FAQ – Ceramic

There are many precision measuring tools made by granite, metal and ceramic. I will give an example of CERAMIC MASTER SQUARES.

Ceramic Master Squares are absolutely necessary for accurately measuring the perpendicularity, squareness and straightness of the X, Y, and Z axes of machine tools. These ceramic master squares are made of aluminum oxide ceramic materials, a lightweight option to granite or steel.

Ceramic squares are commonly used to check machine alignments, level and machine square. Leveling mills and squaring up a machine is critical to both keeping your parts in tolerance and keeping a good finish on your part. Ceramic squares are much easier to handle then granite machine squares inside of a machine. No crane is needed to move them.

Ceramic Measuring (ceramic rulers) Features:

 

• Extended Calibration Life

Manufactured from advanced ceramic materials with exceptional hardness, these ceramic master squares are much harder than granite or steel. Now you will have less wear from repeatedly sliding the instrument on and off a machine surface.

• Improved Durability

Advanced ceramic is totally non-porous and inert, so there is no moisture absorption or corrosion that would cause dimensional instability. The dimension variation of advanced ceramic instruments is minimal, making these ceramic squares especially valuable for manufacturing floors with high humidity and/or high temperatures.

• Accuracy

Measurements are consistently accurate with advanced ceramic materials because the thermal expansion for ceramic is very low in comparison to steel or granite.

• Easier Handling and Lifting

Half the weight of steel and one-third that of granite, one person can easily lift and handle most ceramic measurement instruments. Lightweight and easy to transport.

These Precision Ceramic Measuring are made to order, so please allow 10-12 weeks for delivery.
Lead time may vary depending on production schedule.

Why do high-end CMMs use industrial ceramics as the spindle beam and Z axis​
☛Temperature stability: "Coefficient of Thermal Expansion" The thermal expansion coefficient of granite and industrial ceramics is only about 1/4 of that of aluminum alloy materials and 1/2 of that of steel.
☛Thermal compatibility: At present, the equipment of aluminum alloy (beam and main shaft), the workbench is mostly made of granite;
☛Anti-aging stability: After the aluminum alloy material is formed, there is a large internal stress in the component,
☛"Rigidity/mass ratio" parameter: industrial ceramics is 4 times that of aluminum alloy materials. That is: when the rigidity is the same, the industrial ceramic only needs 1/4 of the weight;
☛Corrosion resistance: non-metallic materials do not rust at all, and the inner and outer materials are the same (non-plated), which is easy to maintain.
Obviously, compared with industrial ceramics, the good dynamic performance of aluminum alloy material equipment is obtained by "sacrificing" rigidity.
In addition to the above reasons, forming methods such as aluminum alloy extrusion are lower than non-metallic materials in terms of forming accuracy.