Embodiments of the present disclosure are drawn to additive manufacturing apparatus and methods. An exemplary additive manufacturing method may include forming a part using additive manufacturing. The method may also include bringing the part to a first temperature, measuring the part along at least three axes at the first temperature, bringing the part to a second temperature, different than the first temperature, and measuring the part along the at least three axes at the second temperature. The method may further include comparing the size of the part at the first and second temperatures to calculate a coefficient of thermal expansion, generating a tool path that compensates for the coefficient of thermal expansion, bringing the part to the first temperature, and trimming the part while the part is at the first temperature using the tool path.

A reticle thermal expansion calibration method includes exposing a group of wafers and generating a sub-recipe, performing data mining and data parsing to generate a plurality of overlay parameters, extracting a plurality of predetermined parameters from the plurality of overlay parameters, performing a linear regression on each of the predetermined parameters, and generating a coefficient of determination for each of the predetermined parameters.

An abnormality determination apparatus includes a data acquisition part that acquires position data indicating a plurality of positions to be measured of a standard gage used in a coordinate measuring apparatus, in association with apparatus identification information for identifying the coordinate measuring apparatus, a generation part that generates distance data indicating a distance to be measured that is a distance between the plurality of positions to be measured indicated by the position data, a storage that stores an appropriate range in which the distance data is determined to be appropriate, and a determination part that determines whether there is an abnormality in the coordinate measuring apparatus on the basis of whether or not the distance to be measured indicated by the distance data is included in the appropriate range, and outputs a determination result in association with the apparatus identification information.

A coordinate positioning machine includes a drive frame and a metrology frame. The drive frame includes a drive arrangement for moving a structure around a working volume of the machine. The metrology frame includes a metrology arrangement for measuring the position of the structure within the working volume. The metrology arrangement is a hexapod metrology arrangement and the drive arrangement is a non-hexapod drive arrangement. The metrology frame has a coefficient of thermal expansion that is lower than that of the drive frame. The drive frame is coupled to the metrology frame via a coupling arrangement which prevents at least some distortion associated with any extra thermal expansion and contraction of the drive frame from being transferred to the metrology frame. The drive arrangement moves the structure around the working volume, and the metrology arrangement measures the position of the structure within the working volume.

A settlement monitoring system 1 for a construction site 400, the system 1 comprising an elongate liquid vessel 100, a continuous body of liquid 110 within the vessel 100, a first sensor 201 housed within a first portion of the vessel, and at least one additional sensor 202 206 housed within a second portion of the liquid vessel 100, wherein the sensors 201-206 are submerged within the liquid 110 and each sensor 201-206 is capable of detecting a pressure of the liquid 110, wherein in use the first portion of the liquid vessel 100 is configured to be situated at a known reference point of the site 400, the second portion is configured to be embedded within the ground 416, and the pressures are communicated to a surface system 308, the surface system 308 being configured to record the pressures.

Methods are described for measuring series of nominally identical production workpieces on a dimensional measuring apparatus such as a coordinate measuring machine. One master workpiece of the series is calibrated, to provide correction values which are used to build an error map of the measuring apparatus. This map is used to correct measurements not only of subsequent nominally identical workpieces of the same series, but also of multiple different subsequent series of different workpieces. Each subsequent series also has a master workpiece which is calibrated and used to further build the error map. As this process is repeated over time, the error map becomes more and more densely populated. In due course, it becomes possible to dispense with the use of a calibrated master workpiece, because measurements can be corrected using error values which already exist in the error map.

A sensor device for measuring a temperature in a photovoltaic laminate structure and a sensor system comprising such a sensor device is provided. The sensor device includes a capillary for being embedded in the laminate structure between two layers thereof, a medium arranged within the capillary, and an optical fiber extending through the capillary and surrounded by the medium. At least a portion of the optical fiber has temperature-dependent transmission characteristics.

A coordinate measuring system for determining 3D coordinates of an object, comprising a coordinate measuring device comprising an arrangement of sensors configured to generate measurement data from which 3D coordinates of measurement points on the object are derivable, and a computing device configured to determine, based on the measurement data, 3D coordinates of the measurement points, and for storing nominal data of the object in a data storage, the nominal data comprising nominal dimension data of the object for a pre-defined temperature, wherein the nominal data comprises one or more expansion coefficients of the object, the coordinate measuring system comprises at least one temperature sensor that is configured to determine actual temperature values of the object, the at least one temperature sensor is configured to generate temperature data; and the computing device is configured to determine tempered coordinates of the object.

An opto-electronic dual-comb interferometric distance measuring method and device wherein a signal comb is chromatically divided into a target signal comb and a non-target signal comb at a emission position, preferably by an optical interleaver in a measurement probe of the device. Only the target signal comb serves as a free beam emitted to the target. The non-target signal comb serves for generation of additional or compensation internal phase differences. Thus, the distance to the target is based on first, target related phase differences and on the second, internal compensation phase differences.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are drawn to additive manufacturing apparatus and methods. An exemplary additive manufacturing method may include forming a part using additive manufacturing. The method may also include bringing the part to a first temperature, measuring the part along at least three axes at the first temperature, bringing the part to a second temperature, different than the first temperature, and measuring the part along the at least three axes at the second temperature. The method may further include comparing the size of the part at the first and second temperatures to calculate a coefficient of thermal expansion, generating a tool path that compensates for the coefficient of thermal expansion, bringing the part to the first temperature, and trimming the part while the part is at the first temperature using the tool path.