Surface form inspection with contact coordinate measurement:a review

Parts with high-quality freeform surfaces have been widely used in industries,which require strict quality control during the manufacturing process.Among all the industrial inspection methods,contact measurement with coordinate measuring machines or computer numerical control machine tool is a fundamental technique due to its high accuracy,robustness,and universality.In this paper,the existing research in the contact measurement field is systematically reviewed.First,different configurations of the measuring machines are introduced in detail,which may have influence on the corresponding sampling and inspection path generation criteria.Then,the entire inspection pipeline is divided into two stages,namely the pre-inspection and post-inspection stages.The typical methods of each sub-stage are systematically overviewed and classified,including sampling,accessibility analysis,inspection path generation,probe tip radius compensation,surface reconstruction,and uncertainty analysis.Apart from those classical research,the applications of the emerging deep learning technique in some specific tasks of measurement are introduced.Furthermore,some potential and promising trends are provided for future investigation.

Robot Vision System for Coordinate Measurement of Feature Points on Large Scale Automobile Part

In this paper,we present a robot vision based system for coordinate measurement of feature points on large scale automobile parts.Our system consists of an industrial 6-DOF robot mounted with a CCD camera and a PC.The system controls the robot into the area of feature points.The images of measuring feature points are acquired by the camera mounted on the robot.3D positions of the feature points are obtained from a model based pose estimation that applies to the images.The measured positions of all feature points are then transformed to the reference coordinate of feature points whose positions are obtained from the coordinate measuring machine（CMM）.Finally,the point-to-point distances between the measured feature points and the reference feature points are calculated and reported.The results show that the root mean square error（RMSE） of measure values obtained by our system is less than 0.5 mm.Our system is adequate for automobile assembly and can perform faster than conventional methods.

GUIDELESS SPATIAL COORDINATE MEASUREMENT TECHNOLOGY BASED ON CODING POLE

A new method of guideless spatial coordinate measurement technology based on coding pole and vision measurement is proposed. Unequal spacing of bar code is adopted to pole, so that the code combination of pole image in measuring field is unique. Holographic characteristics of numeric coding pole are adopted to obtain pole pose and pole probe position by any section of bar code on the pole. Spatial coordinates of measuring points can be obtained by coordinate transform. The contradiction between high resolution and large visual field of image sensor is resolved, thereby providing a new concept for surface shape measurement of large objects with high precision. The measurement principles of the system are expounded and mathematic model is established. The measurement equation is evaluated by simulation experiments and the measurement precision is analyzed. Theoretical analysis and simulation experiments prove that this system is characterized by simple structure and wide measurement range. Therefore it can be used in the 3-dimentional coordinate measurement of large objects.

Multiple Measurement Models of Articulated Arm Coordinate Measuring Machines

The existing articulated arm coordinate measuring machines（AACMM） with one measurement model are easy to cause low measurement accuracy because the whole sampling space is much bigger than the result in the unstable calibration parameters. To compensate for the deficiency of one measurement model, the multiple measurement models are built by the Denavit-Hartenberg＇s notation, the homemade standard rod components are used as a calibration tool and the Levenberg-Marquardt calibration algorithm is applied to solve the structural parameters in the measurement models. During the tests of multiple measurement models, the sample areas are selected in two situations. It is found that the measurement errors＇ sigma value（0.083 4 ram） dealt with one measurement model is nearly two times larger than that of the multiple measurement models（0.043 1 ram） in the same sample area. While in the different sample area, the measurement errors＇ sigma value（0.054 0 ram） dealt with the multiple measurement models is about 40% of one measurement model（0.137 3 mm）. The preliminary results suggest that the measurement accuracy of AACMM dealt with multiple measurement models is superior to the accuracy of the existing machine with one measurement model. This paper proposes the multiple measurement models to improve the measurement accuracy of AACMM without increasing any hardware cost.

THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF COORDINATES MEASUREMENT BY FLEXIBLE 3D MEASURING SYSTEM

The system mathematical model of flexible 3D measuring system is built by theoretical analysis, and the theoretical formula for measuring space point coordinate is also derived. Frog-jumping based coordinate transform method is put forward in order to solve measuring problem for large size parts. The frog-jumping method is discussed, and the coordinate transform mathematical model is method of the space point coordinate compared to original value, and an advanced method is provided, Form the space point coordinate transform formula can derive the calculation measuring method for measuring large size parts.

