Hole Inspection System

[jeffroot]

Im looking for an off-the-shelf hole inspection system. I want to measure things like:
circularity
straightness
taper
angularity/perpendicularity
diameter
surface roughness
etc.

The holes I am planning to inspect will be drilled. Diameters ranging from 1/4"-1.0"
Anybody work with these machines or know of a builder that I could talk to?

 

[BillPSU]

You are not supplying nearly enough detail of what you are expecting to measure. Do you want to measure within millionths of an inch or thousandths of an inch? Can you take the part to the machine or does the machine have to go to the part? Profilometers are used to measure finish or some specialized laser measurement devices and is usually measured in a seperate gaging process. Additionally if the finish is extremely smooth the act of measuring the finish will destroy the finish with the diamond stylus. Please define what you are going to measure in more precise terms.

There is no "off the shelf" machines which provide everything. A CMM is probably the most universal of a measuring system available today but it has its limitations also.

 

[Pressed]

That will take several different tools. Look at a few gauge catalogs and see what fits your needs. Or if you contact a gauge-builder, they will surely quote you something. If you don't have a builder, look for one in Michigan as they could use the work right now.

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Forging

http://mech.e.tripod.com

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Ddraig Breuddwydia....

http://www.tailofthedragon.com

 

[jeffroot]

Im looking to measure thousandths, +/-.0005" would be acceptable for my needs. I can take my parts to the machine. I was hoping to find a 3 axis CMM machine to pick off most of my measurements, with a 4th axis tilting stylus, similar to a test indicator, that could acts as a profilometer to pick up the surface roughness and possibly roundness. Any tips on where to start - who to contact?

 

[tripleZ]

Find out who your local OSG sales rep is. They make a SmartScope that is integrated with a CMM and a laser scanner. The CMM will give you most of your measurements. I've never tried to laser scan inside a bore, so I don't know if you could use values to correlate to surface finish. It may take some testing, and I'm guessing the scan might only be optimal at the larger bore sizes.

To warn you though, this will be expensive. Last one I quoted over a year ago was pushing $100K for the benchtop model.