Mecaner Chooses CogniTens Optigo System

CogniTens, part of the multinational Hexagon Metrology group, has supplied its Optigo 3D optical measurement system to Spanish sheet metal die producer Mecaner S.A. The white light system – which facilitates quality iterations and manufacturing process corrections in real time – is being used for dimensional inspection and reverse engineering applications.

Mecaner — a subsidiary of Comau, the automotive automation systems supplier — chose the tough, shop-floor CogniTens system on the grounds of speed, reliability and increased productivity. It complements inspection outputs from five co-ordinate measuring machines operated by the company's quality control department.

"There were several reasons why we chose the Optigo system," said Alberto Goirigolzarri, Senior Director of Quality and Environment at Mecaner. "It is portable, which allows us to use it throughout our entire production process. The precision and reliability of measurements is comparable with our existing CMMs while its ability to analyse part measurements is superior."

The CogniTens Optigo system is used by automotive manufacturers and key suppliers around the world. Its multiple fields of view facilitate quality inspection and evaluation on the shop floor and 3D digitisation with point cloud and STL outputs for product engineering and design processes. The versatile system provides 3D metrology data for entire surfaces as well as the most common characteristics, various types of edges and other important dimensions. Its speed and flexibility — including its ability to pinpoint quality shortcomings in real time — were a major factor in clinching the deal with Mecaner.

"Optigo is of great assistance to us in improving the die casting machining process," added Mecaner's Alberto Goirigolzarri. "We record improved milling times and lower tool wear. In addition, it has provided us with a big advance in the way we are able to check for anomalies throughout the die production and tryout process. We also use it to produce various inspection reports for our customers to enhance satisfaction and confidence in our products."

CNC CMM PROGRAMMING SUPERVISOR

This is a key leadership position. The CNC Programming Supervisor should have a strong PC-DMIS background and experience with CNC (computer numerical controlled) Programming and ideally NC probing experience as well. We can train on the NC side so that is less important than the PC-DMIS. This can be a Programmer and a Manager, or combination. CNC tools have revolutionized the design process, allowing use of a number of different tools, combining the many into a single "cell", such as using a number of different machines with an external controller and human or robotic operators that move the component from machine to machine. PC-DMIS allows us direct and seamless integration with CAD data, eliminating translation and maintaining the original design intent throughout the measurement process. PC-DMIS provides comprehensive measurement routines for all part types, from the simple to the most complex. This is a key role, as it will allow manufacturing to quickly capture dimensional data, analyze it and act on it to reduce scrap, improve throughput and reduce costs.

Company Information (Specifics provided with receipt of a confidential resume)

The company produces UNMANNED VEHICLES – an exciting time, as the applications cover Homeland Security to Agricultural information gathering, etc.

The company is on the front end of contracts and fully immersed in ongoing contracts. They are willing to relocate candidates on both positions. This is best for people who have worked in smaller, entrepreneurial, dynamic, ever changing and ever creating cultures. They must have DoD experience. They will want to join a company where they can make their mark. They won’t be coming into a fully defined, multi-layer operation.

Please send resume to info@cmmquarterly.com and I will forward

FARO invites you for a test drive

LAKE MARY, Fla. (April 23, 2009) – Hoping “to help get the manufacturing process moving again,” FARO Technologies (NASDAQ: FARO) has unveiled a Technology Test Drive program it says will put the company’s leading-edge 3D measurement devices on customers’ shop floors without capital expense and help them implement necessary technology to remain competitive during these difficult economic times.

The program makes FARO’s entire line of portable 3D measurement and imaging devices available to customers over a four-month period for a monthly fee as low as $2,000 with 100 percent of that fee applied to the purchase at the end of the test drive, after which FARO will replace the test driven unit with a brand new device. As well, the fee includes unlimited training throughout the test drive to assure that the customer’s employees are able to fully integrate the technology into their business process. In the event the customer cannot fully justify the technology, they can simply return it at the end of the four months.

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Helmel Introduces First DCC CMM Under $20,000

HELMEL ENGINEERING PRODUCTS, INC. announces the introduction of their American-made, shop hardened automatic coordinate measuring machine for small and medium sized parts at an introductory price under $20,000. Called the PHOENIX RB, it is a DCC system with a measuring capacity of 12” x 12” x 10”, and is a complete, ready-to-run machine with a “real estate friendly” compact footprint. Helmel has been a dedicated broad-line CMM builder in Niagara Falls, NY, and since 1973 has cultivated the more rugged and durable mechanical bearing concepts, developing a reputation for smaller benchtop and mini-CMMs in addition to larger offerings.

