November Metrology News Magazine
Editors Message:
The editorial focus at Metrology News in November was Portable Metrology and the continued growth of its role in supporting manufacturing with applications including reverse engineering, prototype part inspection, low volume production measurement, tooling and fixture inspection, interrogation of product quality issues etc. One significant characteristic of all portable metrology equipment is its ability to be used at the point of manufacture, on the production floor, providing an almost immediate feedback of measurement data. November was another busy month for Metrology News with the publication of almost 70 articles including “Portable Metrology Continues Its March Onto The Manufacturing Floor”, “Portable Arm Scanning Speeds Up Part inspection” , “Laser Tracker Performance Testing Solution” and “Laser Scanning provides Digital 3D Surveys”.
Following on from last month several more metrology equipment suppliers published their quarterly financial results with all reporting the economic slowdown in China impacting their businesses. Additive Manufacturing continues to grab the headlines with the industry recently descending on Frankfurt for annual Formnext exhibition. Metrology News reported on many on the latest supplier initiatives and developments to improve 3D printed product consistency with the onboarding of numerous process control initiatives. The surprise news of the month was the announcement from Hexagon that it is acquiring the Industrial Computed Tomography software company, Volume Graphics, whose product has proven very popular in the still emerging CT market. A selection of this months article are included below.
Enjoy the read!
Keith Mills – Publishing Editor
Portable Metrology Continues Its March Onto The Manufacturing Floor
Portable metrology equipment has seen a dramatic rise in its role of supporting manufacturing over the past decade with applications including reverse engineering, prototype part inspection, low volume production measurements, tooling and fixture inspection and alignment, interrogation of product quality issues etc. One significant characteristic of all portable metrology equipment … read more
Portable Arm Scanning Speeds Up Part Inspection
A manufacturer of deep-draw dies and die-cutting tools for the automotive sector, Aggressive Tool & Die, Inc. uses its Kreon Ace portable measuring arm in tool development and quality control. During the deep-draw process, a sheet is put under pressure and when it is released from the tooling, it relaxes: … read more
Laser Tracker Performance Testing Solution Released
Brunson Instrument Company has announced the KinAiry solution for laser tracker field testing. KinAiry is a comprehensive, independent solution for laser tracker evaluation, utilizing NIST’s new Interim Field Test Procedure IR-8016. The KinAiry system provides a set of traceable measurements designed to verify volumetric performance in a customer environment … read more
SealScan Measures 2D Cross Door Seal Sections
SealScan is a compact, lightweight, 2D scanning system for fast and accurate measurement of cross section mating surfaces. Seal gap, seal compression and panel alignment are typical applications. The concept is based on a 3 axis articulated arm, non contact laser scanner and a patented exchangeable multi-base. The seal design and … read more
Portable Scanning Arm Delivers Point Clouds For Duplicate Nuclear Fabrications
To enable the efficient completion of a challenging project in a nuclear plant, leading UK engineering and steel service provider, Watson Towers recently purchased a 3.5 meter capacity version of FARO’s QuantumE ScanArm, fitted with a FAROBlu Laser Line Probe SD and supported by FARO’s CAM2 metrology software. The tasks in … read more
Recertified Laser Tracker Business Launched
API Services, one of North America’s largest nationwide providers of on-site metrology and Laser Tracker rental services has launched a Recertified Laser Tracker operation. API Services is a wholly owned division of Automated Precision, Inc (API) whose CEO, Kam Lau, invented the Laser Tracker. The API RADIAN Laser Tracker series … read more
Hexagon To Acquire Volume Graphics
Hexagon AB has announced the signing of an agreement to acquire Volume Graphics, a market leader in the industrial computed tomography (CT) software industry. Volume Graphics brings over 20 years of experience in non-destructive inspection and testing software development. The company’s high-end analysis and visualisation CT software enables manufacturers to produce three-dimensional … read more
Creaform Launches Aerospace Industry HandySCAN AEROPACK
Creaform has announced the release of HandySCAN AEROPACK, a 3D scanning solution suite that addresses the specific challenges of aircraft quality control, such as assessing damage from hailstorms or aircraft incidents as well as flap and spoiler inspections. The HandySCAN AEROPACK can also be used for reverse engineering, maintenance and … read more
3D Scanning and Point Cloud Creation Improves Additively Manufactured Part Process
Scanning and inspective Additively Manufactured (AM) parts results in reduced costs, minimized iterations, and improved accuracy and quality. As new production technologies evolve new technical challenges arise in manufacturing the best possible part. Oftentimes significant tuning of the new process is required the first time a contract manufacturer attempts production in … read more
Laser Scanning Provides Digital 3D Cathedral Surveys
Just like people, buildings age, and regular diagnoses can detect health problems. With architectural preservation in mind, five cathedrals in France’s Loire region are being fully digitized in 3D. Once completed, these digital surveys will make it possible to extract plans and sections for future restorations, ensuring that these precious … read more
3D Scanner Measures Small Parts With Complex Shapes
The new ATOS 5 for Airfoil expands the ATOS 5 series for the measuring of small and complex parts. While the all-rounder ATOS 5 scanning sensor successfully performs a wide range of measuring tasks in measuring areas from 170 mm to 1,000 mm in length, the ATOS 5X is particularly … read more
‘Done-In-One’ Automated Measurement Solution
Roller bearings have to fulfill a variety of different tasks. They have to provide high stability for shafts while providing low power losses and a high durability. Therefore the requirements concerning material, geometric and form accuracy as well as surface roughness, are challenging for manufacturing. To ensure the quality in … read more
CMM Accuracy Is Everything
Precision engineering for aerospace and automotive sectors demands a proactive approach to complex part verification. Italian subcontract manufacturer, R. Busi, made a strategic decision to move to 5-axis co-ordinate measuring machines (CMMs). Renishaw 5-axis measurement heads have enabled the company to meet the verification needs of increasingly complex part designs … read more
CT Measures The Impossible
As experts for initial sample inspection, the team at 3DIMETIK , Kassel, Germany handles all sorts of plastic parts that at first appear to be impossible to measure – at least without first breaking them down into several pieces. “We are commissioned to perform measuring tasks for injection-molded parts to which … read more
Laser Measurements Aid Airbus A320 Structural Assembly Automation
Airbus has inaugurated its highly automated fuselage structure assembly line for A320 Family aircraft in Hamburg, Germany showcasing an evolution in Airbus’ industrial production system. With a special focus on manufacturing longer sections for the A321LR, the new facility features 20 robots, a new logistics concept, automated positioning by laser tracker … read more
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