Novel Method for Spatial Angle Measurement Based on Rotating Planar Laser Beams

Spatial angle measurement, especially the measurement of horizontal and vertical angle, is a basic method used for industrial large-scale coordinate measurement. As main equipments in use, both theodolites and laser trackers can provide very high accuracy for spatial angle measurement. However, their industrial applications are limited by low level of automation and poor parallelism. For the purpose of improving measurement efficiency, a lot of studies have been conducted and several alternative methods have been proposed. Unfortunately, all these means are either low precision or too expensive. In this paper, a novel method of spatial angle measurement based on two rotating planar laser beams is proposed and demonstrated. Photoelectric receivers placed on measured points are used to receive the rotating planner laser signals transmitted by laser transmitters. The scanning time intervals of laser planes were measured, and then measured point＇s horizontal/vertical angles can be calculated. Laser plane＇s angle parameters are utilized to establish the abstract geometric model of transmitter. Calculating formulas of receiver＇s horizontal/vertical angles have been derived. Measurement equations＇ solvability conditions and judgment method of imaginary solutions are also presented after analyzing. Proposed method for spatial angle measurement is experimentally verified through a platform consisting of one laser transmitter and one optical receiver. The transmitters used in new method are only responsible for providing rotating light plane signals carrying angle information. Receivers automatically measure scanning time of laser planes and upload data to the workstation to calculate horizontal angle and vertical angle. Simultaneous measurement of multiple receivers can be realized since there is no human intervention in measurement process .Spatial angle measurement result indicates that the repeatable accuracy of new method is better than 10＂. Proposed method can improve measurement＇s automation degree and speed while ensuring measurement accuracy.

CAD Model-Based Intelligent Inspection Planning for Coordinate Measuring Machines

As the market competition among enterprises grows intensively and the demand for high quality products increases rapidly, product quality inspection and control has become one of the most important issues of manufacturing, and improving the efficiency and accuracy of inspection is also one of problems which enterprises must solve. It is particularly important to establish rational inspection planning for parts before inspecting product quality correctly. The traditional inspection methods have been difficult to satisfy the requirements on the speed and accuracy of modern manufacturing, so CAD-based computer-aided inspection planning （CAIP） system with the coordinate measuring machines （CMM） came into being. In this paper, an algorithm for adaptive sampling and collision-free inspection path generation is proposed, aiming at the CAD model-based inspection planning for coordinate measuring machines （CMM）. Firstly, using the method of step adaptive subdivision and iteration , the sampling points for the specified number with even distribution will be generated automatically. Then, it generates the initial path by planning the inspection sequence of measurement points according to the values of each point＇s weight sum of parameters, and detects collision by constructing section lines between the probe swept-volume surfaces and the part surfaces, with axis-aligned bounding box （AABB） filtering to improve the detection efficiency. For collided path segments, it implements collision avoidance firstly aiming at the possible outer-circle features, and then at other collisions, for which the obstacle-avoiding movements are planned with the heuristic rules, and combined with a designed expanded AABB to set the obstacle-avoiding points. The computer experimental results show that the presented algorithm can plan sampling points＇ locations with strong adaptability for different complexity of general surfaces, and generate efficient optimum path in a short time and avoid collision effectively.

ERROR COMPENSATION OF COORDINATE MEASURING MACHINES WITH LOW STIFFNESS

A technique for compensating the errors of coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) with low stiffness is proposed. Some additional items related with the force deformation are introduced to the error compensation aquations. The research was carried on a moving colunm horizontal arm CMM. Experimental results show that both the effects of systematic components of error motions and force deformations are greatly reduced, which shows the effectiveness of proposed technique.

Flexible Scanning Method by Integrating Laser Line Sensors with Articulated Arm Coordinate Measuring Machines

Measuring and reconstructing the shape of workpieces have been considered as a fundamental step in both reverse engineering and product quality control.Owing to increasing structural complexity of recent products,measurements from multiple directions are typically required in current scanning techniques.Specifically,the plane structured light can be applied to measure one area of a part at a time,with an additional algorithm required to merge the collected data of each area.Alternatively,the line structured light sensor integrated on CNC machines or CMMs could also realize multi-view measurement.However,the system needs to be repeatedly calibrated at each new direction.This paper presents a flexible scanning method by integrating laser line sensors with articulated arm coordinate measuring machines(AACMM).Since the output of the laser line sensor is 2D raw data in the laser plane,our system model introduces an explicit transformation from the 2D sensor coordinate frame to the 3D base coordinate frame of the AACMM(i.e.,the translation and rotation the of the 2D sensor coordinate in the sixth coordinate system of AACMM).To solve the model,the“conjugate pairs”are proposed and identified by measuring a fixed point(e.g.,a sphere center).Moreover,a search algorithm is adopted to find the optimal solution,which noticeably boosts the model accuracy.The experimental results show that the error of the system is about 0.2 mm,which is caused by the error of the AACMM,the sensor error and the calibration error.By measuring a complicated part,the proposed system is proved to be flexible and facilitate,with the ability to measure a part expediently from any necessary direction.Furthermore,the proposed calibration method can also be used for robot hand-eye relationship calibration.

Determination of the workspace of a new coordinate-measuring machine using parallel-link mechanism

Presents the detailed algorithm established for determination of workspace for a 3-DOF coordinate measuring machine using parallel link mechanism by constructing the inverse kinematic model first and then reviewing the physical and kinematical constraints from the structural characteristics of the parallel link mechanism, and discusses the actual geometries of workspace and the factors having effect on workspace through computer simulation thereby providing necessary theoretical basis for the research and development of coordinate measuring machines using parallel link mechanism.

