TUESDAY, Session 5B, 2:30 PM

SIMULTANOUS IMPROVEMENT OF ACCURACY AND

EFFICIENCY OF THE CALIPER CALIBRATION CAUSED BY
AUTOMATION
Metrologie Service-Basis GmbH
Metrologie Service-Basis GmbH
Content of this presentation
The Business End of Metrology

• Manual Calibration of Calipers (state of the art)

- the calibration of calipers is performed a few
million times a year worldwide
- but it has problems and limitations
- So we will formulate a task list for a method update

• Automated calibration of Calipers

- Technical realization of the project
- Additional testing procedures

• Benefits of a new Calibration Method

- Efficiency improvement in a calibration lab
- Accuracy improvement for the instrument user
- Economic advantages

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Manual Calibration of Calipers
State of the Art?

• Part 1:

PROBLEMS
of the traditional calibration method

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Manual Calibration of Calipers
What is the resolution of an human eye?

• Light Gap testing

- Human can only see linear gaps
that are wider then
19,2 µm (0.76 mil)
- all problems of flatness and
non-parallelism do influence the
accuracy of the instrument directly

• e.g. Tolerances DIN 862

± 20 µm (0.79 mil) for digital
(96 % of tolerance)
± 50 µm (1.97 mil) for
vernier-calipers 38 % of tolerance)
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Calibration procedure
using block and ring gauges

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Influence of operating power
If you are pushing to hard

• What happens, if the operating force brought to a caliper

will change?

Youtube-Video Influence of force

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 Force does influence the accuracy!
Force, deviation, uncertainty

8/10/2012 Optimum Force for an individual

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Stability of the tool
How strong are your hands?

• Analyzing the average force vs. deviation curve

- Using linear regression leads to a new quality factor
Change of the displayed value in µm
The Stability = ------------------------------------------
Operating force in N

• So far, we found a huge range

- #1) min. - 1 µm / N (very stable)
#2) max. - 6 µm /N (weak)

• Imagine the operating force changes by 5 N

- This leads to a ERROR of 30 µm
- out of tolerance (digital caliper)!
- average force influence = 5 N x 3 µm/N = 15 µm (0.59 mil)
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Psychological Influence
You can’t stop thinking

• During a normal calibration (without force control) …

- there are ridges or dirt on the jaws
- some calipers indicate a little to much.

• But how does the technician reacts?

- almost everybody will increase the force
he puts on the caliper “automatically”
until he sees the „right“ expected value
- Bad instruments will be calibrated „good“

• This leads to measuring ERRORS in the field

- because there is no expectation, the force will
not be varied in the same way
- the technicians puts on the force,
what feels good for him
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Psychological Influence
graphic comparision

Man adapts the force

to see the expected value

to soft pushing

to hard pushing

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 Manual Calibration
It can’t be better than ….

• Uncertainty calculation for a manual calibration

- If you consider the discoveries mentioned before
- If you include them into the uncertainty
calculation model :
Uncertainty ±Variance calc. value
Light gap testing 19,2 µm (r) 11,1 µm
Average force influence 15,0 µm (n) 7,5 µm
Digital resolution 2x5 (r) 2 x 2,9 µm
Temperature, gauges, other (n) 2,7 µm
(n) = normal, (r) = rectangular distribution

• Manual calibration can’t be

more accurate than (k=2) ± 28,36 µm (1.11 mil)
-> 150 % of the tolerance of a digital caliper
(DIN 862)
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Some Space for Improvements
What there is to do …

• Task List for a new calibration method

- Measures and compensates the influence of the
operating force.
- Is not effected by the psychological influence of an
expected value.
- Identifies ridges on the measuring jaws
- Follows the rules of accredited calibration
- Creates a conformance statement acc. to EN ISO 14253-1.

• Provides adequate costs of calibration

in relation to the purchasing price
of the instruments.

