Profile Line

The Line tool fits a line to the profile and measures the deviations from the best-fitted line. The tool also provides two “roughness parameter” measurements: Arithmetic Average and Rz. For a complete list of the measurements the tool provides, see Measurements.

For information on adding, managing, and removing tools, as well as detailed descriptions of settings common to most tools, see Tool Configuration.

Inputs

You configure the tool's inputs in the expandable Inputs section.

To use a measurement as an anchor, it must be enabled and properly configured in the tool providing the anchor. For more information on anchoring, see Measurement Anchoring.

Inputs
Name	Description
Enable Batching	When Enable Batching is checked, the tool takes an array as input and processes each profile in the array individually. There is no limit to the size of the array, other than processing limitations of the sensor. When Enable Batching is unchecked, the tool takes either a single profile, or an array of profiles with any number of elements. If the input is an array, the tool will aggregate the data in the array, and process that data as a whole. For more information on arrays, batching, and aggregating, see Arrays, Batching, and Aggregation.
Profile Input	The data the tool applies measurements to or processes. This tool can optionally take an array as input. For more information, see Arrays, Batching, and Aggregation.
Anchor X or Anchor Z	The X or Z measurement of another tool that this tool uses as a positional anchor. Positional anchors are optional.

Parameters

You configure the tool's parameters in the expandable Parameters section.

Parameters
Name	Description
Region Mode	Whether the fitting and measurement regions are used, and whether they are combined or separate. One of the following: None The tool uses the entire profile both to fit the line and to perform measurements. Combined The tool uses a single, user-defined region to fit the line, in which it also performs measurements. Separated The tool uses one or two regions to fit the line (selected using the Number of Regions parameter), and a single, separate region in which it performs measurements. (Offset and Angle measurements are related to the fitted line and are associated with the fitting region, rather than the measurement region.) In the following, the tool uses a single region to the left to fit the line, and performs measurements in the measurement region to the right: In the following image, the uses two regions to the left to fit the line, and performs measurements in the measurement region to the right:
Number of Regions	When Region Mode is set to Separated, lets you choose the number of regions.
Region {n} Measurement Region	Use these expandable region sections to define the position and size of the fitting and measurement regions precisely. (Use the mouse to position and size them more roughly.) The number of region parameters displayed depends on the mode selected in Region Mode.
Fitting Method	Determines how the tool fits the line to the profile. One of the following: Simple Uses a less accurate but faster line-fitting method. Robust An iterative line-fitting method that removes points and attempts to fit a line until only the fraction set in Outlier Fraction of the original profile data points is left. More accurate but takes longer. When Fitting Method is set to Robust, set Outlier Fraction (see below).
Outlier Fraction	The fraction of outlier points to be removed during line fitting. Adjust this value based on how much noise is present in the profile. By default, 30%. Only displayed when Method is set to Robust.
Measurements Percentage (Percentile measurement only)	The specified percentage of points around the best-fitted line that the Percentile measurement uses.
External ID	The external ID of the tool that appears in GoHMI Designer. For more information, see GoHMI and GoHMI Designer.

Outputs

All tools provide measurements, geometric features, or data as outputs.

Outputs section with a measurement expanded to show user-configurable decision min/max fields and an external ID

You configure the Min and Max parameters by expanding the measurement in the Outputs section. In order for a measurement to return a Pass decision, the measurement must be between maximum and minimum values; the range is inclusive.

Measurements
Measurement	Illustration
Standard Deviation Finds the best-fitted line and measures the standard deviation of the data points from the line.
Min Error Finds the best-fitted line and measures the minimum error from the line (the maximum distance below the line).
Max Error Finds the best-fitted line and measures the maximum error from the line (the maximum distance above the line).
Percentile Finds the best-fitted line and measures the range (in Z) that covers a percentage of points around the line.
Offset Finds the best-fitted line and returns the intersection point between that line and the Z axis.
Angle Finds the best-fitted line and returns the angle relative to the X axis.
Min Error X Min Error Z Finds the best-fitted line and returns the X or Z position of the minimum error from the line (the maximum distance below the line).
Max Error X Max Error Z Finds the best-fitted line and returns the X or Z position of the maximum error from the line (the maximum distance above the line).
Arithmetic Average Returns the roughness average of the profile data. Ra = SUM_N(abs(distance)) / (N) where N is the total number of non-outlier points, and the distance is from each point to the fitted line.
Rz Returns the maximum height of the profile data. Rz = abs(smallest distance) + abs(biggest distance) The distance is from each non-outlier point to the fitted line.

Features
Type	Description
Line	The fitted line.
Min Error Point	The point of minimum error.
Max Error Point	The point of maximum error.

For more information on geometric features, see Geometric Features.