Application of Virtual Spheres Plate for AACMMs evaluation

This work presents the development, calibration and application of an alternative gauge to check the performance of Articulated Arm Coordinate Measuring Machines (AACMMs). The gauge was developed having 16 groups of four conic holes placed on an aluminum plate to determine 16 virtual spheres named Virtual Spheres Plate. The gauge was placed at 3 positions on an AACMM work volume to take coordinates’ points at each hole with a spherical rigid probe, having next computed the diameters and the distances center-to-center of spheres. The results were compared with the ASME B89 performance test applied with a calibrated ball bar. The gauge may be applied to carry out interlaboratorial comparison of AACMMs.