JP4378247B2 - Indenter tip inspection device and indenter tip inspection method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an indenter tip inspection device and an indenter tip inspection method.

Conventionally, a hardness tester that measures the hardness of a sample by applying a load to the surface of the sample by using an indenter to form a dent has been used. Specifically, for example, a hardness tester has a load lever, one end of the load lever is provided with an indenter, and the other end has a force coil that generates electromagnetic force. Is provided. The force generated by the force coil is transmitted to the indenter via the load lever. The force transmitted through the load lever causes the indenter to press the sample and form a recess in the sample. The hardness and strength characteristics of the sample can be determined from the indentation depth of the indenter at this time, the size of the recess formed at this time, and the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2001-124681 A

  By the way, the tip of the indenter has a conical shape, a triangular pyramid shape, a quadrangular pyramid shape, or the like. In the hardness tester as described above, in order to obtain highly accurate measurement results and highly reproducible measurement results, it is desirable that the shape (tip shape) of the tip portion of the indenter is always constant. On the other hand, the tip portion of the indenter is a portion that directly presses the sample, and further, since it is pointed, it tends to be worn or damaged. Therefore, the tip shape of the indenter has been inspected by various methods such as an observation method using an optical microscope and a knife edge method. Recently, an observation method using an atomic force microscope has been attempted. However, these methods have a problem that it is difficult to detect minute wear and damage on the order of nanometers from the viewpoint of the performance of the inspection apparatus or the operability of the inspection apparatus.

  The subject of this invention is providing the indenter front-end | tip inspection apparatus and indenter front-end | tip inspection method which can detect minute wear and damage more simply.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is an indenter tip inspection device, in which an indenter moving unit that moves the indenter up and down in a substantially vertical direction and an upper surface are opened, and viscous fluid is stored inside. The reservoir, the weight measuring unit for measuring the weight of the reservoir, the indenter moving unit is moved vertically downward, and the tip of the indenter is pushed into the viscous fluid of the reservoir, And a movement control unit that performs a movement control for moving the indenter vertically upward to pull up the tip of the indenter from the viscous fluid of the storage unit.

  A second aspect of the present invention is the indenter tip inspection apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the weight measuring unit measures a change with time of the weight of the storage unit.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the indenter tip inspection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the indenter is based on whether the measurement result by the weight measuring unit is a value within a preset allowable range. It is provided with the determination part which determines the acceptance / rejection of the tip shape.

  The invention according to claim 4 is an indenter tip inspection method, wherein the indenter is moved substantially vertically downward, and the tip portion of the indenter is pushed into a storage portion that stores viscous fluid therein, The indenter is moved substantially vertically upward, and the weight change of the reservoir when the tip of the indenter is pulled up from the viscous fluid of the reservoir is measured.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the tip of the indenter can be pushed into the viscous fluid of the storage unit and then pulled up from the viscous fluid of the storage unit by the movement control of the indenter moving unit by the movement control unit. . And since the weight of the storage part is measured by the weight measuring part, it is adsorbed to the tip part of the indenter when the tip part of the indenter is pulled up from the viscous fluid only by controlling the movement of the indenter part by the movement control part. The weight of the viscous fluid coming can be measured. Therefore, the amount of viscous fluid adsorbed on the tip of the indenter that changes with the change of the shape of the tip of the indenter can be easily measured, and the minute wear at the tip of the indenter can be more easily performed. An indenter tip inspection apparatus that can detect damage can be provided.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, it is needless to say that the same effect as that of the invention described in claim 1 can be obtained. The tip of the indenter is pushed into the viscous fluid of the storage part, and then the storage part. The change in the weight of the storage part that accompanies the movement control of the indenter moving part by the movement control part, such as pulling up from the viscous fluid possessed by can be acquired as a change with time. Therefore, the amount of the viscous fluid adsorbed on the tip of the indenter that changes with the change in the shape of the tip of the indenter can be grasped in more detail, and the minute amount at the tip of the indenter can be more accurately determined. An indenter tip inspection device capable of detecting wear and damage can be provided.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is of course possible to obtain the same effect as that of the first or second aspect of the invention, and the viscosity that has been automatically adsorbed on the tip of the indenter by the determination unit. Based on whether or not the measurement result of the amount of fluid is a value within a preset allowable range, whether the tip shape of the indenter is acceptable or not is determined, so that the labor of the operator can be reduced. Furthermore, it is possible to objectively determine whether the tip shape of the indenter is acceptable, and it is possible to detect minute wear and damage at the tip portion of the indenter more easily and more accurately. An inspection device can be provided.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the tip of the indenter is pulled up from the viscous fluid of the reservoir, the weight of the viscous fluid adsorbed on the tip of the indenter is measured. The amount of viscous fluid adsorbed on the tip of the indenter that changes with the change can be easily measured, and it is possible to more easily detect minute wear and damage at the tip of the indenter. An indenter tip inspection method that can be provided can be provided.

