AUTOMATIC GAGING - AN ACCESSORY FOR N/C DRILLING MACHINES

The practicality of supplementing an N/C (numerical control) drilling machine to gage its own work has been demonstrated. Use of the positioning accuracy of the N/C machine and a specially designed air gage with its own logic has eliminated 100% required manual gaging of the critical minor diameter of a threaded blind hole. This integration of the N/C machining and gaging systems is a first-time application. The system has performed accurately in a chip-laden oil mist for over a year with only monthly clean-out of the sensing head. A case study is shown with pertinent cost and technical data.