SCHAUMBURG, IL-Heidenhain Corp. donated almost a dozen high-precision linear scales to universities around the country that have mechanical engineering and aerospace programs. The LIP 400 linear scales were donated to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC), University of Florida, University of New Mexico, University of North Carolina and University of Oklahoma.

"Our students work in the cutting edge of measurement," says Dr. Robert Hocken, director for the Center of Precision Metrology at UNCC. The center handles ultra-

precision metrology at the nanometer level to large-scale machine projects geared for aerospace. "Two of these scales from Heidenhain will be used on a meso-scale, two-axis lathe here that will manufacture small optics."

Two of the scales will be used on a machining process metrology project at the University of Florida, says Dr. Tony Schmitz, the university's assistant professor in their Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering. "Here at our Machine Tool Research Center, our graduate students are working to predict machining behavior for aerospace and military applications," he says, "and we need to measure the forces and deflections during machining."