  Hereinafter, the best mode of an indenter tip inspection apparatus and an indenter tip inspection method in the indenter tip inspection apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  The indenter tip inspection apparatus 100 includes, for example, a measurement unit 1 that measures the tip shape of the indenter A and a processing unit 5 that processes data obtained from the measurement unit 1, as shown in FIG. The measurement unit 1 and the processing unit 5 are electrically connected.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the measuring unit 1 includes an indenter moving unit 10 that moves the indenter A up and down in a substantially vertical direction, a drive unit 20 that moves the indenter moving unit 10 up and down, and a lower part of the indenter A. The storage unit 30 has an upper surface that is open and stores the viscous fluid 31 therein, and a weight measurement unit 40 that measures the weight of the storage unit 30.

  An indenter A is attached to the tip of the indenter moving unit 10 and can move up and down in a substantially vertical direction. Here, the indenter A is removed from, for example, a hardness tester, so that the axis of the indenter A is parallel to the substantially vertical direction, and the tip portion a of the indenter A is directed downward. It is attached to the tip of the indenter moving part 10. The tip portion a of the indenter A ideally has a conical shape, a triangular pyramid shape, a quadrangular pyramid shape, or the like.

  The drive unit 20 moves the indenter moving unit 10 attached with the indenter A up and down in a substantially vertical direction, and includes, for example, a piezoelectric element and a force coil as a drive source (not shown). By moving the indenter moving unit 10 up and down using the force generated from the drive source of the driving unit 20, the tip end a of the indenter A is pushed into the viscous fluid 31 of the storage unit 30 or pulled up from the viscous fluid 31. You can also.

  The reservoir 30 is disposed below the indenter A attached to the indenter moving unit 10. Examples of the viscous fluid 31 stored in the storage unit 30 include water and oil, and those having good wettability to the indenter A, a certain degree of viscosity, and low volatility are preferable.

  The weight measuring unit 40 is for measuring the weight of the storage unit 30 and is configured by, for example, an electronic balance.

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the processing unit 5 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 51, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 52, an input unit 53, a display unit 54, and a storage unit 55.

  The CPU 51 performs various control operations in accordance with various processing programs for the indenter tip inspection apparatus 100 stored in the storage unit 55. Note that the CPU 51 in the present invention outputs a drive signal to the drive unit 20 of the measurement unit 1 or takes in weight measurement data from the gravity measurement unit 40 of the measurement unit 1.

  The RAM 52 develops a processing program executed by the CPU 51 in a program storage area in the RAM 52, and stores input data and a processing result generated when the processing program is executed in the data storage area.

  The input unit 53 includes, for example, a cursor key, character / number keys, various function keys, and the like, and outputs a press signal accompanying the key operation of the operator to the CPU 51. The input unit 53 may include a pointing device such as a mouse and a touch panel, and other input devices as necessary. Note that the input unit 53 in the present invention, for example, when the operator instructs the CPU 51 to measure the tip portion a of the indenter A or to determine whether the tip shape of the indenter A is acceptable. Used for etc.

  The display unit 54 is composed of, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panel, and performs a required display process in accordance with a display signal input from the CPU 51. In addition, the display part 54 in this invention displays what graphed the weight measurement data obtained by the measurement, for example.

