A unified approach to form error evaluation

Evaluation of form error is a critical aspect of many manufacturing processes. Machines such as the coordinate measuring machine (CMM) often employ the technique of the least squares form fitting algorithms. While based on sound mathematical principles, it is well known that the method of least squares often overestimates the tolerance zone, causing good parts to be rejected. Many methods have been proposed in efforts to improve upon results obtained via least squares, including those, which result in the minimum zone tolerance value. However, these methods are mathematically complex and often computationally slow for cases where a large number of data points are to be evaluated. Extensive amount of data is generated where measurement equipment such as laser scanners are used for inspection, as well as in reverse engineering applications. In this report, a unified linear approximation technique is introduced for use in evaluating the forms of straightness, flatness, circularity, and cylindricity. Non-linear equation for each form is linearized using Taylor expansion, then solved as a linear program using software written in C++ language. Examples are taken from the literature as well as from data collected on a coordinate measuring machine for comparison with least squares and minimum zone results. For all examples, the new formulations are found to equal or better than the least squares results and provide a good approximation to the minimum zone tolerance. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.