Course Outline

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 Introduction
What do we mean by the word Metrology?
• Metrology is the science of measurement, embracing both
experimental and theoretical determinations at any level of
uncertainty in any field of science and technology.
• Measurement of dimensions such as length, thickness,
diameter, taper, angle, flatness, profile and others

Engineering Metrology
• Metrology may be divided depending upon the quantity under
consideration and field of application into: metrology of
length, metrology of time, industrial metrology, medical
metrology etc.
• Post-Process Inspection, Measurements taken after the part is
produced
• In-process, On-line or Real-Time Inspection checking part
characteristics while part is being produced
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 Why is Important the Study of Metrology?
• In a broader sense metrology is not limited to length and
angle measurement but also concerned with numerous
problems theoretical as well as practical related with
measurement such as:
1. Units of measurement and their standards, which is
concerned with the establishment, conservation and
transfer of units of measurement and their standards.
2. Methods of measurement based on agreed units and
standards.
3. Errors of measurement.
4. Measuring instruments and devices.
5. Accuracy of measuring instruments and their care.
6. Industrial inspection and its various techniques.
7. Design, manufacturing and testing of gauges of all kinds. 4
• The metrologist has to understand the main principles
to be able to design and develop new instruments and
also to use the available instruments in the best way.
• Metrology is also concerned with methods, execution
and estimation of accuracy of measurements;
 The means of measurement could be classified as
follows:
I. Standards (reference masters or setting standards)-these
are used to reproduce one or several definite values of a
given quantity.
II. Fixed gauges-these are used to check the dimensions,
form, and position of product features.
III. Measuring instrument-these are used to determine the
values of the measured quantity. 5
We measure using units of length.
These can be non-standard units...

standard units

Millimetres
(mm)
Kilometres6
Centimetres (cm) Metres (m)
 Measurement units
SI Units
Measured Quantity Units Symbol
Length Meter m
Mass Kilogram Kg
Time Second s
Temperature Kelvin K
Electrical Current Ampere A

English Units
English unit Value Equivalent value in SI
Miles 1mile=1760yard 1 mile = 1.609 km
Yard 1 yard = 3 ft 1yd = 91.44 cm
Foot 1 ft = 12 in 1 ft = 30.48 cm
Inch in 1 in = 25.4 mm
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Prefixes

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 Measurement
• Measurement is the process of determining or finding
the size, quantity or degree of something .
• The principle dimensional measurement is length;
secondary measurement is angle and curvature.
• You can describe shape without describing size, but
not the reverse.
• Measurement science is vital for trade &commerce
,&the basis of modern science& technology.

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 Needs of Measurement
• To ensure that the part to be measured conforms to the
established standard.
• To meet the interchangeability of manufacture.
• To coordinate quality control, production, procurement
& other departments of the organization.
• To judge the possibility of making some of the defective
parts acceptable after minor repairs.
• To provide customer satisfaction by ensuring that
no faulty product reaches the customers.

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 Needs of cont…
Although the basic objective of a measurement is to
provide the required accuracy at a minimum cost,
further objectives in a modem engineering plants with different
shops like Tool Room, Machine Shop, Press Shop, Plastic Shop, Pressure Die
Casting Shop, Electroplating and Painting Shop, and Assembly Shop; as also
Research, Development and Engineering Department
• To minimize the cost of inspection by efficient and
effective use of available facilities,
• To minimize the cost of rejection and re-work through
application of statistical quality control techniques.
• To maintain the accuracies of measurement.
• To determine the process capabilities and ensure that are
better than relevant component tolerances.
• To do complete evaluation of newly developed products.
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 Inspection
• Inspection means checking of all materials, products or
component parts at various stages during manufacturing.
• It is the act of comparing materials, products or
components with some established standard.
• When large number of identical parts are manufactured
on the basis of interchangeability if their dimensions are
actually measured every time lot of time will be required.
• Hence, to save the time gauges are used, which can tell
whether the part manufactured is within the prescribed
limits or not.

