Development of a contact-type probe for measurements of ultra-fine-pitch gears and application to pseudo roughness evaluation

摘要

Gears used in actuators for robot articulations are showing a trend toward having smaller modules. Thus, profile measurements of small module gears are strongly desired. Our aim was to develop a probe artifact that enables ultra-fine-pitch cylindrical gears to be measured, by minimizing the size of the probe head. The configurations of the contact-type probe and holder were designed under consideration of interference with an adjacent tooth during profile measurements of an objective tooth. After manufacturing the artifact, a 0.1-module spur gear was measured as a trial, and reasonable results were obtained. In addition, a calibration plate for roughness was measured using the developed probe artifact. The evaluated roughness showed a strong correlation with the "true roughness". Therefore, the developed probe can be expected to enable "pseudo" roughness to be evaluated.