A wide range of metrology processes are involved in the manufacture of large products. In addition to the traditional tool setting and product verification operations increasingly flexible metrology enabled automation is also being used. Faced with many possible measurement problems and a very large number of metrology instruments, employing diverse technologies, the selection of the appropriate instrument for a given task can be highly complex. Also, since metrology has become a key manufacturing process it should be considered in the early stages of design, and there is currently very little research to support this. This paper provides an overview of the important selection criteria for typical measurement processes and presents some novel selection strategies. Metrics which can be used to assess measurability are also discussed. A prototype instrument selection and measurability analysis application is also presented with discussion of how this can be used as the basis for development of a more sophisticated measurement planning tool.
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Authors
J E Muelaner, B Cai, P G Maropoulos
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Bath, Bath, UK
Published in
IMechE, Part B: J. Engineering Manufacture, 2010.
Volume and page number information
Volume 224, Number 6
Pages 853-868
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