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 Need of Inspection
1. To ensure that the part material or a component conforms to the
established standard. For dimensional control as per specification.
2. To meet the interchangeability of manufacture.
3. To control the performance of man/make/process.
4. It helps in the process of quality control.
5. It protects the customers in accepting family products.
6. It helps in mass production of assembled part.
7. It helps to assemble various parts produce at different station.
8. It provides the means of finding out shortcoming in manufacture.

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 Measurement Methods
Classification of methods of measurement:
1.Direct method:- This is a simple method of measurement, in
which the value of the quantity to be measured is obtained directly
without any calculations
•This method is most widely used in production.
•This method is not very accurate because it depends on human
insensitiveness in making judgment
Example. Measurement of length by a graduated scale.
2. Indirect method;-Several parameters are measured directly &then
the value is determined by mathematical calculation.
For exam. Measurements of density
By measuring mass & geometrical
dimensions.
•E.g. angle measurement by sine bar,
Caliper

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3. Comparison method: -the comparison of an unknown
quantity to a known quantity , for example using
Dial Indicator.
4. Coincidence method :- the differential method of
measurement very small the difference b/n the given
quantity and the reference is determined by the
observation of the coincidence of the scale marks.
For example measurement on vernier scale

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 Modes of Measurement
Based upon the number of conversions, three basic
categories of measurements have been developed.
They are;
1. Primary measurement
2. Secondary measurement
3. Tertiary measurement
 Primary measurement
Direct observation and comparison
Not involvement of any conversion
Ex. Length, Height, Depth or Width etc.

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 Secondary measurement
>Indirect method >Involvement of one conversion
Ex. Pressure or Temperature measurement

 Tertiary measurement
>Indirect method >Involvement of 2 conversion
Ex. Measurement of rotating shaft

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 Measuring Instruments Types
Performance characteristics measurement.
• Important to select most suitable instrument for
specific measurement.
 Measuring Instruments Types:
1. Length measuring Instruments: ex: Steel rule; Caliper;
Micrometer; and comparators.
2. Angle measuring Instruments: e.g. Angle gauges; Divided scales; Sine bar
with slip gauges; Autocollimator; and Tool Maker Microscope.
3. Instruments for surface finish: surface roughness measurements.
4. Instruments for deviations: Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM).

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 Calibration: is the process of making an adjustment or marking a
scale so that the readings of an instrument agree with the accepted
and the certified standard.
 It is the procedure for determining the correct values of measured
by Comparison with the measured or standard ones.
 If the device has been repaired, aged, adjusted or modified, then
recalibration is carried out. The periodic calibration of an
instrument is very much necessary.
 Performance Characteristics
The performance characteristics of an instrument are mainly divided
in two categories;
-i) Static characteristics and ii) Dynamic characteristics
The set of criteria defined for the instruments, which are used to
measure the quantities which are slowly varying with time or
mostly constant, do not vary with time, is called static
characteristics
The various static characteristics are accuracy, precision,
resolution, error, sensitivity, threshold, reproducibility, zero
drift, Stability and linearity.
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Thus accuracy can be improved by calibration but not the
precision of the instrument.
Consider example.
A known weight of 100 grams is measured by an instrument.
Five times, the weight has been recorded. The readings
obtained are 103, 104, 105, 103, 105. The average
indicated value is 104 grams. Hence the maximum
deviation from the average reading is ±1 gram in 100 grams
actual value. This, the scale of the instrument can be
calibrated to read ±1 gram.
But what about the accuracy? The readings are not accurate. The
accuracy of the instrument is only (105 - 100/100)%i.e. 5 % .Thus
there is a precision of ±1%but the accuracy is only 5 %.

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 Measurements Errors :
Is the difference between the true value and the value found by
measurement.
Error = True Size – Actual Size
 True Size: is the theoretical size obtained through
measurement. This type of size is free from any type of error.
It is the guide for measuring many properties such as
accuracy of an instrument.
 Actual Size: is a measured size with permissible error. It
refers to the minimum acceptable size of a sample.

