MIE 271

Introduction to Metrology
ABDUS SHABUR
LECTURER
D E P T. O F M I E , C U E T
 What is Metrology
2

 Metrology is derived from two Greek word, one is metro

which means measurement and other is logy which means
science.

“The science that deals with measurement”

 Metrology is field of knowledge concerned with measurement

and includes both theoretical and practical problems with
reference to measurement.

 Measurement is a group of operations carried out by means

of measuring instruments to determine the numerical value
of the size which describes the object of measurement.
 What is Metrology
3

Metrology may be divided depending upon

the quantity to be measured like metrology of
length, metrology of time.
But for engineering purposes, it is restricted
to measurement of length and angles and
other qualities which are expressed in linear
or angular terms.
In the broader sense it is not limited to length
measurement but is also concerned with
industrial inspection and its various
techniques.
 What is Metrology
4

Metrology is mainly concerned with:

1. Establishing the units of measurements,

ensuring the uniformity of measurements.
2. Developing methods of measurement.
3. Errors of measurement, researching into the
causes of measuring errors and eliminating
these.
4. Accuracy of measuring instruments and
their care.
 Necessity and importance of Metrology
5

 In design, design engineer should not only check his design

from the point of view of the strength or economical
production, but he should also keep in mind how the
dimensions specified can be checked or measured.

 Higher productivity and accuracy can be achieved by properly

understood, introduced the Metrology.

 You can improve the measuring accuracy and dimensional and

geometrical accuracies of the product.

 Also automation and automatic control, which are the modern

trends for future developments, are based on measurement.
Digital instruments also can be used for inspection.
 Objectives of Metrology:
6
1. To provide the required accuracy at a minimum cost.
2. Complete evaluation of newly developed products.
3. Determination of Process Capabilities.
4. Determination of the measuring instrument
capabilities and ensure that they are quite sufficient
for their respective measurements.
5. Minimising the cost of inspection by effective and
efficient use of available facilities.
6. Reducing the cost of rejects and rework through
application of statistical quality control techniques.
7. To standardize the measuring methods.
8. To maintain the accuracies of measurement.
9. To prepare design for all gauges and special
inspection fixtures.
 Process of measurement
7
The sequence of operations necessary for the execution of
measurement is called process of measurement.
There are main three important elements of measurement,
(1) Measurand:- Measurand is the physical quantity or property
like length, angle, diameter, thickness etc. to be measured.
(2) Reference:- It is the physical quantity or property to which
quantitative comparisons are made.
(3) Comparator:- It is the means of comparing measurand with
some reference.
Suppose a fitter has to measure the length of M.S. plate- he first
lays his rule along the flat. He then carefully aligns the zero
end of his rule with one end of M.S. flat and finally compares
the length of M.S. flat with the graduations on his rule by his
eyes. In this example, the length of M.S. flat is a measurand,
steel rule is the reference and eye can be considered as a
comparator .
 Methods of Measurement
8

The methods of measurement can be classified as:

(1) Direct method: This is a simple method of
measurement, in which the value of the quantity to be
measured is obtained directly without the calculations.
For example, measurements by scales, vernier callipers,
micrometers, bevel protector etc. This method is most
widely used in production. This method is not very
accurate because it depends on human judgment.
(2) Indirect method: In indirect method the value of
quantity to be measured is obtained by measuring other
quantities which are functionally related to required
value. For example, angle measurement by sine bar,
measurement of shaft power by dynamometer etc
 Measuring Means
9

The means of measurements could be classified as

follows:

1. Standards (Reference)-These are used to

reproduce one or several definite values of a given
quantity.
2. Fixed gauges-These are used to check the
dimensions, form, and position of product
features.
3. Measuring instruments-These are used to
determine the values of the measured quantity.
 Physical Measurement
10

 Nominal size (Basic Size): In manufacturing, a nominal

size or trade size is a size "in name only" used for
identification. The nominal size may not match any dimension
of the product, but within the domain of that product
the nominal size may correspond to a large number of highly
standardized dimensions and tolerances.
 True size: It is the theoretical size of a dimension, which is
free from any errors of measurement.
 Actual Size: It is the value of size obtained through
measurement with the permissible measuring error.
 Exact size: It is the value of size obtained with the highest
metrological accuracy attainable in practice.
 Physical Measurement
11

