Experiment 4

I.
OBJECTIVES
1. To study the principle of operation of a digital Planimeter.

2. To be able to use a Planimeter correctly.
3. Determine the accuracy of measurements in terms of percent error.
II. APPARATUS
Figure 1: DIGITAL PLANIMETER
Figure 2: RULER
III. PROCEDURE
Measure the areas of the following figures using the digital planimeter.
Paste the paper on a smooth level surface and carefully set the planimeter by
placing the tracer approximately at the center of the drawing. Then place the
roller in a position which will make it at 90° with the main body. Trace the
outline of the drawing with the tracer lens. Repeat the procedure two to three
times. If inconvenient or irregular movements occur, adjust the position of the
roller in order to get a smoother trace. For selection of units, press unit -1
which will provide selection from the metric system (e.g. cm 2, mm2 or in2, ft2).
Note that the gate numeral display is not a gained area display but a pulse
count display only. The measured area display can be obtained only after
pressing “Ave.” key.
1. By the use of AutoCAD, figures to be measured are draw and measure

the exact values on the said program for this provides more accuracy.
Figure 3.1: MEASURING DIMENSIONS BY USING AUTOCAD 2016.
2. Paste the paper on a smooth level surface and carefully set the planimeter
by placing the tracer approximately at the center of the drawing. Then
place the roller in a position which will make it at 90° with the main body.
Figure 3.2: USING PLANIMETER ON THE SMOOTH SURFACE.

3. Trace the outline of the drawing with the tracer lens. Repeat the procedure
two to three times.
Figure 3.3: MEASURING DIFFERENT SHAPE USING RULER AND PLANIMETER

IV. REPORT
1. Explain why there are discrepancies in the areas measured by the

planimeter.
ANSWER: There are discrepancies occurs because maybe the
planimeter has not been in very recent use, the condition of the instrument
and its adjustment must test before starting also discrepancies occurs
when the roller is not in 90 degree and lastly it depends also to the person
who are performing the planimeter. Also, the surface on which the roller
moves is consider as the most important factor that may affect the results
and may lead to discrepancies. If the paper is placed not on the flat
surface or whether the paper has a fold or crumple, accurate results may
not be obtained.
2. How do you minimize the so called “human error” when you are using the
planimeter?
ANSWER: To minimize the so called “human error” make sure your

hands is in condition it should not be shaking when you are performing the
planimeter, to lessen the errors the will occur also in performing the
planimeter when you moving it make it slow to make the center tracer lens
will not go outside.
3. Describe briefly the principle applied in measuring areas by means of a

planimeter.
ANSWER: The principle applied in measuring the areas using
planimeter are the area of the drawing measured by the planimeter equal
to area measured in rectangle having its base equal to length of the tracer
arm and for the distance rolled by the wheel during tracing is equal to the
height
V. DISCUSSION
Digital planimeters are computerized. They give a direct reading of the

area traced as square inches or centimeters, with some reading directly in
any unit of area including acres, square meters, square kilometers, etc. The
most advanced units will also store data for downloading into a personal
computer. Most digital planimeters have various memory functions which
enable you to add areas, accumulate measurements and average multiple
measurements. Digital planimeters are available with pole arms or rollers.
To use a mechanical planimeter, a "constant" is first determined by

choosing the shortest possible arm length which will cover the area to
measure, and tracing the boundary of a known area Once the known area is
traced, you can see how many revolutions the dial scale indicates. The known
area divided by the dial reading equals the constant. Once the constant is
determined, the measuring dial is reset and the boundary is traced by moving
the magnifier over the boundary in a clockwise direction. The reading on the
dial is multiplied by the constant to give the desired area of the plot. Digital
planimeters require initial settings for units and scale. There is no need to
determine a constant when using any digital planimeter.
In order to learn and understand the use of planimeter, we performed a

trial on taking the area of a given figure with the use of planimeter and
comparing it with the calculated area given that the dimensions are manually
measured. We first measure the dimension of the figures, there are six figures
and these are: circle, square, triangle, rectangle, trapezoid, and ellipse. We
traced each figure three times to lessen the margin of error that we can get
because of human error in tracing the figure, sometimes the tracer lens are
moving out of the line of the layout of the figure and that effect resulting to
inaccurate measured area of the figure. In order to compensate with that
error, we assigned three people in each figure to trace the figure and average
the calculated area given by the planimeter and compare it with the area that
we calculate using the given formula for each figure.
In the figures, circle and ellipse are the most difficult in getting the area in
the tracing process of the figure because the wheel or the roller is not rolling
smoothly in the surface of the table and sometimes the edge side of the paper
jams the roller and will make the planimeter stuck in moving freely. But before
tracing the figure, calibration of the planimeter must be done. The position of
the roller must be perpendicular to the tracer lens in order to get a smoother
movement in tracing. There are option to select different units for the
measurement and its scale ratio.
In this experiment, a planimeter is utilized to quantify the region of a
regular shape; it is finished by simply following the outer line of the area,
starting from the center and to an edge which will serve as a starting point.
We used cm2 for units and a 1:1 scale ratio.
DATA
Table 1: RECORDED AND COMPUTED DATA
Figure Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Average CAD %Error

