Accessibility Analysis for CMM Inspection Planning Using Haptic Device

Coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) are widely used in manufacturing industry to examine the conformity of produced parts with designers´ intent in 3D sizes, positions and forms. Accessibility analysis plays an important role in CMM inspection planning. Traditional methods of accessibility analysis are based on the computation of a part´s computer-aided design (CAD) model and the model of a probe. In this paper, a novel accessibility analysis method for CMM inspection planning is proposed based on a haptic virtual CMM (HVCMM). The HVCMM is an accurate model of real CMM, which simulating CMMs´ operation and their measurement process in a virtual environment with haptic perception. The collision modes while performing accessibility analysis are given. To achieve quick collision detection, spatial run-length encoding is used to represent both the part and the probe. Collision response is analyzed for distinguishing whether a collision is occurred. With the force feedback when the probe collides with a part, plus showing the contact in the HVCMM environment, it is much easier to perform the accessibility analysis. The haptic response is implemented with a Phantom haptic arm from SensAblecopy Technologies.