Planimeters and Theodolites

Planimeter
A planimeter, also known as a platometer, is a measuringnstrument used to
determine the area of an arbitrary two-dimensional shape.

Parts and Construction

A planimeter is a
measuring areas,
regions on a map or
common, but have
digital tools.

table-top instrument for

usually the areas of irregular
photograph. They were once
now largely been replaced by

The following picture

gives some idea of the setup. The
pole arm rotates
freely around the pole, which is
fixed on the table.
The tracer arm rotates around
the pivot, which is
where it joins the polar arm. You
trace a curve in the
clockwise direction with the
tracer, and as you do
so the measuring wheel rolls
along, and the total distance it rolls is accumulated on the dial. The support wheel
keeps the thing from flopping over. At the end, you read off a number from the dial, and
after multiplication by a factor depending only on the particular configuration of the
planimeter, you get the area inside the curve.

Usage Instructions
Using a Planimeter (Area Measuring Tool) with Drawing Scales
A planimeter will give correct results for "any" scale factor whatsoever, at least within
the tolerance imposed by the operator and a small mechanical uncertainty.
In practice, an operator will trace an area on a plan with a known scale factor, and then
multiply the "raw" planimeter reading by a constant, Ca, to get a corrected reading.
The constant Ca can be computed using an equation given in the instructions that come
with each instrument. It is Ca = u*Sc^2 . "u" is the number of square inches per

planimeter count, unique for each instrument and dependent on the arm length of that
instrument. It is provided with each instrument shipped. Sc is the scale factor of the
drawing to be measured.
For example, suppose an Operator is using a planimeter with its arm length set to
medium length. He or she should refer to the calibration record that comes with the
instrument and find that u is 0.017324 for a medium arm. The operator sees that the
scale factor for his or her drawing is 1:400, meaning 1 unit = 400 units, where a unit can
be an inch, a foot, or whatever. For this example the operator wants his answer to be in
square feet so he must convert his 1:400 scale to the number of inches per foot. Since
1inch = 400 inches, it also equals 400 divided 12, or 33 1/3 feet. The hard part over, he
or she uses the equation and finds that Ca equals 0.017324*(33 1/3)^2 , or 19.249.
If the operator has a digital readout, he simply keys in his scale factor of 19.249 and
begins measuring. His answer will be in terms of square feet for each measurement. If
the Operator has a mechanical planimeter, he or she must manually multiply each
planimeter reading by
19.249 to get the number of square feet. If he or she stores the 19.249 in a calculator
memory, this task becomes easier.
Some planimeters also give the value of u for metric measurements, that is, u is the
number of square centimeters per planimeter count. In this case, the operator might
have to convert the scale factor to give the number of centimeters per meter or
whatever before computing Ca.
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responsible for any misuse or misunderstandings that you may make.
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Industrial Applications:
Construction
Surveying
Geological Research
Maintenance and Storage
1.) Proper calibration must be in place
2.) Fasteners properly fastened.

3.) Periodic checking for the presence of destructive and constructive mechanical and
chemical corrosions.
4.) Internal mechanical parts must be periodically properly lubricated.
Storage:
1.) Must not be exposed to direct sunlight unnecessarily.
2.) Must be stored in the prescribed humid environment.
3.) Must be stored in the prescribed vibrational environment.R

Theodolite
theodolite is a precision
angles in the horizontal
Theodolites are used
applications, and have
specialized purposes in
rocket launch technology.
consists of a movable
two perpendicular axes
axis, and the vertical
is pointed at a target
of these axes can be
precision, typically to

instrument for measuring

and vertical planes.
mainly for surveying
been adapted for
fields like meteorology and
[1]
A modern theodolite
telescope mounted within
the horizontal or trunnion
axis. When the telescope
object, the angle of each
measured with great
seconds of arc.

Theodolites may be either transit or non-transit. Transit theodolites (or just "transits") are
those in which the telescope can be inverted in the vertical plane, whereas the rotation
in the same plane is restricted to a semi-circle for non-transit theodolites. Some types of
transit theodolites do not allow the measurement of vertical angles.

Parts and Construction

Industrial Applications:
Construction
Surveying
Geological Research
Geographical Research

Maintenance and Storage

1.) Proper calibration must be in place
2.) Fasteners properly fastened.
3.) Periodic checking for the presence of destructive and constructive mechanical and
chemical corrosions.
Storage:
1.) Must not be exposed to extreme direct sunlight unnecessarily.
2.) Must be stored in the prescribed humid environment.
3.) Must be stored in the prescribed vibrational environment.

Submitted By: Joseph Joshua C. Garcia, BSME 4A

Submitted To: Engr. Adrian C. Flores