Artefacts represent, in near ideal form, the geometrical characteristics of a gear profile. These characteristics are calibrated and traceable to national artefacts. Artefacts are the highest authority. They are used to set up, carry out final acceptance tests and trace gear and spline measuring machines. There are different artefacts depending on the measuring task and the spectrum of the gearing to be measured. The closer the artefact is to the measuring task, the more certain is the traceability of the measurement.

The IC gear artefacts developed by FRENCO contain all important gear characteristics and have a similar profile to that of the workpieces to be tested.They thereby meet the identity condition (IC) as defined in ISO 15530 for the determination of the measurement uncertainty of coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) and form an important part of an extensive package to determine the measurement uncertainty.

With these artefacts it is possible, for the first time, to determine uncertainty in gear and spline measurements easily and quickly.

IC artefacts are possible in any imaginable design. They can be manufactured for gears and splines and for internal teeth and external teeth of different modules and different pitch circle diameters. The geometrical size can be adapted to small plastic gears and to HGV gearboxes.