Quality Magazine - March 2009 - (Page 37) measure microns. When the grade goes down, the price goes up,” Clark says. Mounting. Ask the question, “Which is superior: glue or peg-mounted spheres?” and the answer will be different depending on the expert. “Some are drilled and pegged and some are glued. If you want the ultimate accuracy, you want it glued so that the integrity of the ball is maintained,” Dove says. “If the ball is pegged, you can lose accuracy and you don’t know that the ball is loose. If it’s just glued, the ball will fall off and you know there is a problem.” However, according to Dove, while glued balls can be more accurate, pegged balls tend to be more durable. Paul W. Marino Gages supplies both types of ball mounts, however, Marino recommends only peg-mounted, also called pivot-mounted, balls from 0.5 millimeter to 6 millimeters in diameter. Pivot-mounted [balls] last longer and are more reliable than the glued solid sphere construction,” she says. The only possible drawback of the pivot-mount, according to Marino, is that such a mount is not available or feasible for all styli sizes and materials. enough access to the part, and meeting the accuracy and weight requirements. “Choosing the correct styli depends really on the level of accuracy you need to achieve,” Dove advises. “If you need to be within a few microns, then worry about everything.” Q For more information on the companies mentioned in this article, please visit: • Carl Zeiss IMT Corp., www.zeiss.com/imt • • • • • Hexagon Metrology Inc., www.hexagonmetrology.net itpstyli LLC, www.itpstyli.com Paul W. Marino Gages Inc., www.pmargage.com Q-Mark Manufacturing Inc., www.cmms.com Renishaw Inc., www.renishaw.com QUALITY ONLINE For more information on styli, visit www.qualitymag.com to read these articles: • “How to Select the Most Effective Styli” • “Styli Increase CMM Measurement Efficiency” Some applications need special configurations to meet measurement goals. This might include star, disk, cylindrical styli, or even customdesigned styli to measure a certain angle or reach a certain length. A key consideration a manufacturer must face when purchasing a stylus is finding the appropriate configuration for the application. “That’s why there are thousands of different configurations dimensionally,” Schlafly says. “Our customer service group spends the majority of its time helping metrologists fi nd or configure the most appropriate probing for the part they are measuring.” “Not all styli are designed for the same application,” Dove says. For example, disks or stars are best for applications with undercuts or large diameters. While balls are general purpose, cylinders are ideal for sheet metal and blade applications. The general rule when choosing a stylus is to read the guidelines of the equipment and buy the stiffest, lightest probe possible while still allowing 5 CONFIGURE WISELY. Exclusive manufacturer of Kodak INDUSTREX Products Quality Quick Clicks 414 at qualitymag.com www.qualitymag.com March 2009 | QUALITY 37 http://www.hexagonmetrology.net http://www.itpstyli.com http://www.pmargage.com http://www.cmms.com http://www.renishaw.com http://www.qualitymag.com http://www.zeiss.com/imt http://ndt.carestreamhealth.com http://ndt.carestreamhealth.com http://www.qualitymag.com http://www.qualitymag.com
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