Minimum Zone Evaluation of Flatness Error Using an Adaptive Iterative Strategy for Coordinate Measuring Machines Data

Abstract

In this paper, an adaptive and iterative neighborhood search strategy is proposed to precisely evaluate the flatness error. Firstly, an initial datum plane produced by least squares method (LSM) is calculated. And then, a group of candidate planes are generated by adjusting the direction angles of the LSM datum plane. The flatness errors conform to the minimum zone condition for each candidate datum plane that can be worked out. The one with minimum flatness error will be selected as the new start plane for the next search. The new search area is the zone between the new and old datum planes, with which the new search step is computed until the terminal condition is met. Numerical examples are given to validate the proposed strategy. The results show that the proposed method could get the precise value of the flatness error from the data of coordinate measuring machines and other equipment.