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•  Precision is the measure of the dispersement of the results.
It is called “the quality of refinement”
• Precision is defined as the repeatability of a measuring process.
• Precision tells us that how well the various measurements
performed by same instrument on the same component agree with
each other.
• Accuracy is frequently called “the quality of conformity”
• Accuracy is the agreement of the result of a measurement with the
true value of the measured quantity.
• The accuracy of an instrument is its ability to give correct results.
• Reliability is the probability that the results will be as predicted.

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Classification of Errors

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 Homework
Q: Compare five men in a shooting match. Let us use ten
shots for each. Consider the target to be a circle. Shots
inside it are good; outside bad.

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 Answer
• Which of these results Accurate? Precise? Reliable?
• Mr. A are 5 good, 5 bad.
• Mr. B produces a tight group but all bad. is more precise, but
not as accurate as Mr A.
• Mr. C produces a group are good. Even though he is not as
precise as B, he is as precise as A and he is not accurate than
A or B
• Mr. D produces his tight group, all good. He is more precise
than Mr. C.
• Mr. E places tight group in the centre. Mr. E more Precise,
Accurate and Reliable.

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1 Accuracy: It is the degree of closeness with which the instrument
reading approaches the true value of the quantity to be measured.
It denotes the extent to which we approach the actual value of the
quantity. It indicates the ability of instrument to indicate the true
value of the quantity. The accuracy can be expressed in the following
ways
Accuracy as 'Percentage of Full Scale Reading ' : - In case of
instruments having uniform scale, the accuracy can be expressed as
percentage of full scale reading.
For example, the accuracy of an instrument having full scale reading
of 50 units may be expressed as ± 0.1 % of full scale reading. From this
accuracy indication, practically accuracy is expressed in terms of limits
of error.
Accuracy as 'Percentage of True Value ' :- This is the best method
of specifying the accuracy.
 It is to be specified in terms of the true value of quantity being
measured. For example, it can be specified as ± 0.1 % of true value.
This indicates that in such cases, as readings get smaller, error also gets
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reduced. Hence accuracy of the instrument is better than the instrument
Accuracy as 'Percentage of Scale Span' :- For an instrument, if amax is
the maximum point for which scale is calibrated, i.e. full scale reading and
amin is the lowest reading on scale. Then (amax - amin) is called scale span
or span of the instrument. Accuracy of the instrument can be specified as
percent of such scale span. Thus for an instrument having range from 25
units to 225 units, it can be specified as ± 0.2 % of the span i.e.± [(0.2/l00)x
(225 - 25)] which is ± 0.4 units error in any measurement.
Point Accuracy : Such an accuracy is specified at only one particular point
of scale.
It does not give any information about the accuracy at any other point on
the scale. The general accuracy of an instrument cannot be specified, in this
manner. But the general accuracy can be specified by providing a table of
the point accuracy values calculated at various points throughout the entire
range of the instrument.
2.Precision
It is the measure of consistency or repeatability of measurements .
The precision can be mathematically expressed as :-

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Example 1 The table shows the set of 5 measurements recorded in a
laboratory.
Calculate the precision of the 3rd measurement

3 Error
The most important static characteristics of an instrument is its accuracy,
which is
generally expressed in terms of the error called static error.
The algebraic difference between the indicated value and the true value of
the quantity to be measured is called an error. Mathematically it can be
expressed as

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In this expression, the error denoted as e is also called absolute error.
The absolute error does not indicate precisely the accuracy of the
measurements.
For example, absolute error of ±1 V is negligible when the voltage to be
measured is of the order of 1000 V but the same error of ±1 V
becomes significant when the voltage under measurement is 5 V or so.
Hence, generally instead of specifying absolute error, the relative or
percentage error is specified.

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Example 2: The expected value of the voltage to be measured is 150 V.
However, the measurement gives a value of 149 V. Calculate (i) Absolute
error; (ii) Percentage error; (iii) Relative accuracy; (iv) Percentage accuracy
and (v) Error expressed as percentage of full scale reading, if the scale range
is 0-200 V.

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Q.Problem

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