D Dimensional Metrology Richard Leach 1 , Massimiliano Ferrucci 2 and Han Haitjema 3 1 Manufacturing Metrology Team, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK 2 Research and Development, Materialise NV, Leuven, Belgium 3 Mechanical Engineering Department, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Synonyms Dimensional measurement technology; Manufacturing metrology; Workshop metrology Definition Dimensional metrology is the science and appli- cation of geometrical measurement. Theory and Application Introduction Short History Dimensional metrology is the science and appli- cation of geometrical measurement, for example, length, area, volume, flatness, and roundness. Dimensional metrology in its elementary form is as old as human civilization. Egyptian pyramids exhibit astonishing accuracies in squareness, ori- entation, and the flatness of the stones, meaning that a highly developed measurement technology must have existed. An indication of this is found in the length standard of that time and area: the Egyptian cubit, a line standard with a large num- ber of subdivisions. During the subsequent centu- ries, up to the eighteenth century, developments in dimensional measuring instruments were mostly limited to the fields of astronomy (angle measure- ments) and land surveying (sextant, theodolite). The standard of length (the meter) was established around 1820, proving to be a significant step towards the measurement of industrial products. The Industrial Revolution implied mass produc- tion and, therefore, the introduction of inter- changeable parts – an important milestone in the development of dimensional metrology. Products that used to be made by individual craftsmen in a linear manufacturing process were now made by several craftsmen, each of whom was responsible for making one specific component. The final product was then created by assembling the indi- vidual components. To ensure that all parts fit, conformance was necessary in the way parts were made and dimensions were measured. Significant milestones in the standardization of measurements include the invention of the gauge block system by Carl Edvard Johannson in 1896, the Taylor Principle of gauge design in 1905 and, to achieve submicrometer accuracies, the © CIRP 2020 The International Academy for Production Engineering et al. (eds.), CIRP Encyclopedia of Production Engineering, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35950-7_16871-1