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Verisurf Software Helps Vought Aircraft Increase Production

April 22, 2009, ANAHEIM, CA -- Technology is changing the face of aerospace manufacturing and quality assurance. No place is that change more welcome and dramatic than at Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. in Hawthorne, California.

According to Paul Evans, Quality Assurance Lead, changes in processes and systems at his plant alone have saved literally thousands of dollars in time and costs. “At the heart of these changes,” said Mr. Evans – a 34-year veteran with Vought – “is our adoption of Verisurf Software to run our portable CMMs.” Vought first introduced Verisurf into its Hawthorne operations in 2007 when the software was selected for what Mr. Evans called an “across the board changeover … and to prepare for the ramp up for a major model change.”

Vought offers a full range of aero-structure fabrication and assembly capabilities to design and manufacture fuselage panels, empennage and flight control surfaces, nacelles, wings and doors, and other structures. “We build some really big products, up to 60-feet in length, for some of the biggest names in the aerospace industry,” said Mr. Evans. “In a nutshell, we’re a tier 1 subcontractor to companies like Boeing, Airbus, Gulfstream, Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky, Northrop Grumman, Bell Helicopter, Cessna and Embraer. As a result, everything we build has to meet stringent engineering specifications. But beyond that, we’re required to prove that we meet those customer specs. We’ve always met that challenge, but it hasn’t always been easy.”
Vought manufactures the majority of its products in sections, and then utilizes complex holding fixtures in assembly to ensure dimensional accuracy.

“Our products are very large, so the only sensible way to handle inspection is to do it in sections as they’re built,” explained Vought quality engineer Angel Diaz.

The company receives the majority of its specifications via CATIA solid models. The specs come with local and aircraft coordinates that are “stripped down” to give the product it’s own reference system. This process further speeds up inspection and analysis.

Said Mr. Evans, “On these structures our average tolerance is plus or minus thirty thousandths, which doesn’t sound like much, until you realize you’re dealing with structures up to 60-feet long. To make things worse we have to achieve those tolerances in changing temperature conditions, which can cause some pretty wild thermal expansion and contraction.”
Vought uses a combination of laser systems and portable CMMs for measurement. Laser systems measure the large structures, while portable CMMs are used for constructions that can be measured with a 6’ long arm. Before Verisurf, there were significant difficulties in analyzing inspection results and providing appropriate feedback.

Mr. Evans explained, “We’re dealing with large sheet metal assemblies, which are very flexible. In the past we would take a measurement, then come back and analyze it on a desktop computer with a couple of different software packages. Then we would see that the product was out of spec and needed to be twisted this way or that to bring it into alignment. We might have to do several iterations like that before we got it right. It was a very time consuming process.”

“Because our only proof at that point were a bunch of numbers on spread sheets, it was difficult to communicate. We really needed something that graphically illustrated the results of our analysis, and that is why we selected Verisurf Software.”

“Verisurf is a very powerful software package,” said Senior Measurement Engineer Joel Gasca. “It resides within Mastercam and uses all the power of Mastercam’s design module. The whole system comes on a disk and installs on a computer as easily as Microsoft Office. Our computers are already connected to the lasers and the CMM arms, and since Verisurf recognizes most of the portable CMMs out there, it was ready immediately to go to work with our systems.”

After more than two years on the job, clear and easy-to-understand graphics capability and instant answers continue to be the biggest benefits of Verisurf Software. The software is utilized to collect data through the laser and CMM tools and then provide analysis on the spot. It compares the real product against the solid model residing in Mastercam and gives Vought’s team instant and graphical error reports so that its customer, vendors and production specialists can see specifics.

“We’re now able to measure the product as it’s being built,” Mr. Gasca explained. “Previously we didn’t have that capability. All we could do was collect data and then go into some other room to analyze it. Now we’re able to take Verisurf down to the floor, call over the engineers and mechanics and show them exactly what’s wrong. They love it, because the longer an error goes before it’s found, the harder it is to fix.”

He continued, “I guess the bottom line for our department is that it used to take us sixteen hours to do an inspection on a large assembly, eight hours inspecting and another eight on the report. Now we can do the same job in six hours or less.”

