Abstract: In a method for establishing a safety plane in coordinate measurements, the method meshes a 3D model of a workpiece and a probe by triangles, and calculates a maximum bounding box of the probe. The method further obtains a moving path of the maximum bounding box after moving the maximum bounding box from a first measuring point to a second, and obtains a maximum space box of the moving path. If the maximum space box has one or more intersections with the workpiece, the method calculates a distance between vertices of each of the triangles falling within the maximum space box and a bottom face of the maximum space box, and obtains a point in the bottom face of the maximum space box that has a maximum distance from the triangles. By correcting a plane containing the point, the safety plane is obtained.

Abstract: A curved surface importing device and method imports character strings of graphic parameters and graphic attributes of graphs from an initial graphic exchange specification (IGES) document, and analyzes the character strings of each of the graphs to generate a graphic model. The curved surface importing device converts the graphic model to a plurality of free-form curves and a free-form curved surface, connects each of the free-form curves to generate a closed boundary curve, and cuts out a contour surface from the free-form curved surface according to the closed boundary curve. The curved surface importing device further meshes the contour surface using a plurality of triangles, and determines an approximate poly-line of a boundary of the contour surface. The plurality of triangles and the approximate poly-line of a boundary of the contour surface are displayed on a display screen.

Abstract: In a method for updating coordinate systems in editing a measurement program, the method imports a data array including measurement elements of a workpiece, and creates a program template. By inserting the program template in the data array that is after a measurement element, the method creates a coordinate system and calculates a coordinate matrix for the coordinate system. After the measurement elements in a position of the data array that are after the program template are updated using the coordinate matrix, a measurement program is generated and displayed on a display screen.

Abstract: In a method for creating a mesh over a curved surface of an electronic model of an object using an electronic device, sampled points of a boundary line of the electronic model of the object are obtained. The method stores the sampled points of the boundary line in a linked list, obtains sampled points of the curved surface of the electronic model of the object, stores the sampled points of the curved surface in a first queue, and inserts each point stored in the linked list into the first queue. The method further divides a parameter plane of the curved surface into small boxes, determines intersection points of the vertical lines of the parameter plane and the boundary line, and generates triangles by connecting the intersection points, the sampled points of the boundary line, and the curved surface in each small box.

Abstract: An electronic device includes an image fitting system to fit an image to identify characters of the image and graphics of the image in the electronic device. Operations of fitting the image by the image fitting system includes generation of a standard character database to fit characters of the image, generation of character fitting results by fitting each character of the image according to the standard character database, and generation of graphic fitting results by fitting each graphic of the image according to a standard graphic that is defined by a graphic equation.

Abstract: A method for measuring form and position tolerances of an object receives a preselected feature element to be fitted from an image of a measured object, obtains a reference feature element from an image of a reference object corresponding to the measured object. The method further fits a feature element corresponding to the preselected feature element so as to obtain a fitted feature element, and calculates form and position tolerances between the fitted feature element and the reference feature element thereby generating the form and position tolerances of the measured object.

Abstract: A method outputs measurement data automatically using an electronic device. The method obtains measurement data of feature elements from a two dimensional (2D) image of a measured object, determines a type of measurement applied to each feature element, obtains feature elements from planes of a three dimensional (3D) image of the measured object, and maps each of the obtained feature elements in the 3D image to the 2D image. The method further obtains sequential marked numbers from the 2D image, determines a feature element which is nearest to any marked number from the mapped feature elements, determines an output axis for each of the determined feature elements, and outputs measured results and measurement codes of the determined feature elements by reference to the measurement data, the type of measurement and the output axis of each determined feature element.

Abstract: A computing system and method verifies a probe tip of a coordinate measuring machine. The computing system simulates a virtual sphere and calculates coordinates of the center of the virtual sphere. The coordinates of first real contact points of the real sphere is obtained to calculate coordinates of the center of the real sphere and coordinates of the ideal contact points of the real sphere. The computing system obtains coordinates of second real contact points of the real sphere is obtained according to the coordinates of the ideal contact points of the real sphere. The radius of the probe tip is calculated according to the coordinates of second real contact points of the real sphere. The computing system determines if the calculated radius of the probe tip falls in an allowable range.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for extracting boundary elements of an object includes receiving measurement data of a point cloud of the object and a maximum edge length of a triangle to form a triangular mesh surface of the point cloud, constructing the triangular mesh surface, and extracting boundary points from the triangular mesh surface. The method further includes grouping the boundary points according to a vector relationship between one boundary point and each of the other boundary points, fitting each group of boundary points to an appropriate boundary characteristic. The appropriate boundary characteristic may be output to a storage system.

