STYLUS TYPE TOUCH PROBE FOR A MACHINE TOOL

摘要

A non-cutting tool or stylus (32), mounted in a position where a tool normally resides on a turret (26) of a numerically controlled machining system, rubs against the workpiece (41) as it rotates. The rubbing vibrations emanating from the workpiece (41) are picked up as a touch signal by an accelerometer (62) whose output signal is conditioned and fed to the numerical control (46). Diameter measurements, for example, are made directly by touching two opposing points on the workpiece (41) on opposite sides of the machine centerline (14) whereupon a difference calculation is made to provide the required diameter measurement.