Patent ID: 9103358
Filing Date: 2015-08-11
Classification: F15B

Abstract:
1. A method of forming a position measurement system, the method comprising: machining a plurality of grooves in a surface of a shaft formed from a first material, the shaft defining an axis and having a shaft length that extends along the axis, the grooves having groove lengths that extend circumferentially about the axis, each of the plurality of grooves being axially spaced apart from an adjacent one of the plurality of grooves by one of a plurality of lands, wherein each groove has a substantially V-shape, a rounded vertex having a radius of from about 0.3 mm to about 0.7 mm, and two sides that define an angle therebetween of from about 55° to about 65°, the grooves having depths defined at the rounded vertexes, and the depths of the grooves being equal to one another; laser welding a second material into only the plurality of grooves of the surface of the shaft, wherein the laser welding melts the surface within the plurality of grooves to form a mixture of the first material and the second material in only the plurality of grooves; solidifying the mixture to form an indicator material that is distinguishable from the first material and metallurgically bonded in the plurality of grooves to the first material, wherein the indicator material is present in the grooves and is not present over the lands such that the indicator material is alternatingly present and not present along the shaft length of the shaft; and depositing an alloy onto the shaft to form a corrosion-resistant cladding that covers the indicator material and the plurality of lands of the shaft to thereby form the position measurement system.