Probe Path Planning for Flatness Measurement on Coordinate Measuring Machine Using Ant Colony Optimization

Abstract

Optimization of a flatness error inspection activity on coordinate measuring machine (CMM) is a very crucial problem which demands minimization of a probe path for productive inspection. In the present work, the approach is explained to minimize the total probe travelling length and hence, the time of flatness inspection. Three sampling methods with eight sample sizes have been considered for this work. The ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm based on travelling salesman problem (TSP) approach was developed in MATLAB environment to find the shortest probe paths. It was verified that the probe path depends on the sampling method used to measure the flatness. The sampling method giving the shortest probe path was selected as the best-suited method for a particular sample size. The results obtained by analyzing an illustrative example shows that the proposed approach is both effective and optimum.