Abstract: A method of selecting a component of optimal design comprising automated steps of a) measuring the periphery of at least part of said component; b) producing a 2D co-ordinate dataset (20) from said measurements; c) processing the 2D co-ordinate dataset (20) so as to produce a representation of characteristics of the periphery of the component; d) assigning a value to the difference between the characteristics of the periphery of the component and characteristics of a component of optimal design; and e) conducting a parametric analysis of the differences between the characteristics of the periphery of the component and the characteristics of a component of optimal design. The method further comprises the step of using the results of the parametric analysis to determine whether the component meets a predetermined criteria for acceptability.