METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CALIBRATING A DISPLACEMENT PROBE USING A POLYNOMIAL EQUATION TO GENERATE A DISPLACEMENT LOOK-UP TABLE

A method and apparatus for calibrating a displacement probe, such as a Hall effect displacement probe, wherein a preassembled probe is clamped in a calibration fixture which includes a calibration target and facility for selectively varying displacement between the target and the probe measurement tip. Probe output is read and stored at each of a plurality of preselected target/probe displacements. The stored output v. displacement data set is then employed to generate a polynomial equation which approximates probe output as a function of displacement. A displacement v. output look-up table unique to that probe is then generated from the polynomial approximation for a multiplicity of discrete displacement increments.