A single-station multi-tasking 3D coordinate measurement method for large-scale metrology based on rotary-laser scanning

This paper presents a novel 3D coordinate measurement method based on the rotary-laser scanning technique for large-scale metrology. The method is implemented by a rotary-laser transmitter and a probe integrated with several photoelectric receivers. Measurement is accomplished with the tip of the probe contacting the measured point. The receivers capture the scanning angles of the laser planes emitted by the transmitter to calculate their corresponding equations. Then, we can establish the multi-plane constraint that the receiver points are in the corresponding planes. Subsequently, the coordinates of the measured point can be obtained through an optimization calculation method. In a 480 mm × 480 mm × 480 mm measurement volume that is 6 m away from the transmitter, the distance measurement accuracy of the proposed method is better than 0.40 mm and repeatability remains within 0.17 mm. For coordinate measurement, the accuracy and repeatability exceed 0.46 mm and 0.12 mm respectively. Experimental results show that the method is feasible and valid with good accuracy.