A method efficiently measures an object having a feature. The feature has a plurality of profiles each having a surface. The method provides a coordinate measuring machine having a wrist coupled with a measuring probe. The probe has a tolerance angle with respect to a surface normal of a surface to be measured. The wrist has a first given orientation that is adjustable to a second given orientation. The method segments an object to be measured into a plurality of segments as a function of an ideal vector that can be used to measure a given segment within the tolerance. A first group of segments that can be measured within the probe tolerance for a first ideal vector is determined. A second group of segments that can be measured within the probe tolerance for a second ideal vector is determined.

A method measures an object having a feature. The feature has a plurality of profiles each having a surface. The method provides a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) having a wrist coupled with a measuring prob. The probe has a tolerance angle with respect to a surface normal of a surface to be measured. The wrist has a first given orientation that is adjustable to a second given orientation. The method determines an ideal vector that can be used to measure a given segment within the tolerance. The method also determines the wrist orientation in a CMM coordinate space. The method determines the ideal vector in the CMM coordinate space to define a part vector. A probe vector is determined from the wrist and probe characteristics. The probe vector is aligned with the part vector. The feature is measured.

A method efficiently measures an object having a feature. The feature has a plurality of profiles each having a surface. The method provides a coordinate measuring machine having a wrist coupled with a measuring probe. The probe has a tolerance angle with respect to a surface normal of a surface to be measured. The wrist has a first given orientation that is adjustable to a second given orientation. The method segments an object to be measured into a plurality of segments as a function of an ideal vector that can be used to measure a given segment within the tolerance. A first group of segments that can be measured within the probe tolerance for a first ideal vector is determined. A second group of segments that can be measured within the probe tolerance for a second ideal vector is determined.

A method efficiently measures an object having a feature with a plurality of profiles each having a surface. The method provides a CMM having a wrist coupled with a measuring probe. The probe has an optical probe with an angle of incidence with respect to a surface normal of a plurality of points to be measured. The wrist has a first given orientation that is adjustable to a second given orientation. The method measures the feature to be measured by segment groups to obtain a 3D data set for each group. The method removes data points from at least one 3D data set that are outlier data points. The method interpolates the surface formed by the data points. The method calculates a surface normal vector for the data points set. The method removes data points from the interpolated 3D data set whose surface normal are outside the angle of incidence.

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including medium-encoded computer program products, for automatic generation of probe path for surface inspection and part alignment. A mesh model is obtained of at least a portion of a three dimensional model of a part to be manufactured using a computer-controlled manufacturing system. Vertex points from the mesh model are collected to be an initial set of probing points in a three dimensional space of a working coordinate system of the computer-controlled manufacturing system, and filtering out points are filtered out from the initial set of probing points based on coverage of the least a portion of the three dimensional model to produce a final set of probing points. The final set of probing points is provided for use in alignment or surface inspection of the part by the computer-controlled manufacturing system.

A coordinate measuring machine for determining dimensional and/or geometric properties of a measurement object has a measurement element, which defines a reference point and is movable along multiple movement axes relative to a measurement object receptacle. The movement axes include multiple linear axes and at least one axis of rotation. In order to control the measurement element relative to a measurement object, desired positions of the reference point and parameters defining limit values for permissible velocities and/or accelerations are provided. Multiple individual temporal sequences of respective individual axial positions for the plurality of movement axes are determined as a function of the desired positions of the reference point and the parameters. The individual temporal sequences each have individual time intervals between successive individual axial positions. The individual temporal sequences are synchronized onto a common timing cycle, which uses the longest individual time interval in each case for each target position.

A method for determining a measurement strategy for measuring a measurement object includes determining a test element of the measurement object. There is an automated test for the test element as to whether there is an applicable measurement rule in a measurement rule set of measurement rules defined in advance. An applicable measurement rule is added to a new measurement strategy or the test element-specific measurement rule of an existing measurement strategy is altered based on an applicable measurement rule. The measurement rules of the measurement rule set are determined by virtue of a measurement rule and at least one test criterion in respect of the applicability thereof being set for a test element by a user or in (partly) automated fashion. The measurement rule defines at least one parameter for measuring the test element.

A system is provided for programming workpiece feature inspection operations for a coordinate measuring machine. The system includes a user interface with a simulation portion (e.g., including a 3D view of a workpiece) and an editing user interface portion (e.g., including an editable plan representation of a current workpiece feature inspection plan). Transparency operations are performed including automatically identifying as a target feature a workpiece feature in the 3D view that corresponds to a workpiece feature or inspection operation representation in the editable plan representation that is indicated by a current feature-directed operation (e.g., a selection operation for selecting a workpiece feature or inspection operation in the editable plan representation). An occluding workpiece feature that would otherwise be occluding at least a portion of the target feature in the 3D view is then automatically rendered as at least partially transparent in the 3D view.

A method includes receiving a command designating a desired measurement path, including desired start and end positions. The method includes searching a data memory to find a first measurement path corresponding to the command. The first measurement path includes first start and end positions. The method includes, in response to the search being successful (the first measurement path corresponds to the command), reading the first measurement path and controlling a measuring head of a coordinate measuring machine to move along the first measurement path to capture a measurement point on the measurement object. The method includes, in response to the search being unsuccessful, calculating a second measurement path, storing the second measurement path in the data memory, and moving the measuring head along the second measurement path to capture the measurement point. The method includes determining dimensional properties of the measurement object based on the measurement point.

A method for software-based planning of a dimensional measurement of a measurement object includes receiving an input command for selecting at least one measurement element of the measurement object that is to be measured during the measurement. The method includes determining a selection of measurable test features of the at least one selected measurement element. Each of the test features includes a dimensionally measurable measurand of the at least one selected measurement element. The method includes determining a reduced subset of the selection of measurable test features depending on a view currently chosen on a display. The method includes visualizing the test features contained in the reduced subset by generating a graphical representation of each of the test features contained in the reduced subset on the display.