Abstract: A method for measuring errors of workpieces by comparing a three-dimensional model and the workpieces manufactured according to the three-dimensional model is provided. The method converts a point cloud of each workpiece to a measured triangular mesh model, and aligns each measured triangular mesh model to the three-dimensional model. The method further compares each measured triangular mesh model with the three-dimensional model to check for differences between two model so as to obtain errors of each workpiece, and generates one or more analysis reports according to the errors of each workpiece.

Abstract: A programming method of a coordinate measuring machine (CMM) constructs a polygonal mesh model for a manufactured part according to a point cloud of the manufactured part. Basic measurement elements, relational measurement elements, a part coordinate system, and a collision-free inspection path are obtained according to the polygonal mesh model, so as to generate a measurement program of the CMM.

Abstract: In a programming method, a program template of a measurement program and a 3D measurement element document of a product is imported from a storage system. The method establishes a data format of the 3D measurement element document according to a data format of the program template, and defines a modification rule and a delete rule of the 3D measurement element document according to keywords in lines of the program template. By replacing the keywords and data of the program template with data saved from the 3D measurement element document a measurement program is obtained. The method outputs the measurement program and displays the measurement program on a display screen.

Abstract: In a programming method, a number of points measured on a product are roughly fitted into/matched with one or more geometrical elements, and a fitting value of the geometrical elements are output to a first data list. The method records the storing positions of the geometrical elements having fitting values that are within a predetermined tolerance value in a second data list, and obtains a best geometrical element type of the product by determining geometrical element types that correspond to each of the storing positions recorded in the second data list using a matching condition. After the best geometrical element type from the first data list is obtained, the method generates a measurement program and displays the measurement program on a display device.

Abstract: A detecting method for measuring gaps between two parts of an object is provided. The detecting method selects a reference image and a measured image, merges the reference image and the measured image to form an image of the object, grids the reference image and the measured image to obtain triangle mesh surfaces, obtains boundary points and outline points of the measured image, and obtains triangles on a joint portion of the reference image and measured points on a corresponding joint portion of the measured image. The method further compares each measured point with an obtained triangle to obtain gap values of the joint portion between the reference image and the measured image, and outputs an analysis report of the gap values on a display device.

Abstract: A method for aligning point clouds is disclosed. The method includes inputting point cloud data of a reference object and a to-be-measured object, and confirming an original position of point cloud of the to-be-measured object. The method further includes determining a virtual position of point cloud of the to-be-measured object at each iteration, determining a minimum distance between point cloud of the reference object and point cloud of the to-be-measured object, and determining coordinates of each point in point cloud of the to-be-measured object corresponding to the minimum distance. The method further includes moving each point in point cloud of the to-be-measured object.

Abstract: A method for uniformizing surface normals of a three-dimensional model is provided. The method uniformizes the surface normals to surfaces in the three-dimensional model by determining intersection surfaces of each of the surfaces, and determining surfaces whose surface normals are to be reversed according to the intersection surfaces of each of the surfaces. The method may make surface normals consistent.

Abstract: In a method for simulating a measuring process of a workpiece, one or more virtual probes of a workpiece measuring machine are created. A vector of each of the virtual probes is calculated, and an appropriate vector for each of measuring points of a workpiece is acquired for a computerized drawing of the workpiece. The angle between the vector of each of the measuring points and the vector of each of the virtual probes is calculated. A virtual probe is determined for each measuring point according to the calculated angles. The measuring points are sorted according to the virtual probe of each measuring point, and the measuring programs of the sorted measuring points that relate to the same virtual probe are combined. The combined measuring programs are executed to determine whether the actual probe would collide with the workpiece.

Abstract: An electronic device and method of automatically generating measuring programs receives a design document of a product, obtains keywords from the design document, and searches graphic element data and dimension data indexes according to the keywords. Graphic elements are located according to the dimension data indexes. One or more measuring points for each of the graphic elements are obtained by dividing each graphic element into one or more sections according to the graphic element data and a predetermined dividing number, and a single measuring program is generated according to the measuring points.

Abstract: An electronic device and method creates a part coordinate system of a three-dimensional (3D) product model based on dimensional information in a two-dimensional (2D) drawing of the product, determines transformation matrices of the part coordinate system relative to a machine coordinate system of the measuring machine, and automatically adjusts the orientation of the product model in the machine coordinate system, to align the part coordinate system with the machine coordinate system.

Abstract: A method of optimizing measurement paths analyzes one or more measurement points for each of the measurement elements of a product and generates relation arrays, each of the relation arrays storing the name and the one or more measurement points of one measurement element. The method selects a measurement point which is the nearest to the origin of an coordinate system of the product, computes distances between the measurement points from the selected measurement point using the relation arrays, and orders the measurement points according to the computed distances to generate a first ordered array. The method generates an optimal measurement path according to the first ordered array.