SURFACE SENSING DEVICE WITH OPTICAL SENSOR

摘要

A surface sensing device includes an articulating head adapted for attachment to the spindle of a measuring machine and having two relatively rotatable parts capable of rotation about two mutually perpendicular axes. The device additionally includes a stylus assembly having a relatively stiff hollow stylus carrier (30), and a relatively flexible hollow stylus (32). An optical transducer system is provided within the stylus assembly and comprises a fixed light source (38) which directs a beam of light towards the stylus tip (36), and a retro-reflective component (44) at the tip which reflects the beam back to a fixed detector (42). The arrangement is such that lateral displacement of the stylus tip when the tip is in contact with a surface can be measured directly.