Olympus introduces new LEXT OLS4000 optical metrology instrument

Hamburg, – Olympus has introduced the LEXT OLS4000, the latest version of the highly successful LEXT confocal laser scanning microscope metrology system. The OLS4000 brings a number of additional features and enhanced functionality, including near-vertical slope capabilities, larger optical zoom and navigation overview window. The new software also brings even the most complex of processes within easy reach of a broader range of users, with the use of different user interface sheets for the main tasks –acquisition, analysis and reporting. As well as these internal functional improvements, the whole system has a sleeker look and now only requires a single control unit. The LEXT OLS4000 not only matches the challenges of the measurement laboratory, but also leads the way in establishing optical technology as the most flexible measurement systems available – Optical Metrology.

The Olympus LEXT OLS4000 has been designed with a larger and faster MEMS scanning mirror along with dual pinholes, which provide the most advanced confocal laser scanning microscopy in the market. The larger mirror enables the system to provide superior optical quality, and the increased scan speed halves the time it takes to create a 3D image of a sample. The 405nm laser and dual pinholes operate simultaneously to ensure that the system provides the highest possible resolution and clarity as well as enabling steep slope detection up to 85o, ensuring that even the most complex of surface topologies can be imaged and analysed.

The new line scan function enables the LEXT to perform optical surface roughness measurements to the same international standards as cantilever -based systems. Moreover, the LEXT is leading the way in applying the new 2D surface roughness standards, taking surface analysis to the next level of precision.

The new Z-drive provides movement steps of under 1 nm providing an accuracy of 10 nm, which ensures that 3D measurements are extremely precise and repeatable. The new stage also enables much more precise movement and the instrument has a built in vibration cancellation system, ensuring that accuracy is not affected by sample navigation or external vibrations.

The completely new software, builds upon the concept of making complex optical metrology processes accessible to all users. For example, a small sample overview window provides a lower power image of the sample next to the main image to enable easier navigation and orientation. Furthermore, key analysis functions can be applied and utilised with great ease, ensuring that user errors are minimised and results are consistent between users. Reporting is also exceptionally easy, with an intuitive report generator ensuring that data is always presented in the best possible way. What is more, each user can be assigned their own login and therefore their specific settings, files and projects are immediately available to them. This ensures that multi-user groups are free to define individual setups and that there is enhanced data security, both between users and groups.

The Olympus LEXT OLS4000 pushes the boundaries of optical microscopy and confirms that optical metrology provides the measurement capabilities and flexibility required for even the busiest of laboratories.

Please contact:
OLYMPUS LIFE SCIENCE EUROPA GMBH Esther AhrentDepartment Manager Marketing

E-mail: microscopy@olympus-europa.comhttp://www.microscopy.olympus.eu/

New Inspection and Reverse Engineering Tool for MRO from ReverseEngineering.com

LA JOLLA, Calif : ReverseEngineering.com announced today that its newest product, ReSpect™–– a feature-based, Go/No-Go, Reverse Engineering and Inspection software product -- has been optimized for maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) operations.

ReSpect™ is designed for feature measurement, inspection, and CAD-to-part comparison directly in SolidWorks using popular 3D scanners and portable manual CMM arms. ReSpect™ is a plug-and-play tool-set integrated with SolidWorks 2009 3D mechanical design software. Engineers and designers use SolidWorks with ReSpect™ to capture and measure data from existing parts, while working directly within the SolidWorks environment. Therefore, it allows you to measure and digitize directly into a CAD system; there is no translation or associated cost required. ReSpect™ is designed specifically to support geometric dimensioning and tolerancing applications (GD&T) that are critical aspects of MRO.

Just some of the advanced features and capabilities of ReSpect™ include:

* Pull-down menu, toolbar, and command manager integration that provide an efficient user interface for measurement.
* Repeat Part datum alignment.
* Simple Go/No-Go Measurements displayed with Property Page Manager for quick feature measurement results.
* Integration between scan device, mouse, and the CAD system
* CAD system Feature Tree Management lets you organize measured and nominal data.
* The ability to scan millions of points and create lock plane and radial profiles for inspection with user-defined plane tolerancing.
* On-Demand scan data database can be accessed anytime and modified.

Some of the most common industry applications for ReSpect™ include:

* Aerospace: Alignment, Tooling & Mold Certification, Part Inspection.
* Automotive: Tool Building and Certification, Alignment, Part Inspection.
* Metal Fabrication: First Article Inspection, Periodic Part Inspection.
* Molding/Tool and Die: Mold and Die Inspection, Prototype Part Scanning.