COORDINATE MEASURING MACHINE PROBING ACCESSIBILITY

The accessibility of coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) in dimensional inspection is studied. The problem of computing the global accessibility cone is solved using a method of angle representation. Otherwise, the length and volume of probe are considered sufficiently so that all the feasible probe orientations could be determined for the inspection of a workpiece when a touch trigger probe is used and the shortcoming of abstracting a probe as an infinite half line could be overcome completely. In the end, an example is given to explain the method.

ASSESSING THE DYNAMIC ERRORS OF COORDINATE MEASURING MACHINES

The main factors affecting the dynamic errors of coordinate measuring machines are analyzed. It is pointed out that there are two main contributors to the dynamic errors: One is the rotation of the elements around the joints connected with air bearings and the other is the bending of the elements caused by the dynamic inertial forces. A method for obtaining the displacement errors at the probe position from dynamic rotational errors is presented. The dynamic rotational errors are measured with inductive position sensors and a laser interferometer. The theoretical and experimental results both show that during the process of fast probing, due to the dynamic inertial forces, there are not only large rotation of the elements around the joints connected with air bearings but also large bending of the weak elements themselves.

CAD-DIRECTED INSPECTION PLANNING FOR FREEFORM SURFACE USING CONTACT PROBES

A methodology for CAD-directed measurement of freeform surface using a coordinate measuring machine equipped with a touch-trigger probe is presented, mainly including adaptive sampling of measurement points and registration of freeform surface. The proposed sampling method follows four steps： Freeform surface is fitted by bi-cubic B-spline; Curvedness measure of the surface is computed; Given a number of sampling points, an iterative algorithm is constructed for selecting a set of measurement points by employing the curvedness information; The measurement points is regularized for tradeoff between maximizing the measurement accuracy and minimizing the sampling time and cost. The aforesaid algorithm is demonstrated in term of a marine propeller blade. An offset surface registration method is presented to improve alignment accuracy of freeform objects, and Monte Carlo simulation is conducted to verify the effectiveness of the method.

Dynamic Coordination of Uncalibrated Hand/Eye Robotic System Based on Neural Network

A nonlinear visual mapping model is presented to replace the image Jacobian relation for uncalibrated hand/eye coordination. A new visual tracking controller based on artificial neural network is designed. Simulation results show that this method can drive the static tracking error to zero quickly and keep good robustness and adaptability at the same time. In addition, the algorithm is very easy to be implemented with low computational complexity.

Coordinated target localization base on pseudo measurement for clustered space robot

This paper presents a coordinated target localization method for clustered space robot.According to the different measuring capabilities of cluster members,the master-slave coordinated relative navigation strategy for target localization with respect to slavery space robots is proposed;then the basic mathematical models,including coordinated relative measurement model and cluster centralized dynamics,are established respectively.By employing the linear Kalman flter theorem,the centralized estimator based on truth measurements is developed and analyzed frstly,and with an intention to inhabit the initial uncertainties related to target localization,the globally stabilized estimator is designed through introduction of pseudo measurements.Furthermore,the observability and controllability of stochastic system are also analyzed to qualitatively evaluate the convergence performance of pseudo measurement estimator.Finally,on-orbit target approaching scenario is simulated by using semi-physical simulation system,which is used to verify the convergence performance of proposed estimator.During the simulation,both the known and unknown maneuvering acceleration cases are considered to demonstrate the robustness of coordinated localization strategy.

Estimation of measuring uncertainty for optical micro-coordinate measuring machine

Based on the evaluation principle of the measuring uncertainty of the traditional coordinate measuring machine (CMM), the analysis and evaluation of the measuring uncertainty for optical micro-CMM have been made. Optical micro-CMM is an integrated measuring system with optical, mechanical, and electronic components, which may influence the measuring uncertainty of the optical micro-CMM. If the influence of laser speckle is taken into account, its longitudinal measuring uncertainty is 2.0 μm, otherwise it is 0.88 μm. It is proved that the estimation of the synthetic uncertainty for optical micro-CMM is correct and reliable by measuring the standard reference materials and simulating the influence of the diameter of laser beam. With Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and quantum mechanics theory, a method for improving the measuring accuracy of optical micro-CMM through adding a diaphragm in the receiving terminal of the light path was proposed, and the measuring results are verified by experiments.

Current status and challenges of using geometric tolerance information in intelligent manufacturing systems

Recent development in computer-based manufacturing and inspection has necessitated extended knowledge and usage of geometric tolerances as carriers of design intent. The aim of applying geometrical tolerances in design is to provide function-oriented precise description of part geometry where the conventional size tolerance system fails to address. In view of the current development of computer-aided systems, applying geometric tolerances opens a new research front. This article examines the challenges in applying geometric tolerance information to carry the design intent to other downstream manufacturing processes and intelligently integrate the whole system. Based on the observed practical capabilities and literature studies, it is concluded that the current computer-aided design （CAD） systems cannot effectively provide the appropriate use of geometric tolerances. This article highlights the existing challenges and proposes a scheme of algorithm development for appropriate use of tolerance symbols and conditions at the design specification stage. This, in the long run, enables the CAD model to carry the design intent and opens a window of opportunity for intelligently integrating manufacturing systems.