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Flatness Instruments

Portable Polishing Stands

The Lapmaster Portable Polishing Stand provides an effective and practical means for polishing work pieces prior to inspection with an optical flat and monochromatic light. The Lapmaster Portable Polishing Stand is available with a standard 12" x 12" working surface and an 18" x 18" working surface for larger parts. Some of the advantages of using the Lapmaster Portable Polishing Stand include:

Requires no special adhesives or cutting
Easy replacement of polishing paper
No looseness of polishing surface
Large capacity - 50 yards of paper
No edge rounding of parts

One additional feature is that the polishing stage can be reconditioned if it becomes worn through frequent use. The Lapmaster Portable Polishing Stand is designed to give you years of high quality service.

Polishing Papers

A variety of polishing papers are also available. These papers feature emery, aluminum oxide, or silicon carbide abrasive bonding. Lapmaster Polishing Papers are available in 12" or 18" x 50 - yard rolls for use with the Lapmaster Polishing Stand. In addition, Lapmaster Polishing Papers are available in individual sheet form for stand-alone use.

Optical Flats

Lapmaster Optical Flats are manufactured using the finest quality materials and the latest manufacturing techniques. The optical flats are made from the highest quality clear fused quartz, which is known for its very low thermal expansion characteristics and resistance to abrasion.

Lapmaster Optical Flats are available in a full range of standard sizes from 1" to 24" diameter. Larger, smaller and special shapes optical flats will be quoted upon request. All Lapmaster optical flats are double surfaced and available in certified optical accuracies of 1/10th light band, 1/5 light band, and 1/2 light band.

Learn more about Lapmaster's Optical Flats, download the PDF.

Precision Flatness Gauges

The Lapmaster Flatness Gauges provides a quick, reliable method of inspecting lap plates, polishing plates, surface plates and other large surfaces for flatness. The Flatness Gauge determines flatness by measuring the deviation from a straight line on a plane determined by the gauge body. This deviation, convex or concave, is then read directly in .0001 increments on a dial indicator (digital indicators also available).

Lapmaster manufactures flatness gauges with 4-3/8" between centers for plates up to 15" diameter and 9-3/8" between centers for plates of 20" diameter and larger. Lapmaster also manufactures a line of flatness gauges specially designed for use with dual face machining plates.

Monochromatic Lights

Lapmaster Monochromatic Lights are used to measure surface flatness within millionths of an inch. These self-contained units use a helium light tube to produce a glare free light of known wavelength (23.2 millionths of an inch).

When used with Lapmaster Optical Flats, contrasting light and dark bands are readily observed on most reflective or semi-reflective surfaces. Surface flatness to within .000001" is quickly and easily measured on parts ranging in size up to 10.5" in diameter.

To learn more about our Monochromatic Lights, download the PDF.

Interferometry

SPI Interferometers

Our SPI systems check the flatness of non-reflective or reflective surfaces.

Accurate
Cost Effective
Easy to Read
Compact
Available in 75mm and 130mm Diameter Versions

Lapmaster International’s SPI Interferometers with grazing incidence are a inexpensive, fast and accurate means for flatness inspection of ground, fine-ground, lapped or polished parts. The flatness reading of a non-reflective ground surfaces (most materials) are clearly displayed as fringe-pattern topography on an accompanying monitor. Eliminate the need for secondary polishing operations when the only purpose is to generate a reflective finish for optical flatness measurement. Whether used directly next to the lapping, fine-grinding, grinding machine or inspection lab, the Lapmaster SPI interferometer is a cost-effective solution for simple flatness qualification requirements. An optional printer provides documentation of the flatness readings. This instrument is an excellent platform for both qualitative (go/no-go) as well as quantitative flatness measurements.

Learn more about Lapmster SPI Interferometry, download the PDF here.

FTP 130 - Newest addition to the Lapmaster Metrology Line!

Lapmaster International LLC presents the FTP 130 as a new product addition to its Metrology Line. The FTP 130 is a 3 way measuring system which accurately measures the flatness, thickness and parellelism of both 1 and 2 sided parts. Up to two different functions can be used simultaneously to measure parts as thin as 0.20mm or as thick as 200mm. *System components are to measure larger components are available upon request*

The unit comes with a new analog-digital display that elimates the possibility of any inaccuracies. A backlit LCD screen makes for easy viewing as well as interpreting. You can also record the results due to itsprogrammable system with computer interface capabilities which also you to product analysis reports. A great feature for meeting ISO and SPC production requirements! The FTP130 is a very cost effective, compact and easy to use solution for obtaining precise and repeatable measurements.

