A simple procedure to include a free-form measurement capability to standard coordinate measurement machines

摘要

The modern optical industry requires objects with complex topographical structures. Free-form shaped objects are of large interest in many branches, especially for size reduced, modern lifestyle products like digital cameras. State of the art multi-axes-coordinate measurement machines (CMM), like the topographical measurement machine TII-3D, are by principle suitable to measure free-form shaped objects. The only limitation is the software package. This paper may illustrate a simple way to enhance coordinate measurement machines in order to add a free-form function. Next to a coordinate measurement machine, only a state of the art CAD system and a simple piece of software are necessary. For this paper, the CAD software CREO had been used. CREO enables the user to develop a 3D object in two different ways. With the first method, the user might design the shape by drawing one or more 2D sketches and put an envelope around. Using the second method, the user could define one or more formulas in the editor to describe the favoured surface. Both procedures lead to the required three-dimensional shape. However, further features of CREO enable the user to export the XYZ-coordinates of the created surface. A special designed software tool, developed with Matlab, converts the XYZ-file into a measurement matrix which can be used as a reference file. Finally the result of the free-form measurement, carried out with a CMM, has to be loaded into the software tool and both files will be computed. The result is an error profile which provides the deviation between the measurement and the target-geometry.