A spindleless instrument for the roundness measurement of precision spheres

This paper presents an automated instrument for high-precision roundness measurement of spheres. Instead of a rotating spindle, the surface of the sphere itself is used as a geometrical reference. The measurement method is based on the well-established three-point method. In our design, two points are realized as mechanical contacting points and one as a capacitive gauge that directly faces the surface of the sphere. By this simple design-without any moving parts involved in the probing process-we measured the roundness of 1-inch steel spheres with nanometer resolution. After a short introduction into the basic mathematics of the three-point method, the design of the instrument is presented, including the automation of the measuring process and the means used to minimize environmental effects in an industrial environment. Results are presented that prove the outstanding repeatability and accuracy of the instrument. In a comparison with conventional methods, the advantages and limitation of the method are discussed. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.