Integration of inspection planning system and CMM via DMIS

INSPEX is a computer-aided knowledge based inspection planning system for preparing inspection plans from CAD toleranced component models of rotational components. To achieve the complete automation of the inspection process, INSPEX has been integrated with CMMs (computer controlled coordinate measuring machines) via DMIS (Dimensional Measuring Interface Specification), where DMIS has been as a data exchange standard. The inspection procedures produced by INSPEX can be automatically converted into DMIS data format file by the DMIS pre-processor described in this paper, which can be fed into any CMMs with a DMIS interface for executing the inspection procedures.