Ch. 6.

Straightness, Flatness and Roundness

Chapter (6)
Straightness, Flatness and Roundness
6.1. Straightness and Flatness
➢ Errors in straightness and flatness may cause errors in the linearity of
movement of slideways and, in some instances, errors in linear
displacement.

➢ The accuracy of many measuring devices relies on the probe or stylus

moving along a straight line or over a flat surface. Unless the datum

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surfaces are sufficiently accurate in terms of straightness and flatness,
serious errors will arise in the measuring process.

Assoc. prof. Dr. Ahmed A. Megahed

 Ch. 6. Straightness, Flatness and Roundness
6.1.1. Effect of lack of flatness
➢ The effect of lack of flatness between the front and rear
slideways (usually referred to as crosswind) of, for example, a
center lathe, is not so obvious but is nevertheless significant.
Let;
h: radial movement of the cutting tool.
x : distance between the vee and flat slideways.
y : height of the tool above the slideway.
z : crosswind present between the vee and flat slideways.
Therefore;
h = a – b

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𝑍2
= y sin θ – 2𝑋
𝑦𝑍 𝑍2
= 𝑋
– 2𝑋

The relationship between

h and z is non-linear
and the effect of
crosswind on the
geometric shape of the 2
workpiece is to produce
a non-linear taper as
shown in Fig.
 Ch. 6. Straightness, Flatness and Roundness
6.2. Measurement of Straightness and Flatness

Comparative measurement Direct measurement

- Use of thin film of Prussian blue. - Precision spirit level.

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- Sweeping by knife edge. - Electronic level.
- Use of a dial gauge and datum surface. - Autocollimator.
- Laser measurement system.

3
 Ch. 6. Straightness, Flatness and Roundness
6.2.1. Comparative measurement
➢ Use of thin film of Prussian blue
- By applying a thin even film of Prussian blue onto the datum surface (e.g.
surface table) and moving the other surface in contact with it.
- High spots on the surface being measured will be indicated by the transfer of
Prussian blue from the datum surface.

➢ Knife edge
- The second way of testing a surface for flatness is to sweep it several places
with a knife edge (straight edge) and observe where and how much light leaks
through between the part surface and the knife edge.

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- There are sources of possible errors to be considered.
First; since a beam of light shining through a slit has the ability of spreading, it
thus appears much larger than it actually is.
Second; error can result if the knife edge is not rotated on the surface.
Sweeping the surface in one direction could indicate a plane, while sweeping it
at right angles could reveal significant departure from planarity.

4
 Ch. 6. Straightness, Flatness and Roundness
6.2.1. Comparative measurement (cont.)

➢ Use of a dial gauge and datum surface

- This method uses a dial gauge mounted on a suitable stand in contact with the
datum surface.
- It enables a comparison to be made between the datum surface and a
component by noting the variations in readings of the dial gauge as it moved
over the component.

❑ Datum surface
- If the datum surface is a straight-edge of rectangular cross section then the
positions of supports are important if the sagging of the straight edge, under its

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own weight, is to be reduced to a minimum.
- The minimum deflection of the straight edge is obtained when the two supports
are equidistant from each end (the Airey points) and 0.577 L apart, where L is
the length of straight edge.
- A variety of materials are used; cast iron, steel, glass, and granite.

Zero
deflection 5
 Ch. 6. Straightness, Flatness and Roundness
6.2.2. Direct measurement
➢ Precision spirit level
- The amount of bubble movement
depending on the angle of tilt.
- Resolution of 10 seconds of arc can be
achieved using spirit level.
- The sensitivity of a spirit level increases
in inverse proportion to its base length.
- To achieve the desired accuracy of
precision level, care must be taken to
minimize the effect of temperature

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fluctuations since these may cause an
alteration in the length of the bubble.

6
 Ch. 6. Straightness, Flatness and Roundness
6.2.2. Direct measurement (cont.)

➢ Electronic level
- It uses a damping pendulum as the basis of measuring angular displacements.
- Any rotation of the case causes the pendulum to move relative to the sensing
unit.
- A direct angular reading may be made to 2 seconds of arc.

