The development of the very first CMM Coordinate Measuring Machine

Research shows that the development of modern 3-axis machines began in the early 1960s and is a direct descendant of the modern 2-axis metrology machines invented in the 50s in various military defense industries.The first 2-axis universal measuring machine is believed to have been developed by the Sheffield Corporation in the mid to late 1940's.The National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee uses the YZ machine to measure the casings of hydrogen bombs.The top-secret nature of the project, though, leaves us with little actual data on the machines.Then in 1957, the Moore Tool Company of the United States launched the Moore No.3 universal three-coordinate measuring machine, also known as M3.Digital Electronic Automation in Italy and Ferranti in Scotland, both develop three-axis CMMs.The first three-axis prototypes were invented in the 1960s by the Italian company DEA (now part of Hexagon Metrology).That being said, the first working CMM was developed and marketed by Browne&Sharpe in Melbourne,UK.

The DEA machine is a Portal Frame CMM with a hard probe.Whereas Ferranti Metrology's machine is a cantilever CMM with a digital readout and a fixed probe.LK Tool, also from the UK, has long claimed to have produced the first bridge-type CMM that became standard on modern CMMs.Various types of configurations developed since then include cantilever CMMs, bridge CMMs, gantry CMMs, horizontal arm CMMs, portal CMMs, mobile station CMMs, fixed bridge CMMs, and articulating arm CMMs.Now, decades later, the metrology industry is in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, and the global CMM market is estimated to reach $2.8 billion in 2020.The CMM can be either a manual CMM, where the CMM operator manually guides the CMM around the part to take measurements, or a CMM/DCC CMM, where the CMM is automatically driven by a computer control program.One thing we can be sure of is that innovations in metrology have not stopped since then and are applied in every modern industrialized country.The metrology industry and advanced measuring machine capabilities have helped manufacturers improve and create all the products we have today.CMMs are used to monitor high-speed production and in-depth surveys and reverse engineering of various parts such as turbine blades, body parts, engine parts, gears, antennas, boat parts and medical implants.Automotive, aerospace and defense are key industries in the CMM market, with great potential in medical device development.From a regional point of view, Europe is the world's largest consumption area for coordinate measuring machines, and China is the most potential market with the fastest growth rate of 16.19%.