“ReSpect™ aligns the real-time scan session to your part, and instantly lets you check a prototype, or analyze assembly fit problems, and then simultaneously updates your Solidworks design,” said Braxton Carter, Chief Technology Officer, ReverseEngineering.com. “Because of this unique OEM integration to the SolidWorks interface, engineers are more productive and experience a complete harmony between the movement of the CMM, the mouse, and SolidWorks.”

ReSpect™ supports coordinate measuring machine (CMM) devices such as Faro, Romer, MicroScribe, and 3D Creator. Demonstrations can be seen at the Aviation Week MRO Show, Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center, Grapevine/Dallas, Texas, April 21 through April 23, 2009 in Booth #1304.

Renishaw at the Control 2009 Show

Renishaw will be announcing a series of major new initiatives at Control 2009 (stand 3304, hall 3), including its first CMM retrofit service, its first metrology software, a new surface finish probe and a range of new optical encoders including a fine-pitch absolute encoder with ground-breaking specifications. The show takes place from 5th to 8th May in Stuttgart, Germany, and one of Renishaw's key messages is for manufacturers throughout Europe who are suffering from unacceptable inspection bottlenecks that tie up staff and expensive machines whilst waiting for vital measurement results. Visitors will see that a cost-effective Renishaw CMM retrofit does not require a large investment in new equipment and is available for all budgets and applications, from touch trigger probing and 3-axis scanning, through to the latest ultra-fast REVO 5-axis measurement system.

Engineers at the Renishaw stand will be pleased to offer a free, no obligation consultation, about retrofitting a CMM. Even if visitors have an older CMM they may be very surprised at the results that can be achieved by a one-stop retrofit solution from a company with expertise in all relevant technologies, from Renishaw's new MODUS metrology software and UCC2 controller, through to sensors and machine calibration.
Also demonstrated will be the new REVO surface finish probe, which should be of great interest to many quality control operations, offering fully integrated surface finish measurement within a CMM program. Using passive infinite rotational adjustment the probe can be orientated to allow the measurement of a surface at any angle and is suitable for a range of applications, including plain surfaces, bores and bosses.

Control is also an opportunity to see RESOLUTE, Renishaw's true absolute, fine-pitch optical encoder system that has excellent dirt immunity, and an impressive specification that breaks new ground in position feedback. The world's first absolute encoder capable of 27-bit resolution at 36,000 rpm, this gives RESOLUTE an astonishing market-leading resolution of just 1 nanometre at 100 m/s for both linear and angle encoder applications. Large set-up tolerances enable easy installation and high reliability, whilst low jitter and SDE (Sub-Divisional Error) meet the demands of high precision stages.

Also on show at Control, TONiC is Renishaw's new super-compact non-contact optical encoder, offering speeds up to 10 m/s and resolutions down to 5 nm for both linear and rotary applications.

Renishaw invites all visitors to Control to use the Renishaw stand as a convenient base for their visit, with meeting facilities and complimentary refreshments available throughout the exhibition. This is the second year that Control will be held at the new Stuttgart Exhibition Centre, which is on the same site as Stuttgart airport and therefore just a short walk from the terminals. It is also well connected for visitors arriving by road or rail. Manufacturers from across Europe can therefore easily visit Control 2009 in a single day.

Steps to create DCC programs in open layout (Part 2)

We’re talking about part set up in the previous installment, which I think is definitely worth your spending time on because you don’t want to get stuck half way and realize that you have to change your set up to get work done. The next thing I’d like to discuss is probe configuration. If you get on any 5-day training course I’ll bet you that probe calibration will normally covered on day 1. But I don’t want to talk about probe calibration here since everyone knows how to do this on his own cmm very well, instead, I’d like to share some opinions about how to select your probe configuration efficiently.


Step Two: Probe configuration


1, Non-index probe vs. index probe

If you’re running a Zeiss cmm equipped with Zeiss ST probe system (usually with tool rack) then building different kind of probes for your work piece will possibly your regular job depending on the complexity and similarity or your products. This kind or non-index probe system is really good for most of complicated machined parts or castings (especially engine components) because you can easily custom-build special probes to check deep bores or groove features. But since most people use index probes like PH10 or RDS we’ll focus on these types of probes here and also I won’t talk about Revo head simply because many people haven’t even seen it physically.

Click here to read the entire article

Datum Definition When the Datum Is a Cylinder

A datum is defined in ISO 5459:1981 [2] as:A theoretically exact geometric reference (such as axes, planes, straight lines, etc.) to which toleranced features are related. Datums may by based on one or more datum features of a part...