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7
 Ch. 6. Straightness, Flatness and Roundness
6.2.2. Direct measurement (cont.)
➢ Autocollimator
- An angular resolution of 0.1 seconds of arc or even less can be obtained.
- If the reflecting surface is not normal to the incident rays, there will be a
displacement between the image formed and the object.
- This displacement (d) is a function of the focal length of the collimating lens
(f) and the angle of inclination of the reflecting surface (δθ).
δθ = d / 2f

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8
 Ch. 6. Straightness, Flatness and Roundness
6.2.2. Direct measurement (cont.)
➢ Laser measurement system
- A laser (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) produces an
intense emergent beam of light which can be almost parallel or focused onto a
very small area.
- For the purpose of metrology, the helium-neon gas laser is the most common.
- The retroreflector senses the variables to be measured, e.g. the straightness of a
machine slideway, with resolution down to 0.2 μm or less.
- The main sources of errors which should be taken into consideration are;
environmental stability, dead-path error, cosine error and Abbe’s offset errors.

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(Interferometer)

(Retroreflector)

f1 : measurement beam
 Ch. 6. Straightness, Flatness and Roundness
6.3. Reduction of Straightness Results
- The results of straightness measurements are best dealt with in tabular form.
x Reading Relative reading Cumulative reading Cumulative reading
(mm) (sec. of arc) (sec. of arc) (sec. of arc) (μm)
0 0 0 0 0
100 20 0 0 0
200 22 2 2 1
300 24 4 6 3
400 30 10 16 8

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500 26 6 22 11
600 16 -4 18 9
700 18 -2 16 8
800 24 4 20 10
900 30 10 30 15
1000 30 10 40 20

10
1 sec. 0.5 μm

100 mm
 Ch. 6. Straightness, Flatness and Roundness
6.3. Reduction of Straightness Results (cont.)
- Establishing a datum for straightness assessment
- A datum based on the Least squares principle can be used in assessing
straightness.
- The equation of the least squares line is written as Y = ax + b.
- The two constants (a and b) may be reduced to one constant (a) if the points are
referred to new axes xm and ym with the centroid of the points (𝑥,ҧ 𝑦) ത as an
origin. Where: xm = x - 𝑥ҧ and ym = y − 𝑦.ത
(𝑥ҧ and 𝑦ത are the arithmetic means of x and y coordinates, respectively).
- The equation of the least squares line becomes; Y = a xm
σ x . ym

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Where: a = xm 2 y ym
m

xm
(𝑥,ҧ 𝑦)
ത
11

x
(0,0)
 Ch. 6. Straightness, Flatness and Roundness
6.3. Reduction of Straightness Results (cont.)
x y ഥ) ym= (y-𝒚
xm= (x-𝒙 ഥ) xm2 xm.ym Y = a.xm ym – Y
103 (μm) (μm) 103 (μm) (μm) 106 (μm2) 103 (μm2) (μm) (μm)

0 0 -500 -7.7273 250000 3863.636 -9 1.2727

100 0 -400 -7.7273 160000 3090.909 -7.2 -0.5273
200 1 -300 -6.7273 90000 2018.182 -5.4 -1.3273
300 3 -200 -4.7273 40000 945.4545 -3.6 -1.1273
400 8 -100 0.27273 10000 -27.2727 -1.8 2.0727
500 11 0 3.27273 0 0 0 3.2727
600 9 100 1.27273 10000 127.2727 1.8 -0.5273

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700 8 200 0.27273 40000 54.54545 3.6 -3.3273
800 10 300 2.27273 90000 681.8182 5.4 -3.1273
900 15 400 7.27273 160000 2909.091 7.2 0.0727
1000 20 500 12.2727 250000 6136.364 9 3.2727
Σ 85 1100000 19800
𝑥ҧ = 500 𝑦ത =7.7273
12
a = Σ xm.ym / Σ xm = 19800 * 10
2 3/ 6
1100000 * 10 = 0.018 (10 -3)

Out-of-straightness = (3.2727 - (-3.3273)) = 6.6 μm. [w.r.t. Least Squares Line].