Basic Principles of Engineering Metrology
The importance of metrology as a scientific discipline gained momentum during the industrial revolution. Continuing technological advancement further necessitated refinement in this segment. Metrology is practised almost every day, often unknowingly, in our day-to-day tasks.
Measurement is closely associated with all the activities pertaining to scientific, industrial, commercial, and human aspects. Its role is ever increasing and encompasses different fields such as communications, energy, medical sciences, food sciences, environment, trade, transportation, and military applications. Metrology concerns itself with the study of measurements. It is of utmost importance to measure different types of parameters or physical variables and quantify each of them with a specific unit. Thus, measurement is an act of assigning an accurate and precise value to a physical variable. The physical variable then gets transformed into a measured variable. Meaningful measurements require common measurement standards and must be performed using them. The common methods of measurement are based on the development of international specification standards. These provide appropriate definitions of parameters and protocols that enable standard measurements to be made and also establish a common basis for comparing measured values. In addition, metrology is also concerned with the reproduction, conservation, and transfer of units of measurements and their standards. Measurements provide a basis for judgements about process information, quality assurance, and process control.
Design is one of the major aspects of all branches of engineering. A product/system comprising several elements has to be properly designed to perform the required (desired) function. In order to test whether functioning of the elements constituting the product/system meets the design expectation, and to finally assess the functioning of the whole system, measurements are inevitable. Another associated aspect is to provide proper operation and maintenance of such a product/system. Measurement is a significant source for acquiring very important and necessary data about both these aspects of engineering, without which the function or analysis cannot be performed properly.
Hence, measurements are required for assessing the performance of a product/system, performing analysis to ascertain the response to a specific input function, studying some fundamental principle or law of nature, etc. Measurements contribute to a great extent to the design of a product or process to be operated with maximum efficiency at minimum cost and with desired maintainability and reliability.
Metrology helps extract high-quality information regarding the completion of products, working condition, and status of processes in an operational and industrial environment. A high product quality along with effectiveness and productivity is a must, in order to survive economically in this competitive global market. The task of attaining workpiece accuracy in modern industrial production techniques has gained much significance through constantly increasing demands on the quality of the parts produced. In order to achieve high product quality, metrology has to be firmly integrated into the production activity. Hence, metrology forms an inseparable key element in the process of manufacturing. This needs focus on the additional expense caused throughout the whole manufacturing process, due to worldwide competition.
The quality of the products influences various production attributes such as continuity, production volume and costs, productivity, reliability, and efficiency of these products with respect to their application or their consumption in a diverse manner. Thus, it is desirable to use the resources in an optimal manner and strive to achieve cost reduction in manufacturing.
