Design considerations for the development

of stylus systems for micro-CMMs

Mohd Anuar Ismail1,2,3, James Claverley1, Richard Leach1* and Derek Chetwynd2
1

Engineering Measurement Division, National Physical Laboratory, UK, 2 School of Engineering, University of Warwick, UK
Quality Engineering Section, University Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
* Current address: Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nottingham, UK
3

Corresponding author e-mail: anuar.ismail@npl.co.uk

Background/Abstract
With the increasing demands of miniature products with feature dimension below 50 m, the demands on micro-CMMs in measuring these
features also increases. However:

existing available stylus systems of micro-CMM are becoming unsuitable, and

shrinking the dimensions of stylus tip diameters, with current manufacturing methods,

is a challenging task

Thus, new stylus design rules are needed. This work compiles the relevant existing knowledge of behaviour at the micro-scale, and applies it to
the design of micro-styli

A set of design rules, developed for the manufacture of stylus systems with diameters of the order of 10 m, is introduced.
Preliminary modelling, conducted to verify the presented design rules and the developed practical designs for new stylus
systems, is presented

Summary of Design Rules

Preliminary Analytical Modeling

A set of design rules are developed, the critical issues that lead to new design
considerations for the development of stylus systems, with tip diameters
below 10 m, is summarised

A preliminary analytical model has been constructed based on the design

consideration described in summary of design rules.

25 individual rules have been identified

The design rules is categorised into 5 group
Some design rules are complimentary to each other

Boundary conditions :

stylus aspect ratio of 35

stylus tip diameter of 8m

Geometrical Consideration
the stylus tip diameter should be small enough to measure and

access the measured surface

the stylus tip diameter > the stylus shaft diameter
Aspect ratio of stylus system > aspect ratio of measured surface
280 m

Probing force
The force exerted during both discrete (single point) probing and scanning,
can cause damage to the surface under test Thus, a maximum allowable
probing force is introduced.

8.0 m

6.90 m

value of forces exerted during probing should be smaller than the

estimated value for the new concept of allowable probing force

The properties of the material is important for the geometrical design of the
stylus, the probing forces and resulting stiffness of stylus shaft

high values of the Youngs modulus & low density is preferable

Probing speed & stylus shaft stiffness
Probing speed and stiffness of the stylus shaft are important parameters in
reducing the probing force of the stylus. The stiffness of the stylus shaft is
influenced by its length, Youngs modulus of the material and the probing
sensor which the stylus shaft is attached to.

Probing speed 1/(effective mass)

Stiffness of stylus shaft > stiffness at probing sensor
Stiffness isotropy in all direction

Max diameter of stylus shaft

6.9 m

Max allowable probing force

3.42 N

Stiffness of stylus shaft in horizontal direction

3.42 N

Stiffness of stylus shaft in vertical direction

54.9 kN/m

Styluss material

Tungsten

Conclusion
The presented stylus design contains several challenging features for
manufacture and its use as a stylus system as part of a micro-CMM probe
seems unlikely using existing micro-probe and control technology.

Future Work
The set of design rules will be extended and refined
Manufacture will be realised using existing techniques
Mechanical testing of the stylus will also be conducted
Acknowledgements
This work was funded by the NMS Engineering & Flow Metrology Research
Programme, and through EMRP Project IND59. The EMRP is jointly funded by
the EMRP participating countries within EURAMET and the European Union.

References
Leach R K, Murphy J and Wilson A 2004 NPL Report CBTLM 30
Kng A, Meli F, and Thalmann R 2007 Meas. Sci. Technol. 18:319-327
Pril WO 2002 PhD Thesis Technische Universiteit Eindhoven
International Organisation for Standardisation, ISO 10360-1:20012001
Bos E C 2011 Precis. Eng. 35 228240
Claverley J D and Leach R K 2013 Precis. Eng. 37 491499
Claverley J D 2014 PhD Thesis University of Nottingham

10977/0814

Material selection for stylus manufacture

0.28mm

11292/0515

low surface roughness,

uniform sphere diameter,
free (or minimised) from contamination
good sphericity
good concentricity

Length of stylus shaft

Queens Printer and Controller of HMSO, 2014.

Surface quality of the stylus tip sphere will contribute to the probing
uncertainty of measurement. The spherical stylus tip should have:

Results

Queens Printer and Controller of HMSO, 2015.

Surface quality of the stylus tip

Analytical modelling