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Automatic calibration
Let a robot do that …

• Part 2:

REALIZATION

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 Realization
It’s not a laboratory, it’s a factory!

air-conditioned
• Calibration 2.0 automated warehouse
Conveyor belts

Calibration robots for

Calibration robots for Calibration robots for dial
micrometers capacity 350
calipers capacity 500/day gauges capacity 350 /day
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Automatic Calibration
A fixed mounted camera is superior to the eye

• Light Gap testing

- the digital image recognition system
is able to measure damages
of the jaws if they are larger than
> 3,5 µm (0.14 mil)

• Reminder:
all problems of flatness and
non-parallelism do influence the
accuracy of the instrument directly

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 Total Control
curve force vs. time, duration = 63 sec

• Recording of the force curve during the complete calibration

• Force – deviation curve (3) • Calibration with a constant force
- (4-11) block gauges
- (12- 13) ring gauges
- (14) depth measurement
 Force [N] 

- (15 ) step measurement

• Smooth run testing (1)

10.08.2012  Time [sec]

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Automatic calibration
one detailled view into the robot

• Automatic calibration of calipers

• objective
• 6-times faster
• 3-times less
uncertain
• cost saving

• Youtube, view to
our factory

• more videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/msbasis2

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Automatic calibration
Let a robot do that …

• Part 3:

APPLICATION

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Automatic Calibration
But, what for?

• Accuracy is not a reason on it‘s own

• Which advantages result from a

modernization of the calipers calibration
procedure?

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Advantages of Automatic Calibration
Manufacturers

• Advantages for manufacturers of measuring instruments

• systematic and 100% reproducible testing *
• Accuracy / repeatability *
- approx. 3-times better than a manual calibration
• determination of wear by performing a few hundred
calibration with the same instrument
- approx. 6-times faster than a manual calibration
• * testing of new models
• *testing of the correct torque to fix the slider
• * testing design changes
• * testing competitors instruments

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Competition analyses
Design tests

• Example: Test at Block gauge (41.30 mm outside)

with a the same pressure force (14 N)
Product 1, Product 2 (> 200 tests)
under test: average devation
average devation = 14 µm (0.55 mil)
= 41 µm (1.61 mil)
repeat. 1 digit

• Product 1 reacts 3-times stronger on the force than the

reference instrument
• Springs, material and dimensions are designed “less strong”
• Design change, change of supplier

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Advantages of Automatic Calibration
for the end-user

• Advantages for the user of the instrument

- Comparing the calibration record and diagrams for free-run,
light-gap, deviation allows a determination of wear inside
this single application
- Sorting out problematic devices before they
produce wrong results
• The values for Stability and optimal force allow to
- select the adequate instruments for
• the application (sledge or building watches)
• the user (body builder…)

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Automatic calibration
Let a robot do that …

• Part 4:

The Business End of Metrology

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Advantages of Automatic Calibration
Import, trading, online-shops, large consumers

• Quality test for trading companies

- Selection of the best supplier (Import-Partner)
by reproducible testing *

- Systematic test of all incoming goods

(sending the bad ones back to the manufacturer)

- Convincing of the end costumer with an international

accepted and independent calibration certificate
as and evidence of quality

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Advantages of Automatic Calibration
Win - Win

• Advantages for calibration service companies

- The easy but time consuming and extremely common
calibrations will be performed from robots instead of
technicians
- skilled specialist must not do this simple work any longer
- the laboratories can concentrate themselves on more
difficult instruments and customer-specific service
solutions
• Results
- Better service in key-competences
- Decrease of total delivery times
- Economic advantages

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Conclusion
Win - Win

• The automated calibration of dimensional instruments

(calipers, micrometers, dial gauges, plugs and rings) leads to
- better accuracy of calibration at lower costs
- more knowledge about the instruments (better products)
- less errors at the every-day measurements (+ quality)

• Profiteers
• End-users
• trading companies
• manufacturers
• calibration laboratories

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About us
Metrology Service-Base

• Our brand new concept works!

- we operate this first “robot calibration factory” world-wide
- we are already accredited as the most accurate calibration lab.
for calipers and micrometers (DAkkS/DKD) in Germany

• So far we are concentrating on automated calibration of

- Calipers and Micrometers (accredited and in operation)
- Dial gauges (commisioning)
- Plug and ring gauges (in preparation)
- Digital hand multimeters (planned)

• At the moment, we are

- offering calibration services in Central-Europe
- searching for partners who want to open a copy of
our calibration factory in their region.
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Questions?
Win - Win

• If you want to see this again?

• Please contact me during the congress breaks
• I can show you the videos of the caliper and also of our
micrometer robot (accuracy 0.043 mil) on my Ipad
• You will not find detail videos somewhere else

• Thank you

• www.msb-kalibrierung.de/en

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