MECHANICAL

MEASUREMENT AND
METROLOGY

Resource Person: Khursheed Ahmad

ANGULAR MEASUREMENT

Angle:
 In geometry an angle is the figure formed by two rays
sharing a common end point, called the vertex of the angle.
 The angle is defined as the opening between two lines which
meet at a point.
 The magnitude of the angle is the "amount of rotation" that
separates the two rays, and can be measured by considering
the length of circular arc swept out when one ray is rotated
about the vertex to coincide with the other.

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ANGULAR MEASUREMENT (CONTD)

In order to measure an angle Ɵ, a circular arc centered at

the vertex of the angle is drawn. The length of the arc s
is then divided by the radius of the circle r, and possibly
multiplied by a scaling constant k (which depends on the
units of measurement that are chosen).

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ANGULAR MEASUREMENT (CONTD)

Angle: Units of Measurement

1. Degree: Circle is divided into 360 parts, each part is called a
degree. It is denoted by a small superscript circle (°), is 1/360 of a
full circle.
2. Minute: Each degree is divided in 60 minutes or one can say
minute is 1/60 of a degree. It is denoted by a single prime ( ′ ).
3. Second: is 1/60 of a minute of arc or 1/3600 of a degree. It is
denoted by a double prime ( ″ ).
4. Radian: Unit of angle derived from theoretical considerations is
the radian, defined as the “angle subtended at the centre of a
circle by an are length equal to radius of circle”. 1Rad = 57.2958
degrees.
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ANGULAR MEASUREMENT (CONTD)

Angle: Units of Measurement

5. The Mil: is approximately equal to a milliradian.

6. Babylonian unit: 1Babylonian unit = 60° = π/3 rad ≈
1.047619 rad.
7. Turn: is one full circle. A turn can be subdivided in
centiturns and milliturns. A turn is abbreviated τ or rev or rot
depending on the application.
8. The Point: is 1/32 of a turn. 1 point = 1/8 of a right angle =
11.25° .

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INSTRUMENTS FOR ANGULAR
MEASUREMENT

a. Line Standard Angular Measuring Devices

i. Protractors
ii. Universal Bevel Protractors
iii. Dial Bevel Protractor
iv. Optical Bevel Protractor
b. Face Standard Angular Measuring Devices
v. Sine bar
vi. Sine Center
c. Measurement of Inclines
vii. Angle gauges
viii. Spirit Level
ix. Clinometer
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d. Angle Comparators
x. Autocollimators
A. LINE STANDARD ANGULAR MEASURING
DEVICES
i. Vernier Bevel Protractor

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A. LINE STANDARD ANGULAR
MEASURING DEVICES

Vernier Bevel Protractor:

 The simplest instrument for measuring the angle
between two faces of component.
 Main scale on the protractor is divided into two parts; 0
to 90 degrees each way.

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APPLICATIONS OF VERNIER BEVEL PROTRACTOR

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VERNIER BEVEL PROTRACTOR

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VERNIER BEVEL PROTRACTOR

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READING BEVEL PROTRACTOR

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LINE STANDARD ANGULAR
MEASURING DEVICES

ii. Dial Bevel Protractor

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LINE STANDARD ANGULAR
MEASURING DEVICES

iii. Optical Bevel Protractor:

A circle divided at 1.0 minutes intervals throughout the

circle is fitted inside the body.
 Small microscope is fitted through which the circle
graduations can be viewed.
 Adjustable blade is clamped to a rotating member
which carries its microscope.

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C. OPTICAL BEVEL PROTRACTOR:

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 B. FACE STANDARD ANGULAR
MEASURING DEVICES

i. Sine Bars:

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 B. FACE STANDARD ANGULAR
MEASURING DEVICES

i. Sine Bars:
 Sine bars in conjunction with slip guages constitute a very
good device for precise measurement of angles.
 Sine bar is a tool used for accurate setting out of angles by an
arrangement to convert angular measurement to linear ones.
 Sine bars are made from high carbon steel, high chromium,
corrosion resistant steel, hardened, ground and stabilized.

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SINE BARS

Uses:

1. Measuring known angles with accuracy, or

2. Locating any work to a given angle with very close

limits.

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SINE BARS

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 SINE BARS

Measures for accurate results:

i. Contact rollers must be of equal diameter and true
geometric cylinders.
ii. The axes of the cylinders used in sine bars are mutually
parallel to each other and also parallel to and at equal
distance from the upper surface of the sine bar.
iii. Distance between the rollers axis must be precise and
known. It is usually 100, 200 and 300 mm.
iv. The upper surface of the bar must be perfectly flat.
v. All the working surfaces and surfaces of rollers are
finished to surface finish of 0.2mm or better.
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 SINE BARS
Advantages:
i. Precise and accurate angle measuring device.
ii. Simple in design and construction.
iii. Easily available.

