Materials

Choosing the correct material is important to ensure success in your application. Factors include weight, durability, and thermal stability. Listed below are several charts to help determine what materials will work best with your applications and also the technical specifications for each material.

BEST Recommended choice (best available)
OK Acceptable alternative (not ideal)
NO Not recommended (or not applicable)

THREADED BASE MATERIAL

Thread STAINLESS STEEL TITANIUM ALUMINUM
M2 M3 M4 M6

BEST

OK

NO

M5

OK

BEST

NO

BALL MATERIAL

Application RUBY SILICON NITRIDE CARBIDE ZYRCONIA
Point-to-Point measurements on all materials

BEST

OK

NO

OK

Scanning on ALUMINUM parts

OK
(frequent cleaning required)

BEST

NO

OK

Scanning on CAST IRON

OK
(rapid wear )

OK

NO

BEST

Portable CMMs

BEST

NO

NO

OK

STEM or EXTENSION

Application STAINLESS
STEEL
HIGH GRADE
STAINLESS STEEL
CARBIDE TUBULAR
STEM
CARBIDE FULL
STEM
CERAMIC CARBON
FIBER
Point to Point
(L < 80)

BEST

OK

OK

OK

OK

OK

Scanning with high
stiffness

NO

BEST

OK

OK

OK

NO

Small ball diameters
(Ø<1 mm)

NO

NO

NO

BEST

NO

NO

Reduced weight

NO

NO

NO

NO

OK

BEST

Reduced weight + high
stiffness

NO

OK

BEST

OK

OK

NO

Long stylus
(L>150mm)
Ø ball>4mm
MAX. STIFFNESS

NO

OK

BEST

OK

OK

NO

Long stylus
(L>150mm)
Ø ball<4mm
MAX. STIFFNESS

NO

NO

NO

BEST

OK

NO

Anti-crash

NO

NO

NO

NO

BEST

NO

STEM AND BASE MATERIAL TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

MATERIAL HARDNESS DENSITY
TITANIUM

3.7035 Grade 2

150 Brinell

4.5 g/cm3

STAINLESS STEEL

1.4305

300 Vickers

7.95 g/cm3

TUNGSTEN
CARBIDE

DK 120

1700 Vickers

15.0 g/cm3

CERAMIC

Alsint 99.7

9 as per Mohs

3.85 g/cm3

CARBON FIBER

Bending Strength > 450
GPa CTE (Coefficient of Thermal Expansion) – 0.4x10-6K-1

BALL MATERIAL TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

RUBY BALLS CERAMIC BALLS SILICON NITRIDE
BALLS
ZIRCONIA OXIDE BALLS
MATERIAL

Synthetic Ruby
Monochrystal
Al2O3

Aluminum Oxide
Polychrystal >99.9
Al2O3

Silicon Nitride
Polychrystal
SI3N4

Zirconia Oxide
Polychrystal ZrO2

FORM DEVIATION

≤ 0.125µm

≤ 0.125µm

≤ 0.125µm

≤ 0.125µm

DIAMETER DEVIATION

≤ 0.15µm

≤ 0.15µm

≤ 0.15µm

≤ 0.15µm

ROUGHNESS Ra

≤ 0.008µm

≤ 0.008µm

≤ 0.008µm

≤ 0.008µm

HARDNESS

2400 Vickers

2100 Vickers

1600 Vickers

1200 Vickers

DENSITY

3.99 g/cm3

33.85 g/cm3

3.20 g/cm3

6.05 g/cm3

THERMAL EXPANSION

5.4•10-6K-1

8.0•10-6K-1

2.9•10-6K-1

10.5•10-6K-1

COMPRESSION
STRENGTH (MPa)

2100

3800

3000

2000

BENDING STRENGTH

400

470

>1000

700-1100

FRACTURE
TOUGHNESS (MN/m3/2)

1

4

>6.5

10

itpstyli not only offers an extensive range of standard styli, but also offers the Design Your Own styli option where you can create a custom stylus that fits your specific application.

Questions?