Area AREA
(Trial) (cm2)
Circle 32.7 34.3 33 32.8 32.5 33.06 33.18 0.003617
Ellipse 10.9 11.15 12.07 40.4 11.8 11.26 11.31 0.004421
Square 40.3 41 40.9 40.4 39.9 40.5 39.69 0.02
Triangle 16.2 16.32 16.4 16.8 16.1 16.36 16.17 0.011614
Rectangle 33.9 33.4 33.7 34.1 33.9 33.8 33.3 0.014793
Trapezoid 25.3 26.3 26.5 25.6 25.8 25.9 26.44 0.020849
Hexagon 160.7 161.92 162.7 160.12 161.37 161.36 162.86 0.009296
Octagon 84.69 85.97 84.01 86.08 85.11 85.17 85.17 0
180
160
140
CAD AREA IN CM2
120
100
80
CAD AREA
60 AVERAGE AREA
40
20
0
0 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.03
PERCENT ERROR
Figure 5.1: PERCENT ERROR AND AREA IN CM2 RELATIONSHIP

The graph shows the relationship between the percentage error (x-axis) and the
area in cm2 (y-axis).
This graph shows that in a way the higher the area the lower the percentage
error but due to human error, it doesn’t show that there are not inversely proportional
with each other.
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
Figure 5.2: COMPARISON OF AVERAGE AREA AND COMPUTED AREA

The graph shows the comparison between the average area and computed area
has no significant relative difference.
Figure 5.3: CIRCLE
Average Area Measure: 33.06 cm2

AUTOCAD Area: 33.18cm2
Figure 5.4: ELLIPSE

AUTOCAD Area: 11.31 cm2
Figure 5.5: SQUARE

Figure 5.6: TRIANGLE

Figure 5.7: RECTANGLE

Figure 5.8: TRAPEZOID

Figure 5.9: HEXAGON

Figure 5.10: OCTAGON

VI. CONCLUSION
After the experiment, the precision of our observation relies upon two
components one is the natural factor and the other is human error.
The first one is the environmental work. It is the working region that can influence
the precision of the trial esteem. On the off chance that the surface is not leveled the
roller in the planimeter. Additionally if the testing subject is not in great conditions the
outcome will not be right.
Lastly, human error. A few people get preferred outcomes over others. A decent
eye, an enduring hand and tolerance when following the blueprint are most critical
for good outcomes. Great light and a happy with working position likewise assume a
conclusive part.
VII. RECOMMENDATION
To have precise results in conducting the experiment, we should consider the
environment and the human error that will occur in the experiment to lessen the
discrepancy. Also, we should consider the condition of the test subject to have a
proper evaluation in conducting the experiment.
VIII. REFERENCES
Whiteman, W. (n.d.). Leinweb. Retrieved from Chromatographic Integration Method:
http://www.leinweb.com/snackbar/planimtr/wheatley/index.htm
Zac, Melbirth (1981). ""Planimeter", M Bulletin". Boston Museum of Fine Arts. pp. 44–
51. JSTOR 4171634.(Subscription required (help)).
Dull, Brian (2006). ""Accuracy of Planimeter Measurement1" (PDF).Isasc.org. pp. 3099–3109.

Retrieved 2014-02-26. http://www.leinweb.com/snackbar/planimtr/wheatley/s11.htm
Sshu, Kina (1997)"Planimeter Features". Averyweigh-tronix.com. 2012-03-02. Archived from the

original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
Gilbert, Corle(2001) "The Planimeter". Omega.com. Retrieved 2014-02-26.
Bob, Greggor (1890) "Mechanical Planimeter Measurement" (PDF). California Department of Food
and Agriculture Division of Measurement Standards.
UNIVERSITY OF THE EAST – MANILA
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
EXPERIMENT #4
PLANIMETER
GUIMBAOLIBOT, TYRON C. DATE PERFORMED: SEPTEMBER 09, 2018

20141129693 DATE SUBMITTED: SEPTEMBER 22, 2018
NME 412 – ME1
ENGR. JOSELITO H. RECIO
INSTRUCTOR

Experiment 4

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Experiment 4

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I.

1. To study the principle of operation of a digital Planimeter.

Figure 1: DIGITAL PLANIMETER

1. By the use of AutoCAD, figures to be measured are draw and measure

Figure 3.1: MEASURING DIMENSIONS BY USING AUTOCAD 2016.

Figure 3.2: USING PLANIMETER ON THE SMOOTH SURFACE.

Figure 3.3: MEASURING DIFFERENT SHAPE USING RULER AND PLANIMETER

1. Explain why there are discrepancies in the areas measured by the

ANSWER: To minimize the so called “human error” make sure your

3. Describe briefly the principle applied in measuring areas by means of a

Digital planimeters are computerized. They give a direct reading of the

To use a mechanical planimeter, a "constant" is first determined by

In order to learn and understand the use of planimeter, we performed a

Figure Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Trial 5 Average CAD %Error

Figure 5.1: PERCENT ERROR AND AREA IN CM2 RELATIONSHIP

Figure 5.2: COMPARISON OF AVERAGE AREA AND COMPUTED AREA

Average Area Measure: 33.06 cm2

Figure 5.4: ELLIPSE

Average Area Measure: 11.26 cm2

Figure 5.5: SQUARE

Average Area Measure: 40.5 cm2

Figure 5.6: TRIANGLE

Average Area Measure: 16.36 cm2

Average Area Measure: 33.8 cm2

Figure 5.8: TRAPEZOID

Average Area Measure: 25.9 cm2

Figure 5.9: HEXAGON

Average Area Measure: 161.36 cm2

Figure 5.10: OCTAGON

Average Area Measure: 85.17 cm2

Dull, Brian (2006). ""Accuracy of Planimeter Measurement1" (PDF).Isasc.org. pp. 3099–3109.

Sshu, Kina (1997)"Planimeter Features". Averyweigh-tronix.com. 2012-03-02. Archived from the

Gilbert, Corle(2001) "The Planimeter". Omega.com. Retrieved 2014-02-26.

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

GUIMBAOLIBOT, TYRON C. DATE PERFORMED: SEPTEMBER 09, 2018

ENGR. JOSELITO H. RECIO

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