Design of a large-scanning-range contact probe for nano-coordinate measurement machines

A new high-precision contact probe with a large scanning range is proposed and validated, which is able to measure miniature components on a micro/nano-coordinate measuring machine (CMM). This scanning probe is composed of a fiber stylus with a ball tip, a mechanism with a wire-suspended floating plate, a two-dimensional (2-D) 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 are displaced; the displacements can be detected by corresponding sensors. According to industrial demands, such as scanning range, resolution, equal stiffness, contact force, and probe size, several constrained conditions are established, and the optimal structure parameters of the probe are selected. Each component of the probe is designed, fabricated, and assembled in this research. Simulation and experimental results show that the probe can achieve uniform stiffness, ±20-μm scanning range, and 1-nm resolution in x, y, and z directions. The contact force is about 40 μN when the tip ball is displaced 20 μm. It can be used as a contact and scanning probe on a micro/nano-CMM.

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