ON-MACHINE SHAPE MEASUREMENT OF WORKPIECE SURFACE WITH FIZEAU INTERFEROMETER

The Fizeau interferometer has been generally thought to be inappropriate for measurements during a machining operation because of relatively large vibrations of the machine and air turbulence in the optical paths. Experimental results presented in this paper, however, show that the Fizeau interferometer can be used on the machine at the manufacturing site when the machine is stationary and the air turbulence is eliminated. Interference fringes obtained with the interferometer have radial patterns due to machine vibrations. A dominant cause of the radial pattern of the interferogram is the vibrations of the main spindle. A newly developed machine with reduced vibrations has no radial patterns.