Quality Magazine - March 2009 - (Page 35) A CMM stylus with a silicon nitride ball can be used for extreme aluminum applications, but can show wear with stainless steel and cast iron applications. Source: Q-Mark Manufacturing Inc. For applications that call for long stem lengths, manufacturers should choose a stiff, lightweight material. Source: Hexagon Metrology Inc. Ruby spheres are a material of choice due to price and overall satisfactory performance. Source: Renishaw Inc. If, for example, an operator needs to reduce weight, he could choose carbon fiber stems over carbide stems, Horwell says. “Every styli bends in microns. As the styli get longer and longer, it bends more and more and produces decreased accuracy,” Dove relates. He says carbon fiber is light and durable while ceramic is relatively stiffer, however, ceramic also is fragile and can break easily. But Linda Marino, vice president of Paul W. Marino Gages Inc. (Warren, MI), says that a hard metal, but fragile stem is ideal compared with a softer, less rigid stem. “In my opinion, steel is the least popular because it’s one of the softest materials and it’s magnetic. A brittle but rigid stem is better broken during measurement than having a stem that bends,” she adds. Ceramic and carbon fiber stems are not only nonmagnetic, they offer minimal def lection and maximum rigidity—making both materials ideal choices for highspeed CMM applications. Stem choice, however, often comes down to the capabilities of the probing system—which often will help determine weight, thread size and length of the stem. “Your probing system will dictate your thread size,” Marino THE EPOCH HAS A NEW IMAGE EPOCH™ 1000 Series Advanced Ultrasonic Flaw Detectors with Phased Array Imaging Advanced Conventional UT Full VGA sunlight readable display Improved A-scan interpretation EN12668-1 compliant High-speed scanning (6 kHz PRF) IP66 environmental rating Digital High Dynamic Range Receiver Phased Array Imaging Package Increased inspection efficiency Intuitive interface and setup No compromise to conventional UT Higher confidence in conventional inspections Fast switching from UT to PA mode Single set-up to view A-scans at multiple angles Our Most Affordable Phased Array Flaw Detector For worldwide representation visit www.olympus-ims.com Quality Quick Clicks 412 at qualitymag.com www.qualitymag.com March 2009 | QUALITY 35 http://www.olympus-ims.com http://www.olympus-ims.com http://www.qualitymag.com http://www.qualitymag.com
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