Optical methods for dimensional metrology in production engineering

Metrology in production engineering must be fast, accurate, robust and automated, and ideally integrated into the production line. In many respects, optical methods seem to fulfil these requirements. Although optical methods have a long tradition in dimensional metrology, the rapid progress in the development of opto-electronic components and availability of increased computational power makes many new technical approaches possible. This paper provides a technical overview of the optical methods available for dimensional metrology. Methods for the measurement of length, angle, surface form and spatial co-ordinates are described. The paper summarises both the metrological characteristics and the technical limitations of the methods. Furthermore, it presents some new and promising approaches that, in the future, may play an important role in dimensional metrology for production.