A metrological verification of a high precision digital multimeter was made by the laboratory of calibration of programmable electrical multifunction instruments of the National Institute of Metrological Research (INRIM) in order to verify its accuracy and stability. The instrument had been tested for a period of six months for five low-frequency electrical quantities (DC and AC Voltage and Current and DC Resistance). Its stability and precision were compared with the accuracy specifications of the manufacturer. As a new approach, a performance index of the DMM was introduced and evaluated for each examined measurement point. The DMM showed a satisfactory agreement with its specifications to be considered at the level of other top-class DMMs and even better in some measurements points.

The article presents methodology for testing the electric strength of vacuum chambers designed for modern medium voltage switchgear developed by the authors, using two innovative test stands designed and constructed by the research team above. Verification of the correctness of operation of the test stands, as well as the validity of the developed methodology was carried out by performing a series of tests. It was determined that below certain pressure values in the tested chamber (from about 5.0×10 ⁰ Pa for station 1 and for about 4.0×10 ^-1 Pa for station 2), the electric strength maintains a constant value, which guarantees stable operation of the vacuum chamber. The values of the total measurement uncertainty for the electric strength tests were also estimated.

The sequential multilateration principle is often adopted in geometric error measurement of CNC machine tools. To identify the geometric errors, a single laser tracker is placed at different positions to measure the length between the target point and the laser tracker. However, the measurement of each laser tracker position is not simultaneous and measurement accuracy is mainly subject to positioning repeatability of the machine tool. This paper attempts to evaluate the measurement uncertainty of geometric errors caused by the positioning repeatability of the machine tool and the laser tracker spatial length measurement error based on the Monte Carlo method. Firstly, a direct identification method for geometric errors of CNC machine tools based on geometric error evaluation constraints is introduced, combined with the geometric error model of a three-axis machine tool. Moreover, uncertainty contributors caused by the repeatability of positioning of numerically controlled axes of the machine tool and the laser length measurement error are analyzed. The measurement uncertainty of the geometric error and the volumetric positioning error is evaluated with the Monte Carlo method. Finally, geometric error measurement and verification experiments are conducted. The results show that the maximum volumetric positioning error of the machine tool is 84.1 μm and the expanded uncertainty is 5.8 μm (�� = 2). The correctness of the geometric error measurement and uncertainty evaluation method proposed in this paper is verified compared with the direct geometric error measurement methods.

Non-measured points (NMPs) are one of vital problems in optical measurement. The number and location of NMPs affect the obtained surface texture parameters. Therefore, systematic studying of the NMP is meaningful in understanding the instrument performance and optimizing measurement strategies. This paper investigates the influence of measurement settings on the non-measured points ratio (NMPR) using structured illumination microscopy. It is found that using a low magnification lens, high exposure time, high dynamic range (HDR) lighting levels, and low vertical scanning interval may help reduce the NMPR. In addition, an improved approach is proposed to analyze the influence of NMP on areal surface texture parameters. The analysis indicates that the influence of NMP on some parameters cannot be ignored, especially for extreme height parameters and feature parameters.

At the National Institute of Metrological Research (INRIM) an evaluation of a commercial dual source high resistance bridge has been performed. Its two main measurement modes (single measurements and multiple measurements) have been investigated. The best settle time of a 10:1 measurement of high resistance ratio has been estimated to be about three times the time constant of the circuit involving the resistors. This constant, in turn, depends on the highest value resistor. By means of mathematical estimators, suitable numbers of the readings of the detector have been established in order to minimize noises. A compatibility test at 100 TΩ has shown that the best precision of the commercial bridge is achieved utilizing the multiple measurements mode with the auto update function. This mode also allows the characterization of a resistor as a function of the settle time. This characterization can be useful for the owner of the resistor who can request the laboratory to perform the calibration of the resistor with the settle time which is necessary for him.