Software Configuration Management and Automated Secure Data Storage for Metrology Processes

Abstract

The mission of this project was to compensate and locate with six degrees of freedom (6DOF) several hundred two- or three-axis machines, all with an evolving software process and changing inputs. In this work, several significant data-handling problems arose: How were all input data, scripts, and other software versions to be kept under revision control with weekly or daily changes as well as several metrology teams running multiple shifts? How could engineers process the avalanche of incoming data without being overwhelmed by it? What could be done to prevent data loss due to operator error? How might all data be reliably archived and reports protected from accidental change? This article describes an effort to grapple with these questions and a gradual evolution from primitive to more sophisticated solutions that raised the bar a little on our own best practices for repeated metrology operations.