Article From: 2/12/2004 Production Machining
The company offers the BBP/BBT family of 3/8" pencil-type gaging probes for precise measurement of dimensions in a variety of quality control, inspection equipment and industrial metrology applications including online parts inspection, servo-loop positioning systems and manufacturing process control.
These AC-operated LVDT gage heads measure the position of a target surface with accuracy, the company says. Complete systems for "go/no/go" inspection of mechanical parts can be assembled using several gage heads mounted in fixtures. The position probes may be used as direct replacements for mechanical and digital dial gages as they provide resolution and repeatability, according to the company.
The gage heads combine a AC-LVDT with a linear ball bearing assembly to reduce radial play and core skewing, resulting in repeatability of 0.000006" (0.15 microns). The use of an LVDT for probe shaft displacement sensing is said to eliminate any additional transducer errors because of friction, stiction or mechanical hysteresis. These gaging probes also offer a long life of 2 x 10^8 cycles.
Other features of the series include user-adjustable pre-travel; reduced susceptibility to temperature changes; positive stops that are said to prevent mechanical damage to the probe from repeated over-stroking; and rubber bellows covering the probe shaft that are said to prevent contaminant entrance into the bearing.