  The storage unit 55 includes a system program that can be executed by the indenter tip inspection apparatus 100, various processing programs that can be executed by the system program, data that is used when these various processing programs are executed, and processing results that are arithmetically processed by the CPU 51. The data etc. are memorized. The program is stored in the storage unit 55 in the form of a computer readable program code. Specifically, a pass / fail judgment reference database 551, an indenter tip shape measurement program 552, an indenter tip shape judgment program 553, and the like are stored in the storage unit 55 in the present invention.

  The pass / fail judgment reference database 551 stores pass / fail judgment reference data serving as a reference for judging pass / fail of the tip shape of the indenter A and type data of the indenter A in association with each other. Specifically, the pass / fail determination reference data includes, for example, ideal weight measurement data obtained by measuring the tip portion a of the indenter A having an ideal tip shape using the indenter tip inspection apparatus 100. It is. When the pass / fail judgment reference data is graphed, for example, a curve (reference curve) as shown by a broken line in FIG. 3 is drawn. The type data of the indenter A is obtained by classifying the indenter A according to its shape. Examples of the type of the indenter A include a conical indenter, a triangular pyramid indenter, and a quadrangular pyramid indenter. Since the pass / fail judgment reference data differs depending on the type of the indenter A, the pass / fail judgment reference database 551 stores indenter A type data and corresponding pass / fail judgment reference data for each indenter A type.

The indenter tip shape measurement program 552 causes the CPU 51 to realize a function of measuring the tip portion a of the indenter A. Specifically, when measurement of the tip end a of the indenter A is instructed by an operation of the input unit 53 by the operator, the CPU 51 executes the indenter tip shape measurement program 552 and outputs a drive signal to the drive unit 20. At the same time, the weight measurement data is fetched from the weight measurement unit 40 in time series.
In response to the drive signal from the CPU 51, the drive unit 20 moves the indenter moving unit 10 to which the indenter A is attached substantially vertically downward at a predetermined speed, and then moves substantially vertically upward at a predetermined speed. As the indenter moving part 10 moves substantially vertically downward, the tip end a of the indenter A comes into contact with the surface of the viscous fluid 31 and is pushed into the viscous fluid 31 with a predetermined load. Thereafter, the tip portion a of the indenter A pushed into the viscous fluid 31 is pulled up from the viscous fluid 31 by the movement of the indenter moving portion 10 in a substantially vertical upward direction.

  When the indenter moving unit 10 reciprocates once, the CPU 51 stops outputting the driving signal to the driving unit 20 and stops taking in the weight measurement data from the weight measuring unit 40. Then, the time-series weight measurement data taken from the weight measurement unit 40 is graphed and displayed on the display unit 54, for example. At this time, for example, a curve (measurement curve) as shown by a solid line in FIG. 3 is displayed on the display unit 54. Here, the CPU 51 functions as a movement control unit by executing the indenter tip shape measurement program 552.

  The indenter tip shape determination program 553 causes the CPU 51 to perform time-series weight measurement data, that is, from the measurement result of the tip portion a of the indenter A obtained by executing the indenter tip shape measurement program 552, the tip shape of the indenter A. A function to determine whether or not is passed is realized. Specifically, when an operator determines whether the tip shape of the indenter A is acceptable or not by operating the input unit 53, the CPU 51 executes the indenter tip shape determination program 553 to retrieve the indenter A from the acceptance criteria database 551. Type data is read out and all types of indenters A stored in the pass / fail criterion database 551 are displayed on the display unit 54. When the type of indenter A used for measurement is selected from the types of indenter A displayed on the display unit 54 by the operation of the input unit 53 by the operator, the CPU 51 reads the pass / fail judgment reference database 551 from the operator. The acceptance / rejection determination reference data corresponding to the type of the selected indenter A is read, and the read acceptance / rejection determination reference data is graphed and displayed on the display unit 54, for example. At this time, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the reference curve is displayed on the display unit 54 together with the measurement curve.

