SOP No. 10 Recommended Standard Operating Procedure For Calibration of Rigid Rules
SOP No. 10 Recommended Standard Operating Procedure For Calibration of Rigid Rules
SOP No. 10 Recommended Standard Operating Procedure For Calibration of Rigid Rules
SOP No. 10
1. Introduction
1.1. Purpose
This SOP describes the procedure to be followed for the calibration of rigid rules
by comparison to the 18 inch metal rule issued to each State as the State reference
standard which is calibrated in the interval from 1 inch to 13 inches. Equations
provided here assume that the rigid rules being compared have the same
coefficient of expansions. If rigid rules having different coefficients of expansion
are compared at a temperature other than 20 °C the procedure and equations of
SOP 11 must be used.
The maximum length of rule that can be directly compared to the standard rule is
12 inches. However, longer lengths can be calibrated in segments of 12 inches
with reference to the standard rule.
1.2. Prerequisites
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2. Methodology
2.2. Summary
2.3.1. Length bench or similar flat surface on which to lay the test rule and the
standard rule.
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2.4. Symbols
2.5. Procedure
2.5.1. Both the test rule and the standard rule must be in temperature equilibrium
with the environment of the length laboratory.
2.5.2. Place the test rule and the standard rule on the length bench or similar flat
surface, parallel to one another with the reading edges adjacent. It is not
necessary to have the “zero” graduations in coincidence.
Ordinarily, this will require that one rule reads left-to-right (increasing
units) while the other reads right-to-left (decreasing units). In this case, for
convenience of calculation, the standard rule is placed in the right-to-left
position. A worksheet to reverse the calibration on the standard rule is
provided at the end of this SOP. Place shims under the rules as necessary
so that the upper surfaces of both are in the same plane.
2.5.3. Place the microscope on the bench in the vicinity of the zero position and
align it so that its reticle scale is parallel to the scales under test. (See
GMP No. 2 for instructions on reading graduations with the microscope.)
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“zero” graduation is the end of the rule, only the reading for the
end of the rule is taken.
2.5.5. Return the microscope to the zero graduation and repeat readings (2.5.3.1.
and 2.5.3.2.) to verify that the rules have not been disturbed. Accept all
previous data if the initial zero readings do not disagree with the final zero
readings by more than 0.002 inch; otherwise, discard all previous data and
repeat entire sequence of readings until a satisfactory set of zero readings
are obtained.
2.5.6. Repeat 2.5.3. thru 2.5.5. for every additional segment of the test rule
requiring calibration. This will require repositioning the rules, aligning the
last measured interval graduation on the test rule with the initial
graduation of the standard rule. Deviations from nominal for successive
segments are cumulative.
2.5.7. Move the rules and reposition, making a second set of measurements as
directed in 2.5.3, 2.5.4, and 2.5.5 for Trial 2.
.
3. Calculations
3.1. Calculate the difference between the Initial (A, B) and Final (A1, B1) zero
measurements to ensure that the initial and final readings agree within 0.002 inch.
(2.5.5.)
|A – B – A1 + B1| (1)
3.2. Calculate the center of graduation for unknown, Xm, and standard, Sm, for each set of
measurements and each scale interval. The center of the “starting” graduation on the
standard rule is A; for the test rule it is B. The subsequent centers of graduations for the
standard and the test rule are recorded as C and D, respectively, for each interval
measured. For each trial, the values for A and B will remain constant for all measured
intervals on that trial, and will be used to compute the measured differences between
the test rule and the standard.
(S L S R )
Sm A, C (2)
2
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(X L X R)
Xm B, D (3)
2
3.3. Calculate the differences, d1, and d2 between X and S for each scale interval and
each trial. (The subscript i is associated with the trial number.)
di A B Ci Di (4)
3.4. Obtain the calibrated length of the standard, LS, for the measured interval from the
calibration certificate for the standard rule.
3.5. Calculate the length of the test rule, LX, for each interval measured using the mean
of the measured differences.
LX
d1 d 2 L
S (5)
2
4. Measurement Assurance
4.1. Duplicate the process with a suitable check standard or have a suitable range of
check standards for the laboratory. See NISTIR 7383 SOP 17, SOP 20 and
NISTIR 6969 SOP 30. Plot the check standard length and verify it is within
established limits OR a t-test may be incorporated to check the observed value
against an accepted value. The mean of the check standard observations is used to
evaluate bias and drift over time. Check standard observations are used to
calculate the standard deviation of the measurement process which contributes to
the Type A uncertainty components.
4.2 If a standard deviation chart is used for measurement assurance, the standard
deviation of each combination of Trial 1 and Trial 2 is calculated and the pooled
(or average) standard deviation is used as the estimate of variability in the
measurement process. Note: the pooled or average standard deviation over time
will reflect varying conditions of test items that are submitted to the laboratory. A
standard deviation chart will be needed for each interval calibrated so that the
variability resulting from transfers will be measured (the number of charts may be
adjusted through analysis using F-tests).