Disadvantages:
It is fairly reliable at angles less than 15° but inherently become
increasingly impractical and inaccurate as the angle exceeds 45°
because of following reasons :
i. The sine bar is physically clumsy to hold in position.
ii. The body of the sine bar obstructs the gauge block stack, even if
relieved, so it is difficult to handle and position the slip gauges.
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 DISADVANTAGES

iii. The application is limited for a fixed center distance between two
rollers.
iv. Long gauge stacks are not nearly as accurate as shorter gauge
blocks.
v. Slight errors of the sine bar cause larger angular errors.
vi. The size of gauges, instruments or parts that a sine bar can inspect
is limited, since it is not designed to support large or heavy objects.
vii. A difference in deformation occurs at the point of roller contact to
the support surface and to the gauge blocks, because at higher
angles, the weight load is shifted more toward the fulcrum roller.

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 B. FACE STANDARD ANGULAR
MEASURING DEVICES

ii. Sine Centre:

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SINE CENTRE

 Sine center is basically a sine bar with block holding centers

which can be adjusted and rigidly clamped in any position,
used for the testing of conical work, centered at each end as
shown.
 Extremely useful since the alignment accuracy of the
centers ensures that the correct line of measurement is made
along the work piece.
 The centers can also be adjusted depending on the length of
the conical work piece, to be held between centers.

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SINE CENTRE

Measurement of included angle using sine centre

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C. MEASUREMENT OF INCLINES
i. Angle Gauges:

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I. ANGLE GAUGES

 Angle gauges are made of hardened steel and seasoned

carefully to ensure permanence of angular accuracy, and the
measuring faces are lapped and polished to a high degree of
accuracy and flatness like slip gauges.
 Like slip gauges, angle gauges can also be wrung together
to build up a desired angle.
 In addition, they can also be subtracted to form a smaller
angle as a difference of two larger angles as shown in
Figure.
 The plus and minus ends of each block are marked.

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I. ANGLE GAUGES

Angle addition and subtraction

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C. MEASUREMENT OF INCLINES

ii. Sprit Level:

Spirit level is one of the most commonly used instruments for
inspecting the horizontal position of surfaces and for
evaluating the direction and magnitude of minor deviation
from that nominal condition.

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II. SPRIT LEVEL

 It essentially consists of a close glass tube of accurate form. It is

called as the vial. It is filled almost entirely with a liquid, leaving
a small space for the formation of an air or gas bubble. Generally,
low viscosity fluids, such as ether, alcohol or benzol, are preferred
for filling the vial.
 The liquid due to its greater specific weight tends to fill the lower
portion of the closed space. Upper side of the vial is graduated in
linear units. Inclination of a surface can be known from the
deviation of the bubble from its position when the spirit level is
kept in a horizontal plane.

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SPRIT LEVEL

Temperature variations in the ambient condition cause both

liquid and vial to expand or contract. Therefore, selection of
proper liquid and material for the spirit level is very
important for accuracy. To reduce the effect of heat transfer
in handling, spirit levels are made of a relatively stable
casting and are equipped with thermally insulated handles.

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C. MEASUREMENT OF INCLINES

ii. Clinometers

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CLINOMETERS

 Clinometer is a special case of the application of the spirit level. It

is an instrument used for measuring angle relative to the horizontal
plane.
 It consists of a spirit level mounted on a rotary member carried in a
housing. One face of the housing forms the base of the instrument.
A circular scale is provided on the housing. A circular scale is used
to measure the angle of inclination of the rotary member relative to
the base.
 The scale may cover the whole circle or only part of it. The base of
the instrument is placed on the surface and rotary member is
adjusted till zero reading of the bubble is obtained as shown in Fig.
 The angle of rotation is then noted on the circular scale. 34
CLINOMETERS

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CLINOMETERS

MICROMETER CLINOMETER 36
CLINOMETERS

Clinometers
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 D. ANGLE COMPARATORS

i. Autocollimator:

The two main principles used

in an autocollimator are:

a. The projection and the

refraction of a parallel beam
of light by a lens, and

b. The change in direction of

a reflected angle on a plane
reflecting surface with
change in angle of incidence. 38
 AUTOCOLLIMATOR
To understand this, let us imagine a converging lens with a point
source of light O at its principle focus, as shown in figure (a).
a. When a beam of light strikes a flat reflecting surface, a part of the
beam is absorbed and the other part is reflected back. If the angle of
incidence is zero, i.e. incident rays fall perpendicular to the
reflecting surface, the reflected rays retrace original path.
b. When the reflecting plane is tilted at certain angle, the total angle
through which the light is deflected is twice the angle through which
the mirror is tilted.
Thus, alternately, if the incident rays are not at right angle to the
reflecting surface they can be brought to the focal plane of the light
sources by tilting the reflecting plane at an angle half the angle of
reflection as shown in Figure (b).
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