Surface Straightness

• Definition: How straight a line is within the tolerance zone .One

dimensional measurement typically on a surface.

• Concept of straightness method: A line is said to be straight over a

given length if the variation of the distance of its points from two
planes perpendicular to each other & parallel to the generation
direction of the line remains within the specified tolerance limits.
Surface flatness
• Flatness is a measure of a surface’s form compared against itself,
indicating that all the points along the surface lie in the same plane.
• The flatness tolerance zone is the area between two parallel planes,
into which the surface in question would need to fit in order to qualify
as “flat.” The flatness tolerance would be the allowable distance
between those parallel planes.
• Looking at it another way, the tolerance zone is the highest and lowest
(±) acceptable points across the plane of the surface that is being
measured.
Why we need surface flatness???
Flatness Testing Methods
Spirit level Method
Spirit level Method
• Early tubular spirit levels had very slightly curved glass vials with
constant inner diameter at each viewing point. These vials are
incompletely filled with a liquid, usually a colored spirit or alcohol,
leaving a bubble in the tube. They have a slight upward curve, so that
the bubble naturally rests in the center, the highest point. At slight
inclinations the bubble travels away from the marked center position.
Where a spirit level must also be usable upside-down or on its side, the
curved constant-diameter tube is replaced by an uncurved barrel-
shaped tube with a slightly larger diameter in its middle.
 Auto collimator
• AutoColimator is an Optical measuring Instrument used for straightness measurement ang
angular measurements as well. This measuring device has high accuracy and
sensitivity. An autocollimator works by projecting an image onto a target mirror and
measuring the deflection of the returned image against a scale, either visually or by means
of an electronic detector.
• AutoCollimator consist of an collimator lens, light source and reflecting surface as shown
in in the above schematic diagram.
• Working Principle of AutoCollimator
• As you can see the auto collimator consist of a light source and the collimator lense,
which will produce the rays.
1.The autocollimator and the reflecting mirror will be placed on the surface
plate(Workpiece), which the flatness need to be tested.
2.Now the reflecting surface need to be placed in the path of light rays along the length.
3.The reading in the screen will show a dot.
4.The dot represents that,is there any orientation in the reflecting mirror position or not. So
that this orientation will be caused by the surface plate(Workpiece) flatness.
1.So, the Dot showed be at the center of X and Y axis, which
means the surface is flat, check this for different positions on
the surface plate(Workpiece).
2.At the same time, you can use multiple mirrors on the surface
plate to check the flatness as well
Laser beam interferometer
• A laser beam interferometer is an instrument that compares the position or surface
structure of two objects.
• The basic two-beam division of amplitude interferometer components consists of a
light source(laser beam) , a beamsplitter, a reference surface, and a test surface
(Figure 1).
• The beam splitter creates the reference and test beams from a single light source.
• When the two beams recombine, the observed intensity varies depending on the
amplitude and phase of these beams.
• Assuming the two beams are equal in intensity and are perfectly in phase at the
point at which they are recombined, the resultant intensity is four times that of
either beam individually.
• This is known as constructive interference. Destructive interference occurs when
the two beams are exactly out of phase when they are recombined. The beams
cancel each other out, and the resulting intensity is zero.
Laser beam interferometer
• If the two beams are spatially extended, we can observe the variations over a surface area in the
relative phase of wavefronts comprising the two beams.
• Alternating regions of constructive and destructive interference produce bright and dark bands
commonly called interference fringes (Figure 2).
• Phase differences between the two wavefronts result when the beams travel different optical path
lengths, resulting in part from the differences in form and texture of the test and reference surfaces.
• By analyzing interference patterns, it is possible to determine the path length differences at any
point in the field of view of the instrument.
• Differences in path length are caused by differences in shape and tilt between the test and
reference surfaces of the interferometer.
• Usually the reference surface is chosen such that it is significantly better than the surface under
test.
• Therefore, the fringe pattern indicates any imperfections in the sample under test. With practice and
knowledge of the interferometer setup, fringe patterns can be recognized with ease. Modern
computerized interferometers perform this analysis automatically, resulting in a display of the
surface topography.
• Commercial interferometers typically employ helium-neon lasers emitting at 632.8 nm.
Laser Beam Interferometer
video
Laser Beam Interferometer

Figure 2. Bright and dark fringes

indicate regions of constructive and
destructive interference.
Beam Comparator
• Construction of Beam comparator
1.A beam provided with three supported feet. One is fixed at the
center of the beam and the remaining two were fixed at both ends of
the beam.
2.The centre foot is fixed whereas the other two at the ends are
relatively adjustable.
3.A spherical plunger is also attached to at the middle (as shown in
the above diagram) to prevent the beam from the overturn.
4.A dial indicator is fixed on the beam with a plunger.
5.all these feet and plungers must and should be lies within in a plane
passing thru the endfeet.
• Principle of Beam Comparator
• As you can see in the below picture the surface place spotted with
some points(A, B, D, E, F, G, G, I, J, K, L, M). these places where we
will put the feet and find out the straightness of the path AB, AC,
AD…..
• By comparing the straightness of each line joining the surface plate
and with a known reference straight edge with the help of dial
indicator.
• In the same way, by displacing the middle feet over the surface plate
on the generators(AB, AC, AD, HF)and take the observation in the dial
indicator.
• Here are their Generators representing on the surface plate