The system components include:

Versatile digital amplifier - with analog-digital display
Heavy duty gauge stand base
130mm square hardended steel anvil (grooved face)
Two inductive probes (1 thickness/parallel, 1 flatness)

To learn more about the FTP-130 Measuring System, download the PDF here.

TOPOS Interferometers

* This instruments features non-contact flatness measurement of precision-manufacturing surfaces with sub-micron accuracy. They meet the requirements for objective working measurement tools for the production and quality control of sophisticated components, utilized in fuel injection systems, pumps or valves.

* Our measurement principle is based on interferometry with grazing incidence of light. This set-up allows for flatness measurements of polished as well as non-reflective, rougher surfaces, which would not be measurable with traditional interferometers for flatness testing. An air gap between prism and part ensures maximum possible protection against mechanical damage and facilitates simple handling.

* The sensitivity can be selected from four calibrated settings. Upon manufacturer’s delivery, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 microns/fringe are provided by default. This wide range allows for optimal setting of the measurement system to the specific properties of the test part. In this way, surfaces of ultra-high precision such as polished mechanical seals can be measured with the highest sensitivity (0.5 um per fringe), while the lower sensitivity levels allow the measurement of rougher, uneven or highly worn-out surfaces, as well. Typical areas of application for TOPOS are the flatness measurement of lapped, flat-hones and fine-ground precision parts, valve plates, sealing and control discs, mechanical seals made of ceramics (AI2O3, SiC, SiN), metal (steel, aluminum, bronze), carbon or synthetics (duroplast, thermoplast, PMMA).

* The computer based evaluation provides for three-dimensional, fast and objective parts testing. According to the principle of dynamic fringe evaluation, several phase-shifted fringe images are acquired with the built in CCD camera, from which the form is then determined. During the measurement, the acquisition of the fringe images takes approximately 1.2 seconds, and the computation of the form takes about one to three seconds for up to 300.000 data points. The measurement area to be evaluated can be found automatically by the program or, alternatively, be user-determined by selecting from a number of basic geometrical shapes (circle, ellipse, ring or rectangle). Position and size can be set easily with the help of a border line which is overlaid to the image of the part. A border exclusion can be set separately for the external and the internal contour.

* For continually repetitive sequences of functions (such as measurement, tilt subtraction, border exclusion, median filtering, display of false-color image and 3-D graphics), a macro for an automated measurement procedure can be generated and saved on the computer. Furthermore, all parameters chosen for an individual measurement during the measurement procedure are saved, which facilitates relating a measurement to a product and hence allows for rapid switches between different parts.

* Measurement can be saved, evaluated and printed out at a later time.

* Data export to statistics and quality control programs is established by saving the series of the measurement results either in a CSV data format, in qs-STAT data format or via the serial interface.

* Due to the non-contact feature and fast measurement, TOPOS Interferometers can be used in the automated quality inspection of production parts. As an example, during the 100% control of mechanical seals, more than 1200 parts per hour are measured during 3-shift operation.

* For the documentation of the part’s flatness, several graphical options are available: false-color image, 3-D image, cross section graphs with the four main cross sections, measurement protocol with the 3-D image and the section graphs, developed views for rings, and relief representation. Every graph displays the user-selectable legend and the measurement parameters. In the production facility, TOPOS Interferometers are installed directly next to the tooling machines. This ensures short distances and fast monitoring of product quality. In case of special production environments, the interferometers can be encapsulated specifically with regard to dust and oil-containing air.

* TOPOS Interferometers are available as models with either 50mm or 100mm measurement area. For the exclusive measurement of small parts, a special TOPOS 50 -20 with 20mm measuring area is manufactured. The TOPOS 100 model offers an optional zoom lens for an even larger operational range. Large rings, of 250mm diameter for example, can be measured automatically with a TOPOS 100 featuring a supplementary rotating measurement table. This offers the advantage of high spatial resolution measurements of the individual ring segments and furthermore, represents an economically attractive alternative to a measurement device with a measurement area of the actual size of the maximum ring diameter.

Learn more about Lapmaster TOPOS Interferometers, download the PDF here.

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