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The Seven Secrets of Accurate Mass Properties Measurement

by Richard Boynton If you have a mass properties instrument which has an accuracy of 0.1%, how accurately can you measure the mass properties of your payload? Some people think that the answer is 0.1%. In fact, the instrument is usually the least important factor in determining measurement accuracy. There are a number of fatal […]

Mass Properties Measurement Errors Which Could Have Been Easily Avoided

Learn From Others Mistakes (no names mentioned) This post contains a description of actual case histories of instances where a mass properties measurement error has occurred which could have been avoided (no names mentioned!). Some of these errors resulted from fundamental defects in the procedure; others resulted from very subtle effects which would have been […]

Definition of Mass Properties Terms: Mass vs Weight, Center of Gravity, Moment of Inertia, Product of Inertia

August 12, 2020

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Definition of Accuracy Terms: Error, Linearly, Hysteresis, Resolution, Sensitivity, Repeatability, Uncertainty, Precision

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Gravitational Acceleration with Variations and Corrections

Gravitational acceleration can be measured by dropping an object in a vacuum chamber and measuring speed as a function of time as the object accelerates. This is the method made famous by Galileo. He is supposed to have dropped a large and a small object from the leaning tower of Pisa and found that they […]

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Mass Properties Measurement Errors That Could Have Been Easily Avoided

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Calculating Moment of Inertia

How to Calculate Moment of Inertia (MOI) in the Real World General Comments The first step to calculate moment of inertia for a mass is to establish the location of the X, Y, and Z axes. The accuracy of the calculations (and later on the accuracy of the measurements to verify the calculations) will depend […]

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