Heidenhain Acanto Length Gauge is an absolute gauge that is available in 12mm and 30mm travels. Heidenhain Acanto gauges work with a sliding guide. The sliding guides have these important properties:
· Sturdiness thanks to few moving parts
· Impervious to shock and vibration
· High plunger speeds and long service life thanks to high-quality ceramic bearings
· Less sensitivity to improper clamping
Spring-based plunger actuation: The AT 1218 and AT 3018 has a built in spring that extends and retracts the plunger to the measuring position and produces the gauging force. The plunger is extended while at rest. The gauging force is determined by the following:
· The operating orientation
· AT 1218: Upward -0.12 N, Downward +0.12 N
· AT 3018: Upward -0.18 N, Downward +0.18 N
· The plunger position (the force changes over the course of the measuring range)
· The direction of measurement (whether extension or retraction of the plunger is used)
Mounting: The Heidenhain Acanto Length Gauges feature a standard 8h6 diameter clamping shank. These Heidenhain length gauges can therefore easily be used with existing measuring fixtures and stands. Heidenhain offers a special clamping sleeve with one screw. This accessory make it easier to fasten the length gauge without overloading the 8h6 clamping shank. Clamping sleeve: ID 386811-01
Setup: The Heidenhain Acanto series are protected by a rubber bellows. The bellows is characterized by high resistance to chemical and thermal influences and have relatively low stiffness. Its influence on the gauge’s mechanical behavior and the measuring force is therefore low.
Thermal Dynamics: Heidenhain length gauges have a defined thermal behavior. Since temperature variation can result in measurement looping during measuring, Heidenhain uses special material with low expansion coefficients for the components of the measuring loop.
Reliability: Whereas the system accuracy applies over the entire measuring range, for some applications the repeatability is the decisive factor. It plays an important role in repeated measurements. The repeatability of the length gauge is typically better than listed by Heidenhain. Repeatability depends on: combination of materials used in the components, installed electronics, optomechanics used, and bearing of the plunger. Repeatability for the AT 1200: 0.4 UM/AT 3000: 0.8 UM
Heidenhain Acanto Length Gauge uses an absolute measuring method, the position value is available from the gauge immediately. You can also determine the position at any time by the subsequent electronics. With the Acanto gauge there is no need to move the gage to find a reference point. The absolute position information is from reading the graduated disk. This disk is formed from a serial absolute code structure. A separate incremental track is interpolated for the position value and at the same time, so depending on the interface version, it can generate an optional incremental signal
