Design of an analogue contact probe for nano-coordinate measurement machines (CMM)

A new high precision analogue contact probe with long measurement range that is able to measure miniature components on a micro/nano-coordinate measuring machine (CMM) is proposed. This analogue probe is composed of a fiber stylus with a ball tip, a mechanism with a wire-suspended floating plate, a two-dimensional angle sensor and a miniature Michelson linear interferometer. The stylus is attached to the floating plate. The wires experience elastic deformation when a contact force is applied and then the mirrors mounted on the plate will be displaced, which displacements can be detected by two corresponding sensors. Each component of the probe is designed, fabricated and assembled in this research. Base on the design requirements and stiffness analysis of the probe, several constrained conditions are established, and optimal structure parameters of the probe are worked out. Simulation and experimental results show that the probe can achieve uniform stiffness, ±20μm measurement range and 1nm resolution in X, Y and Z directions. The contact force is less than 50μN when the ball tip is displaced by 20μm. It can be used as a contact and scanning probe on a Micro/Nano-CMM.

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