshold of detection as low as 400 nm and large field of view and depth-of-field. The level of stylus contamination on the stylus has been found to increase steadily with the number of measurement contacts made. Once excessive contamination is detected on the stylus, measurement should be stopped and stylus cleaning procedure should be performed to avoid affecting measurement accuracy.

Citation

Feng, X., Pascal, J., & Lawes, S. (in press). A microscopy approach for in situ inspection of the μCMM stylus for contamination. Measurement Science and Technology, 28(9), https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6501/aa7c93

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 29, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Aug 21, 2017
• Deposit Date: Jul 11, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 22, 2018
• Journal: Measurement Science and Technology
• Print ISSN: 0957-0233
• Electronic ISSN: 1361-6501
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 28
• Issue: 9
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6501/aa7c93
• Keywords: μCMM,stylus inspection, contamination, microscopy, focus stacking
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/878574
• Publisher URL: http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-6501/aa7c93/meta;jsessionid=6864A8A0BBA4C4EA8EC0D09B402DEFF1.c4.iopscience.cld.iop.org
• Related Public URLs: http://iopscience.iop.org/journal/0957-0233
• Additional Information: This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication/published in Measurement Science and Technology. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6501/aa7c93.
• Contract Date: Jul 11, 2017