Abstract:
A centering system in a roundness measuring instrument comprises a computing section, a detecting device and a programming device. The computing section seeks an average circle of an article to be measured, a value of eccentricity and a direction of an angle of eccentricity in response to a displacement signal of a forward end element, sets an output signal of a detector so that the position of the detector at the time the measurement element is present on the arc of the average circle becomes zero, and further, calculates only a displacement value of the measurement element in a direction of an X-axis or a Y-axis to the value of eccentricity. The detecting device detects an angle of rotation of an X-Y table in a direction of an angle of eccentricity of the X-axis or the Y-axis. Then, the X-Y table is moved in the direction of each of the X and Y-axis so that the value of eccentricity in the direction of each axis at the time the respective axis is rotated to reach a predetermined angle of rotation becomes zero, thus carrying out the centering. With this operation, the centering work is facilitated and even an unskilled operator can carry out the centering of the article to be measured in a short period of time.