Measuring Circular Edges with Smart 3D

Circular parts and features are one of the most common geometric shapes found in manufacturing today. The ability to accurately and efficiently measure their diameter and roundness deviation have a direct impact on part performance and lifetime. Roundness contributes to function and performance in a variety of ways, not least of which is maintaining a lubricating film between mating components (e.g., between automotive cylinders and pistons).

This is why quality control engineers need to have a robust automated inspection method with standard measurement algorithms that meet the requirements for diameter and roundness inspection.

Surface Circular Edge Tool

With Surface Circular Edge in Gocator®, the user can easily achieve high-precision measurements on different types of circular features with a single powerful measurement tool—regardless of part orientation, and without the complex component setups and unreliable results that come with using traditional methods (e.g., rotational drum or vee-block).

By scanning the circular object with a laser profiler or snapshot sensor, the built-in Surface Circular Edge tool can then measure the inner and outer edges of a circle. For example, it can measure the inside or outside diameter of tubes or pipes, disk-like features, or the X/Y position of their center points.

The Surface Circular Edge tool can also calculate the roundness error of circular features using one of four standard methods depending on the individual inspection requirements, which gives the engineer greater flexibility in the types of parts and features they can measure.

These standard methods include:

  • Least Squares Circle
  • Minimum Zone Circle
  • Maximum Inscribed Circle
  • Maximum Circumscribed Circle

For more detailed information on the different roundness measurement methods, we invite you to read this short technical paper.


The Surface Circular Edge tool is available in the latest Gocator® 5.2 firmware release.