ELECTRONIC SYSTEM FOR SURFACE-ROUGHNESS MEASUREMENTS IN TURNING

An electronic-optical method of determining surface roughness in real time during finish turning is presented. The electronic design makes i t possible to store pixel information from a CCD video image device at selective rather than continuous intervals. Selective triggering allo ws a direct correlation between electronically and mechanically acquir ed measurements at the same point on a turned surface. The electronics are interfaced to an IBM compatible computer and an optical encoder w hich is used to measure the speed of the lathe's spindle drive. Extens ive experimentation has been undertaken and the results indicate that the electronic configuration is superior to existing mechanical instru mentation.