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A complete, progressive standard for dimensional metrology
Dimensional Metrology Standards Consortium DMSC Published: 10/30/2009
(DMIS: Arlington, TX) -- A new interoperability standard for dimensional metrology was approved by the ANSI as an American National Standard on Aug. 4. Through the auspices of the Dimensional Metrology Standards Consortium (DMSC) Inc.’s DMIS Standards Committee, an updated version—revision 5.2—of the Dimensional Measuring Interface Standard (DMIS) was approved. The DMIS 5.2 represents a comprehensive standard that responds to user needs and technology advances.
The DMIS 5.2 incorporates more than 55 improvement requests and enhancements, most significantly the recent advent of multi-axis scanning with a continuously indexable probe head or as an inspection robot. This new functionality requires that the motion of the sensor not only be controlled by the coordinate measuring machine frame, but also must explicitly control the sensor hardware during both motion and measurements. Furthermore, to ensure successful interoperability, DMIS conformance classes have been defined along with a program for DMIS conformance certification.
Although there are many commercial products based upon DMIS, DMIS is not a commercial software product; it is an American National Standard as well as an ISO standard. The DMIS defines a neutral language for communication between information systems and dimensional measurement equipment, and it is the most widely used standard of its kind in the world today. It can perform as an execution language for measurement part programs as well as provide an exchange format for metrology data such as features, tolerances, motions, and measurement results.
The Consortium conveys the product and equipment definitions along with the process and reporting information necessary to perform dimensional measurements that employ coordinate metrology. The DMIS contains product definitions for nominal features, feature constructions, dimensional and geometric tolerances, functional datums, and part coordinate systems. The standard also associates and designates the criticality of key characteristics of tolerances with features. It communicates equipment definitions for various measurement sensors, measurement resources, and machine parameters. The DMIS instructs the dimensional measurement equipment or sensor’s motions, touch probing, or scanning measurements for product acceptance or verification, and for manufacturing process validation and control. Furthermore, the DMIS guides the analysis of coordinate data to report and tag measurement results that ascertain product/process quality.
Also, the DMIS addresses the associativity of the DMIS product definition entities with computer-aided design information. Finally, to aid in its implementation, application functional subsets of the DMIS have been defined that ensure successful interoperability and to validate DMIS conformance.
The DMIS is the first data interoperability protocol standard created specifically for dimensional metrology. The standard’s applications are multifaceted; it’s full featured and has many successful implementations. It also has a strong reputation as a progressive standard, one that has been responsive to user needs and technology advances. It is maintained and improved upon by the DMIS Standards Committee, a volunteer committee under the auspices of the DMSC.
Some notable advances of the DMIS have included a complete suite of measure features such as:
Recent enhancements contained in the DMIS 5.2 include:
Mechanisms for change to the DMIS include active participation in the DMSC as a supporting consortium member, volunteering as a DMIS Standard Committee member, and the submission of Standard Improvement Requests through the DMSC web site. The DMSC would value your participation and interest. Please visit the DMSC web site www.dmsc-inc.org for further details.
The DMIS 5.2 is now available via CD or download. Visit the DMISC web site Online Store.
The mission of the Dimensional Metrology Standards Consortium (DMSC) Inc. is to identify urgently needed standards in the field of dimensional metrology, and to promote, foster, and encourage the development and interoperability of these standards, along with related and supporting standards that will benefit the industry as a whole. The Dimensional Measuring Interface Standard (DMIS) is one such standard that the consortium has the responsibility to develop, maintain, and support as well as to coordinate and harmonize with other related standards efforts.
Links:
[1] http://www.dmsc-inc.org/
[2] http://www.dmisstandards.org/store/index.php?cPath=23&osCsid=93c54f383c54dafde0d757b06a49e2fb