Renishaw Plc

Renishaw Metrology Limited

Graham A Hellen

David R McMurtry

Peter Kenneth Hellier

Peter Hajdukiewicz

Jonathan S Sullivan

John C Dabbs

Andrew Geoffrey Butter

The invention provides a modular measurement device having, attachable to the quill of a CMM, any one of a plurality of stylus support modules , or . Attachable to a stylus support module is a range of stylus modules . The stylus support modules have different spring rates to ensure that a near optimum response can be obtained for each stylus module used. The stylus modules may be configured so that each cannot be mistakenly fitted to the wrong stylus support module. The modules are held together by magnetic attraction, and the strength of attraction is cascaded so that the stylus module is removed first if pulled off.

Modular measurement device

A coordinate measuring machine carries a modular touch trigger probe 100, via an adaptor 200, on its movable arm 10. The probe 100 consists of a retaining module 102 which is mounted to the adaptor 200, and a stylus module 104 which is magnetically connected to the retaining module 102 in a manner which enables the exchange of one stylus module 104 for another. The adaptor consists of a pair of coupling members 202,204 which are urged into mutual engagement by magnets 212. Automatic exchange of stylus modules occurs by using movement of the arm 10 to disengage a stylus module 104 from the retaining module 102. Similarly, the exchange of one probe for another is carried out by using movement of the arm 10 to disengage the lower coupling member 204 from the upper coupling member 202. Because magnetic attraction between the coupling members 202,204 is necessarily greater than the attraction between retaining and stylus modules 102,104, lower coupling member 204 has three levers 222, operable by downward relative movement of a release ring 220, which occurs during uncoupling. The levers 222 provide the mechanical advantage necessary to enable movement of the arm 10 to overcome the relatively large magnetic attraction force between coupling members 202,204.

Inspection system for coordinate positioning machine

A magazine has a plurality of storage ports 400 each of which retains a stylus module 314 for use in measuring workpiece dimensions on a coordinate measuring machine. Each storage port 400 is configured as a pair of jaws provided by docking inserts 414. A permanent magnet 418 is mounted on each docking insert 414. The lower casing of the stylus module 314 is urged against the inwardly facing edges 416 of the docking inserts 414 by the magnetic attraction force due the magnets 418. The stylus module 314 is engaged with a retaining module (on the quill of the machine) by moving the retaining module in a downward sense to engage the stylus module 314; further downward movement disengages the stylus module 314 from the storage port 400, thus enabling engagement of such a stylus module and removal of the module from the storage port in a single continuous movement.

Touch probe

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Bristol, United Kingdom

Graham A Hellen