Approximate Size: It is the value of size obtained

with an error exceeding the permissible error of
measurement and requiring refinement.
Error of measurement: It is the difference
between the true value of the size being measured
and the value found by measurement. Error pertains
to a measurement and not to an instrument.
Correction: It is the amount which should be
algebraically added to the indicated value to obtain
the actual value of the size being measured. The
correction is numerically equal to the error, but
opposite in sign.
 Types of Metrology
12
 Legal Metrology: Legal Metrology is that part of metrology
which treats units of measurement, method of measurement
and the measuring instruments, in relation to the statutory,
technical and legal requirements. Such requirements might
arise from the needs for protection of health, public safety,
the environment, enabling taxation, protection of consumers
and fair trade.
 Dynamic metrology is concerned with measuring small
variations of continuous nature. The measurement science
today has developed to electronically operated and controlled
equipments, computer-aided systems for on-line monitoring,
opto-mechanical, laser and fibre optics based instruments,
etc.
 Deterministic Metrology: This is a new philosophy in which
part measurement is replaced by process measurement. In
the deterministic metrology, full advantage is taken of the
deterministic nature of production machines (machines under
 Metrology Vocabulary

Units of measurement

Standards
Calibration
Traceability
Tolerance

Accuracy
Precision
Errors
Uncertainty
 Units of measurement

 Units define measurements

 Example, gram is the unit for mass
 What is the mass of a gram? How do we know?
 Definitions of units are made by international
agreements, SI system
 Example, kilogram prototype in France
 K10 and K20 at National Institute of Standards

and Technology (NIST)

 Standards

 Measurements are always made in accordance with

external authority. Early authority was Pharaoh’s arm
length
 A standard is an external authority
 Also, standard is a physical embodiment of a unit

 They are physical objects, the properties of which are

known with sufficient accuracy to be used to evaluate other
items.
 Units are unaffected by the environment, but standards are
Example, a ruler is a physical embodiment of centimeters
Can change with temperature but cm doesn’t change.
 Also solutions or documents
 Calibration
16

 Calibration is a comparison
between measurements – one of
known magnitude or correctness
made or set with one device and
another measurement made in as
similar a way as possible with a
second device.
 The device with the known or
assigned correctness is called
the standard. The second device
is the unit under test (UUT), test
instrument (TI), or any of several
other names for the device being
calibrated.
 Verification

Check of the performance of an instrument or

method without adjusting it.
 Tolerance

Amount of error that is allowed in the

calibration of a particular item. National and
international standards specify tolerances.
 Example

Standards for balance calibration can have

slight variation from “true” value
 Highest quality 100 g standards have a tolerance of +
2.5 mg
 99.99975-100.00025 g
 Leads to uncertainty in all weight measurements
Precision and Accuracy
20
 Precision and Accuracy
21

Accuracy:
Accuracy is defined as the closeness of the measured value with
true value. Practically it is very difficult to measure the true
value and therefore a set of observations is made whose
mean value is taken as the true value of the quantity
measured.
Precision:
Precision is the consistency of a series of measurements.
Precision is the repeatability of the measuring process. It
refers to the group of measurements for the same
characteristics taken under identical conditions. It indicated
to what extent the identically performed measurements agree
with each other. If the instrument is not precise it will give
different results for the same dimension when measured
again and again.
 Precision and Accuracy

Measurements can be:

 Accurate and precise (best)
 Accurate and imprecise (user error)
 Inaccurate but precise (instrument error)
 Inaccurate and imprecise

Accuracy
 % error = True value – measured value X 100%
True value
Precision
 Expression of variability
 Take the mean (average)
 Calculate how much each measurement deviates from mean
 Take an average of the deviation, so it is the average deviation from
the mean
 Uncertainty

Estimate of the inaccuracy of a measurement

that includes both the random and systematic
components.
Errors lead to uncertainty in measurements
Can never know the exact, “true” value for
any measurement.
Idea of a “true” value is abstract – never
knowable.
In practice, get close enough
 Errors in Measurement
24