Further, the CPU 51 compares the pass / fail judgment reference data corresponding to the type of the indenter A selected by the operator with the time-series weight measurement data obtained by executing the indenter tip shape measurement program 552, so that time series It is determined whether or not the weight measurement data is within a preset acceptable tolerance range, and the determination result is displayed on the display unit 54.
Specifically, for example, the area of the divergence portion between the reference curve drawn from the pass / fail judgment reference data and the measurement curve drawn from the time-series weight measurement data is calculated, and the divergence area is within the acceptable acceptable range. Judgment is made based on whether or not the value. Further, for example, the determination is made based on whether or not the difference between the minimum value of the pass / fail determination reference data and the minimum value of the time-series weight measurement data is a value within the acceptable pass range. Here, the CPU 51 functions as a determination unit by executing the indenter tip shape determination program 553.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, a time-series state of the tip end portion a of the indenter A in the inspection using the indenter tip inspection apparatus 100 will be described.
In the measurement of the tip portion a of the indenter A, the time series appearances near the tip portion a of the indenter A and the surface of the viscous fluid 31 are the indenter A having an ideal tip shape (ideal indenter A), that is, completely worn When the measurement is performed using the indenter A that is not damaged, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the measurement is performed using the indenter A that is worn and damaged, for example, as shown in FIG. Then, by measuring the tip end a of the ideal indenter A, for example, a curve (reference curve) as shown by the broken line in FIG. 3 is obtained, and by measuring the tip end a of the indenter A that is worn or damaged, For example, a curve (measurement curve) as shown by a solid line in FIG. 3 is obtained. Here, the horizontal axis of FIG. 3 indicates the measurement time, and the vertical axis indicates the change in weight, that is, the difference obtained by subtracting the weight of the reservoir 30 before measurement from the weight of the reservoir 30 being measured. Moreover, in the reference | standard curve and measurement curve of FIG. 3, the position corresponding to each state of FIG.4 (a)-(f) and FIG.5 (a)-(f) is shown. 3, 4, and 5 are conceptual diagrams, not actual measurement values.

  The measurement of the tip end a of the indenter A starts from a state where the tip end a of the indenter A and the viscous fluid 31 are completely separated (FIGS. 4A and 5A).

  First, the indenter moving unit 10 including the indenter A is moved substantially vertically downward by the drive unit 20 at a predetermined speed. Then, the tip end a of the indenter A approaches the surface of the viscous fluid 31 and eventually comes into contact with the surface of the viscous fluid 31. At this time, the contact area between the tip a of the indenter A and the viscous fluid 31 is larger in the indented indenter A than in the ideal indenter A (FIGS. 4B and 5B). )). In addition, the time required for contact is longer for the indenter A that has been worn and damaged compared to the ideal indenter A (FIG. 3). This is because the indenter A that has been worn and damaged is worn or damaged and has a shorter length, and the moving distance is increased accordingly.

  When the tip end a of the indenter A comes into contact with the surface of the viscous fluid 31, the tip end a of the indenter A is pushed into the viscous fluid 31 by a predetermined load by the drive unit 20, and eventually reaches the tip end a of the indenter A. The vertically downward force acting and the vertically upward force acting on the tip end a of the indenter A are balanced. At this time, the depth of the indenter A that has been pushed into the viscous fluid 31 becomes smaller compared to the ideal indenter A (FIGS. 4C and 5C). This is because the worn and damaged indenter A has a larger contact area with the viscous fluid 31. Further, the increase in the weight of the reservoir 30 when balanced is the same for the worn and damaged indenter A and the ideal indenter A (FIG. 3). This is because both the tip part a of the indenter A that is worn and damaged and the tip part a of the ideal indenter A are pushed into the viscous fluid 31 with the same load.

  When the vertical downward force acting on the tip portion a of the indenter A and the vertical upward force acting on the tip portion a of the indenter A balance, then the drive unit 20 causes the indenter moving unit 10 provided with the indenter A to move. Moves substantially vertically upward at a predetermined speed. Then, the tip end a of the indenter A starts to be pulled up from the viscous fluid 31. At this time, the amount of the viscous fluid 31 adsorbed on the tip end a of the indenter A is larger in the indenter A that is worn and damaged than in the ideal indenter A (FIG. 4 (d), FIG. 5). (D)). This is because the indenter A that has been worn and damaged has a larger contact area with the viscous fluid 31. Therefore, the decrease in the weight of the reservoir 30 is larger for the indenter A that is worn and damaged compared to the ideal indenter A (FIG. 3).

