Patent ID: 7751920

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of data weighted object orientation for data mining of sets of data, each set of data pertaining to one of a plurality of manufactured objects, comprising steps of: using a tool to perform a surface finishing process on at least a portion of a surface of each of the plurality of manufactured objects, wherein each of the manufactured objects is capable of being randomly oriented relative to the tool; for each of the plurality of manufactured objects, obtaining a set of data associated with at least one characteristic of at least a portion of the surface; storing the sets of data in a computer memory; using computer program code to generate a weight distribution from each set of data; for each weight distribution, using computer program code to determine a rotational axis about which each surface would tend to rotate under the action of gravity in accordance the weight distribution with the surface supported at a geometric centroid of the surface; orienting each set of data such that the rotational axis of each manufactured object is aligned with the rotational axis of each other manufactured object; and performing a data mining process on the sets of data; wherein the at least one characteristic is surface finish and the surface has at least one aberration in the surface finish and the weight distribution is generated by assigning a non-zero weighting factor to the at least one aberration and a weighting factor of zero to any portion of the surface not including an aberration.