Abstract: The invention relates to a coordinate measurement device comprising a stylus (11) which can be displaced in the coordinate directions (x, y, z) for sampling a workpiece (12), a mechanism (10) with drive units by means of which the stylus can be moved and a control unit (15, 16) for controlling the mechanism. To define the points (pk2) to be sampled on the workpiece, parameters of geometric elements (k1, k2, e1, e2) and parameters of the points (pk1, pk2, pe1, pe2) to be sampled on the corresponding geometric elements are memorized. To be able to modify the measurement sequence of such a coordinate measurement device more easily, the invention provides for the parameters of the points (pk2) to be sampled on a particular geometric element to be memorized separately in relation to a coordinate system (xk2, yk2, zk2) which is specific to the corresponding geornetric element (k2).

Abstract: The invention is directed to a method for automatically generating travel paths to the next geometric elements to be measured when there is a collision of the probe 25 or the probe head 10, for example, with the workpiece 22. The method utilizes safety-reference surfaces (S1 to S5) placed in the form of an enclosing parallelepiped about the workpiece 22. The shortest collision-free connecting paths (P1-P2-P3) from one geometric element to the next are computed on these safety-reference surfaces.