In any measurement, there is always a degree of

uncertainty resulting from measurement error, i.e. all
measurements are inaccurate to some extent
Measurement error is the difference between the
indicated and actual values of the measurand.
During measurement several types of errors may
arise such as
1. Static errors
2. Instrument loading errors or dynamic errors
These errors can be broadly classified into two
categories viz.
1. Controllable errors
2. Random errors
 Static Errors
25

Static errors: It result from the intrinsic imperfections or

limitations in the hardware and apparatus compared to
ideal instruments.
Static errors stem from three basic sources :
1. Reading error: parallax, interpolation, optical
resolution (readability or output resolution)
2. Characteristic error : It is the deviation of the
output of the measuring system under constant
environmental conditions from the theoretically
predicted performance. If the theoretical output is a
straight line, then linearity, hysteresis, repeatability,
and resolution errors are part of the characteristic
error.
3. Environmental error: result from effect of
surrounding temperature, pressure and humidity on
 Dynamic Errors
26

Dynamic errors are caused by time

variations in the measurand and results
from the inability of a measuring system to
respond faithfully to a time-varying
measurand.
Usually the dynamic response is limited by
inertia, damping, friction or other
physical constraints in the sensing or
readout or display system.
 Systematic or Controllable Errors
27

Systematic error is experimental mistakes.

These are controllable in both their
magnitude and sense.
These can be determined and reduced, if
attempts are made to analyze them.
However, they can not be revealed by
repeated observations.
These errors either have a constant value or
a value changing according to a definite law.
 Random Errors
28

 In U.S., weigh particular 10 g standard every

day. They see:
 9.999590 g, 9.999601 g, 9.999592 g ….
What do you think about this?
Variability
No one knows why
They correct for humidity, barometric
pressure, temperature
Error that cannot be eliminated. Called
“random error”
 Random Errors
29

These errors occur randomly and the specific

cases of such errors cannot be determined,
but likely sources of this type of errors are
 Small variations in the position of setting standard
and workpiece
 Slight displacement of lever joints in the measuring
joints in measuring instrument
 Transient fluctuation in the friction in the measuring
instrument
 Operator errors in reading scale and pointer type
displays or in reading engraved scale positions.
 Random Errors
30

 Do you think that repeating the measurement over

and over would allow us to be more certain of the
“true” weight of this standard?
 Yes, because in the presence of only random error,
the mean is more likely to be correct if repeat the
measurement many times

 Standard is probably really a bit light

 Average of all the values is a good estimate of its

true weight

 Error Distribution
31

Virtually all instrument errors are random

in nature. Exceptions to these are called
systematic errors.
Random errors have positive and negative
values and their magnitudes are generally
distributed in accordance with the Gaussian
Distribution—the familiar bell-shaped curve.
 Error Distribution
32

On a frequency basis, the area under the

curve between error values x1 and x2
represents the percentage of all errors lying
between these two values.
 Error Accumulation
33

 The total static error of a measurement system can be

measured in terms of root-mean-square (rms) of the
component characteristic errors, if the following conditions
are fulfilled:
 Component characteristic errors are independent and of

the same order of magnitude.

 The distribution of errors is normal (Gaussian), i.e. we

consider only the random errors

 The total static error of a measuring system, therefore,
2

LE = linearity errors of individual component

RE = reading Errors
CE = characteristic errors and
EE = environmental errors
Errors likely to Creep in Precision Measurements—Their
Care
34

Effects of Environment—Temperature
Effect of supports
Effect of alignment

Errors due to vibrations

Metallurgical effects
 Errors likely to Creep in Precision
Measurements—Their Care
35

Contact point penetration

Errors due to deflection

Errors due to looseness
Errors due to wear in gauges
Error due to location
 Errors likely to Creep in Precision
Measurements—Their Care
36

The Parallax Effect

Errors due to poor contact

 Errors likely to Creep in Precision
Measurements—Their Care
37

Error due to impression of measuring stylus

Importance of gauging set up to be square

 An angular error of one minute in setting can cause 1

micron error in 100 mm.

Gauging thin blocks