Calculation of the unit normal vector using the cross-curve moving mask method for probe radius compensation of a freeform surface measurement

This paper proposes a cross-curve moving mask method to calculate the unit normal vector based on 5 or 9 data points of a freeform surface measurement for probe radius compensation. This is done in order to simplify the calculation and thus, produce a more efficient and time-saving process. Passing through the middle point and 4 or 8 neighboring points, two crossed curves – longitude and latitude can be constructed. The unit normal vector at the middle point can be determined by calculating the cross product of two tangent vectors along these two crossed curves. Different curve fitting methods for the curves passing through 5 or 9 data points, such as Bézier and B-spline methodologies, have been investigated. Three kinds of surfaces, namely, a spherical surface, a cosine-like surface and a shoe-shaped surface (hereby termed “shoe last”) are selected for evaluating the accuracy of the calculated unit normal vectors.