Precision Measurement Gage for Curved Surfaces

70452 The Next Linear Collider (NLC) will require the measurement of the curved surfaces of nearly 2,000,000 copper cells. This project will develop a rapid pneumatic measurement gage that offers ultra precision measurements without contacting the part, which could be easily damaged. Phase I will design and model the gage using solid modeling and computational fluid dynamic software. Then, the results of the modeling effort will be confirmed by building and testing an actual gage that will be manufactured for this purpose. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: In addition to the NLC application, other markets for this technology include the high volume, high precision measurement of curved shapes found in the valve instrumentation and propulsion industries.