FEASIBILITY FOR DEVELOPING AN ELECTRO-OPTIC-BASED MEASUREMENT SYSTEM FOR FING GAGES

THE RAPID AND ACCURATE MEASUREMENT OF INTERNALLY THREADED HOLES IS ONE OF TODAY'S MORE DIFFICULT MEASUREMENT PROBLEMS. THIS IS PARTICULARLY TRUE IN LIGHT OF THE RECENTLY ADOPTED FASTENER QUALITY ACT (PL 101-595/HR3000) AND MIL-SPEC 7742D FOR CLASS 3 SAFETY-CRITICAL FASTENERS. QUEST HAS PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED A NUMBER OF MINIATURIZED ELECTRO-OPTIC-BASED MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS THAT WOULD BE ADAPTABLE FOR USE IN A MEASUREMENT SYSTEM FOR RING GAGES. THE PROGRAM OUTLINED IN THIS PROPOSAL INVESTIGATES THE FEASIBILITY OF ADAPTING THIS ELECTRO-OPTIC TECHNOLOGY TO THE MEASUREMENT OF THE PITCH DIAMETER ON A SERIES OF THREADED MASTER RING GAGES. IN ADDITION, IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT OTHER CRITICAL DIMENSIONS OF THE RING GAGES WILL BE DERIVED FROM THE SAME DATA SET USED TO CALCULATE THE PITCH DIAMETERS. MOST OF THE WORK DURING THIS PROJECT WILL CONCENTRATE ON EXAMINING VARIOUS MEASUREMENT GEOMETRIES AND DETECTOR COMBINATIONS THAT CAN BE USED TO MEASURE THE THREAD PROFILE AND SUBSEQUENTLY DERIVE THE PITCH DIAMETER TO THE REQUESTED ACCURACY ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE THREADED SURFACE.