5. Assignment of Uncertainty
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5.1.1 The expanded uncertainty for the standard, U, is obtained from the
calibration report. The combined standard uncertainty, uc, is used and not
the expanded uncertainty, U, therefore the reported uncertainty for the
standard will usually need to be divided by the coverage factor k. When
transfers are used, us for values after the transfer are dependent and
cumulative. See NISTIR 6969, SOP 29 for handling of dependent
uncertainties.
5.1.2. The standard deviation of the measurement process, sp, is taken from a
control chart for a check standard or standard deviation charts. See
NISTIR 7383, SOP 17, SOP 20, and NISTIR 6969, SOP 30.
5.1.3. Uncertainty associated with bias, ud. Any noted bias that has been
determined through analysis of control charts and round robin data must
be less than limits provided in SOP 29 and included if corrective action is
not taken. See SOP 29 for additional details
6. Report
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Appendix A
Rigid Rule Calibration Data Sheet
ID Range
S
X
Trial 1 Trial 2
Rule Graduation Left Right Center of Left Right Center of
graduation graduation
S A= A=
X B= B=
S1 C1 = C1 =
X1 D1 = D1 =
d1 = A – B – C1 + D1 = d2 = A – B – C1 + D1 =
Average d = (d1 + d2) / 2 = LS =
Length of X, LX = average d + LS =
S2 C2 = C2 =
X2 D2 = D2 =
d1 = A – B – C2 + D2 = d2 = A – B – C2 + D2 =
Average d = (d1 + d2) / 2 = LS =
Length of X, LX = average d + LS =
S3 C3 = C3 =
X3 D3 = D3 =
d1 = A – B – C3 + D3 = d2 = A – B – C3 + D3 =
Average d = (d1 + d2) / 2 = LS =
Length of X, LX = average d + LS =
S A1 = A1 =
X B1 = B1 =
Trial 1: Absolute difference between initial
and final zero measurements = |A – B – A1 + B1|=
Is result ≤ 0.002 inch? Yes/No If YES, accept all data.
Trial 2: Absolute difference between initial
and final zero measurements =|A – B – A1 + B1|=
Is result ≤ 0.002 inch? Yes/No If YES, accept all data.
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Form A-2. Worksheet to Reverse the Calibration of the Rigid Rule Standard
Nominal
Length of Length of Interval
Calculations to be performed
Interval (inches)
(inches)
1 L1 = C13 – C12 = -
2 L2 = C13 – C11 = -
3 L3 = C13 – C10 = -
4 L4 = C13 – C9 = -
5 L5 = C13 – C8 = -
6 L6 = C13 – C7 = -
7 L7 = C13 – C6 = -
8 L8 = C13 – C5 = -
9 L9 = C13 – C4 = -
10 L10 = C13 – C3 = -
11 L11 = C13 – C2 = -
12 L12 = C13 – C1 = -
To reverse the calibration on the State standard rigid rule, subtract the lengths for each calibrated
interval from the length from the 1 inch to the 13 inch graduation.
Example:
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Appendix B
Calibration of a Metric Rule Using a Standard Indicating in Inches
A. Work with the customer to determine the intervals they wish to have calibrated.
Convert those interval to inches (E.g., 10 mm / 25.4 mm/in = 0.3937 in). It is helpful
to make the conversions for all the interested intervals at one time. Round these
conversions to the nearest 0.01 in.
B. For the first calibration interval “a”, refer to the group of intervals from 1 in to 12.5 in
and 1 in to 13 in on the calibration report for the lab’s standard rule. Select the
report’s interval with the same numbers after the decimal point as the selected
customer interval “a”. (E.g., for the customer’s 2.94 in interval, refer to the 1 in to
12.94 in interval on the report.) An interval “a” which ends in a number less than 0.5
should have a report interval selected which is 0.5 more than the listed value. (E.g.,
for the customer’s 0.39 in interval, refer to the 1 in to 12.89 in interval on the report.)
The 12.xx value which has been selected will be the point on the standard which is
lined up with the 0 calibration point on the customer’s rule. Record the appropriate
standard length value for the referred to interval. (E.g., 11.888 4 for the 1 in to 12.89
in interval.)
C. Subtract the desired interval “a” from the 12.xx figure which was selected in step B.
This difference “b” is the point on the standard rule which will be lined up with the
desired calibration point on the customer’s rule. Refer to the calculated difference “b”
on the calibration report for the laboratory 18 in standard rule. Record the appropriate
standard length value for the interval “b”. (E.g., for the interval 0.39 in, subtract
0.39 in from 12.89 in to obtain a difference of 12.50 in. The 12.5 in mark on the
standard rule will be lined up with an interval which is 0.39 in (10 mm) from the 0
point on the customer’s rule. Refer to the 1 in to 12.50 in interval on the data sheet
and record a value of 11.498 1.)
D. Subtract the value recorded in step C from the one recorded in step B to obtain the
standard’s length for the interval “a” which will be observed. (E.g., subtract 11.498 1
from 11.888 4 and you get a standard length of 0.390 3 in.) Use this value as your LS
in your calculations.
F. Set up the rules, take readings, and make calculations for each interval in accordance
with this SOP. After calculating LX in inches, convert it to metric, and report the
metric values to the customer.
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