  Further, when the indenter A is pulled up, the vertical downward force acting on the viscous fluid 31 adsorbed on the tip portion a of the indenter A and the vertical force acting on the viscous fluid 31 adsorbed on the tip portion a of the indenter A. The upward force balances (FIGS. 4E and 5E). The decrease in the weight of the reservoir 30 when balanced is greater for the worn and damaged indenter A than for the ideal indenter A, and the time required for balancing is greater for the worn and damaged indenter A. This is longer than the ideal indenter A (FIG. 3). This is because the worn and damaged indenter A has a larger contact area with the viscous fluid 31 and the amount of the viscous fluid 31 adsorbed is larger.

  Immediately after the vertically downward force acting on the viscous fluid 31 adsorbed on the tip portion a of the indenter A balances with the vertically upward force acting on the viscous fluid 31 adsorbed on the tip portion a of the indenter A In addition, the tip a of the indenter A and the viscous fluid 31 are separated. And the front-end | tip part a of the indenter A is completely pulled up from the viscous fluid 31 (FIG.4 (f), FIG.5 (f)).

  According to the indenter tip inspection apparatus 100 of the present invention described above, the viscosity of the reservoir 30 having the tip portion a of the indenter A is controlled by the movement control of the indenter moving unit 10 by the CPU 51 executing the indenter tip shape measuring program 552. It can be pushed into the fluid 31 and then pulled up from the viscous fluid 31 of the reservoir 30. Since the weight of the storage unit 30 is measured by the weight measuring unit 40, the CPU 51 executes the indenter tip shape measurement program 552 and only controls the movement of the indenter moving unit 10, so that the tip part a of the indenter A is moved. When pulling up from the viscous fluid 31, the weight of the viscous fluid 31 adsorbed on the tip end a of the indenter A can be measured. Therefore, the amount of the viscous fluid 31 adsorbed on the tip end a of the indenter A that changes as the tip shape of the indenter A changes can be easily measured. It is possible to provide the indenter tip inspection apparatus 100 capable of detecting minute wear and damage in the part a.

  Further, the indenter moves when the CPU 51 executes the indenter tip shape measurement program 552 such that the tip a of the indenter A is pushed into the viscous fluid 31 of the reservoir 30 and then pulled up from the viscous fluid 31 of the reservoir 30. A change in the weight of the storage unit 30 that accompanies the movement control of the unit 10 can be acquired as a change with time. Therefore, the amount of the viscous fluid 31 adsorbed on the tip end portion a of the indenter A that changes as the tip shape of the indenter A changes can be grasped in more detail. It is possible to provide the indenter tip inspection apparatus 100 that can detect minute wear and damage at the tip end a.

  Further, when the CPU 51 executes the indenter tip shape determination program 553, the measurement result of the amount of the viscous fluid 31 adsorbed on the tip portion a of the indenter A is a value within a preset allowable range. Whether the tip shape of the indenter A is acceptable or not is determined on the basis of whether or not, the operator's labor can be reduced. Furthermore, it is possible to objectively determine whether the tip shape of the indenter A is acceptable, and it is possible to detect minute wear and damage at the tip portion a of the indenter A more easily and more accurately. A possible indenter tip inspection apparatus 100 can be provided.

  Further, according to the indenter tip inspection method of the present invention described above, the viscous fluid 31 adsorbed to the tip portion a of the indenter A when the tip portion a of the indenter A is pulled up from the viscous fluid 31 included in the reservoir 30. In order to measure the weight of the indenter A, it is possible to easily measure the amount of the viscous fluid 31 adsorbed on the tip end portion a of the indenter A, which changes as the tip shape of the indenter A changes. It is possible to provide an indenter tip inspection method capable of detecting minute wear and damage at the tip portion a of the indenter A.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above.
Instead of the processing unit 2, an external device including a CPU 51, a RAM 52, an input unit 53, a display unit 54, a storage unit 55, and the like may be provided. In this case, the drive unit 20 and the weight measurement unit 40 of the measurement unit 1 are connected to the CPU 51 of the external device by a cable.

