A 3D measuring path planning strategy for intelligent CMMs based on an improved ant colony algorithm

Coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) are being subjected to an increasing number of intelligent requirements due to mass manufacturing in the industry. It is important to plan the 3D measuring path for a CMM to meet the requirements of multi-objective measurements. A stable and fast three-dimensional (3D) path planning algorithm is desirable to improve the detection efficiency of a CMM. This paper establishes a 3D ant colony map for the measurement space. Then, an improved ant colony algorithm that can converge to the optimal path more rapidly than the standard ant colony algorithm is proposed. Finally, a new path re-optimization algorithm (RE-OP) and the new space collision detection algorithm are proposed. The simulation experiments show that the improved ant colony algorithm can steadily and rapidly obtain the optimal security path and can improve the detection efficiency of CMMs.