Material standards design for minimum zone fitting of freeform optics

Overview & Synopsis

In most cases, ultra-high-precision coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) are used to measure manufactured parts especially in the presence of freeform surfaces. The obtained data should be then processed to determine a quality measure of the surface. The least value of peak-to-valley (PV) is the widely used quality measure since it conforms to the ISO Geometrical and Product Specification (GPS) standards. To determine the minimum value of PV, a number of fitting methods exist but minimum zone fitting is the most suitable since it directly minimizes the PV. In the measurement process, fitting algorithms are essential elements. For this reason, their quality must be assessed as well; this could be achieved using either softgauges or material artefacts. In this paper, a design of a reference thermo-invariant material standard for minimum zone fitting is suggested and manufactured. The artefact was then measured by a number of partners participating to the FreeFORM 15SIB-01 project so as a comparison could be made in the light of gathered measurements.