The type of the indenter A classified by shape and the pass / fail judgment reference data are associated with each other and stored in the pass / fail judgment reference database 551. The type of the indenter A is classified by specifying the indenter A to be inspected. Can be classified, for example, by the product number of the indenter A.
In the pass / fail judgment reference data, if the type of the indenter A is the same, the pass / fail judgment reference data may be assumed to be the same. For example, the indenter tip inspection apparatus 100 may be used for a hardness test. Pass / fail judgment reference data may be obtained by individually measuring the tip portion a of the indenter A at a stage where it is not used at all, that is, at a stage where it is not worn or damaged at all.

In the present invention, the CPU 51 executes the indenter tip shape determination program 561 to determine whether the time-series weight measurement data obtained by the measurement is a value within a preset acceptable tolerance range. For example, a database in which acceptable acceptable range data is stored in association with the type of the indenter A may be stored in the storage unit 55. In this case, there is an advantage that the acceptable acceptance range can be changed more freely.
Further, the acceptable allowable range does not need to be set in advance, and may be set, for example, by the operation of the input unit 53 of the operator every time the tip shape of the indenter A is determined.
Further, it is not necessary for the processing unit 2 to determine whether the tip shape of the indenter A is acceptable. For example, an operator can display the graphed pass / fail judgment reference data displayed on the display unit 54 and the graphed time series. Whether the tip shape of the indenter A is acceptable or not may be determined by comparing with the weight measurement data.

The acceptance criteria data displayed on the display unit 54, time-series weight measurement data obtained by measurement, and the like do not need to be graphed. As long as the pass / fail judgment reference data can be compared with the time-series weight measurement data obtained by the measurement, for example, only values may be listed.
Further, the weight measurement data need not be time-series data, and may be, for example, only the minimum value.

It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of the indenter front-end | tip inspection apparatus which is embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the principal part structure of the test | inspection part of an indenter front-end | tip inspection apparatus. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the time-dependent change of the weight obtained by an indenter tip test | inspection. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the front-end | tip part of an indenter and the surface vicinity of a viscous fluid in time series (a)-(f) in the indenter tip test | inspection using the indenter which has an ideal tip shape. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the front-end | tip part of an indenter and the surface vicinity of a viscous fluid in time series (a)-(f) in the indenter tip test | inspection using the indenter with which it was worn and damaged.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Measuring part 5 Processing part 10 Indenter moving part 20 Drive part 30 Storage part 31 Viscous fluid 40 Weight measuring part 51 CPU (movement control part, determination part)
55 Storage Unit 100 Indenter Tip Inspection Device 552 Indenter Tip Shape Measurement Program (Movement Control Unit)
553 Indenter tip shape determination program (determination unit)
A Indenter a Tip of Indenter A

Claims (4)

An indenter moving section that moves the indenter up and down in a substantially vertical direction;
A reservoir that has an open top and stores viscous fluid therein;
A weight measuring unit for measuring the weight of the storage unit;
Move the indenter vertically downward to push the tip of the indenter into the viscous fluid of the reservoir, and then move the indenter vertically upward to move the tip of the indenter A movement control unit for performing movement control for lifting from the viscous fluid of the storage unit;
An indenter tip inspection apparatus comprising:   The indenter tip inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the weight measuring unit measures a change with time of the weight of the storage unit.   3. The determination unit according to claim 1, further comprising: a determination unit that determines whether the tip shape of the indenter is acceptable based on whether the measurement result by the weight measurement unit is a value within a preset allowable range. Indenter tip inspection device. Move the indenter substantially vertically downward, and push the tip of the indenter into the reservoir that stores the viscous fluid inside,
Next, the indenter tip inspection method is characterized by measuring a change in weight of the reservoir when the indenter is moved substantially vertically upward to pull up the tip of the indenter from the viscous fluid of the reservoir.

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