Indexing and Indexing Method

Indexing and Indexing Method Points : What is Indexing and Indexing Method Indexing may be defined as the process of causing the work to be moved any desired amount on its axis. In the construction of modem machines, there are any parts that are round or circular in shape and that have slots, teeth or spaces ct across their peripheral faces. A common example is the spur gear, or the roller chain sprocket. The basic requirement of such machine parts is that the distance from one slot, tooth, or space to the next I the precise amount required for its functioning. Each tooth of & gear or sprocket is the same size and shape as its neighbor and they are spaced exactly the same distance apart. This exact spacing is accomplished by means of a machine operation called indexing. Many methods of indexing are in use in modern machine manufacture. The primary purpose .of the mechanism of the index head is the exact division of a circle, or a part of a circle, into a specified number of parts. It is also possible to index for angular Distance.

There are several methods of indexing, namely, direct, simple, compound, and differential. Of these methods, the direct and the simple are those most commonly in use. Compound indexing, which was extensively used in the past, is now almost obsolete mainly because of the chances for error and the inaccuracies resulting from its use. Differential indexing gives accurate results, but it is not in common use because of the longer time required for setup. In certain instances this method offers the only solution for indexing numbers beyond the range of simple indexing.