When measuring a part with a datum feature requirement that requires you to use a cylinder as the spatial orientation datum (base plane datum) there are several considerations you must keep in mind. The surface of the datum cylinder will never be ‘true’. When measuring a part surface form, waviness, and roundness deviations will cause some variation in the calculation of the cylinder thus changing the orientation of the cylinder.

The orientation is the angular deviation of 3d line through the center of the cylinder. It will be imperative that you take as many points when measuring a cylinder on a part that are equally distributed around each circle segment of the cylinder to create a more consistent best-fit cylinder.

A datum simulator is the best method to get consistent measurement values.

Click here to read the entire article

DMIS CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

Need for Certification

The Dimensional Metrology Standards Consortium (DMSC, Inc.) has officially announced the DMIS Certification Program for testing conformance of DMIS-based products against the DMIS Standard. This certification process has been years in the making with the help and expertise of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the DMIS Standards Committee (DSC), the Automotive Industry Action Group’s Metrology Interoperability Project Team (MIPT), and the DMSC membership. This collective group has developed a DMIS Conformance Test Suite, defined DMIS Conformance Classes, and established a DMIS Certification Program to validate the correctness and completeness of vendor DMIS-based products.

Dimensional measurement part programs and results are critical to manufacturing Quality Assurance. DMIS (Dimensional Measuring Interface Standard) is both an American National Standard and ISO international standard language for the correct, complete, and unambiguous description of computer-executable dimensional measurement part programs and measurement results. Because it is an accredited standard, DMIS is non-proprietary and represents industry consensus. Since DMIS is a very large standard, it has been divided up into several conformance classes, in order to accommodate the fact that many users only need to implement subsets of the standard.

DMIS is a successful, dynamic standard because it’s scope and capabilities have expanded over the years along with technology advances in the metrology industry. However, this success has brought about challenges in the area of conformance of DMIS implementations. Not surprisingly, many who claim DMIS conformance are conforming to some variation or modification of the actual DMIS Standard. This situation nullifies and inhibits one of the most fundamental benefits of the DMIS Standard, which is interoperability. Many large companies use the DMIS Standard to share inspection programs between subsidiaries around the world, among suppliers, and even among departments. The basic requirement to accomplish this interoperability is “stick to the standard.”

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Carl Zeiss Announces Agreement with Coord3 Industries Italy to Market Gantry CMM Frames in North America

MAPLE GROVE/Minnesota/USA, 15.04.2009. Carl Zeiss IMT Corporation announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Coord3 Industries to purchase and market its gantry coordinate measuring machine (CMM) frames integrated with Carl Zeiss technology in North America. The collaboration between the two companies began in early 2004 with a contract for a development and distribution venture.

“Combining the Coord3 Gantry CMM frame with Carl Zeiss sensor, software and controller technology results in an optimum price-performance package for our customers,” said Chris Grow, Vice President of Marketing of Carl Zeiss IMT Corporation. Coord3 is well known for its expertise in developing bridge-type gantry machines. This new partnership will help Carl Zeiss meet the increasing demand for these systems designed for the inspection of large dies, molds and wind energy components.

“We are proud to join forces with Carl Zeiss IMT. It gives us an opportunity to partner with a technology leader, expand our presence through an excellent sales and distribution network and reach customers in growing key markets” said Angelo Muscarella, CEO of Coord3 Industries.

Coord3 is headquartered in Bruzolo, Torino, Italy. The core competencies of the company are “to deliver total solutions for 3D measuring", and “to manufacture high quality machines equipped with state-of-the-art software and controllers”. In January of 2009 the company became an independent organization after a management buyout. Coord3 is one of the Italian leaders in CMMs and has a worldwide installed base of aluminum bridge and large gantry machines with many key accounts in different high tech businesses. Coord3 industries markets its CMMs on a global scale through a network of agents and service centers.

Measurement Challenges for Microscale

Introduction

We live in a world where state-of-the-art consumer products and technologies are continuing to shrink in size while achieving unprecedented performance. The demand for new and more capable micro and nanoscale measurement products has been driven by the increasing miniaturization of components across a wide range of applications including

• medical devices e.g. hearing aid, pace maker, endoscope subcomponents, implants (dental or joint),

• Soft or delicate material, e.g. plastics, bio-compatible materials such as peek,

• High aspect ratio features, e.g. ink jet nozzles, fuel injectors,

• Polished surfaces with steeply sloping sides, e.g. mold making, medical joint implants, optics

• Precision mechanisms: disk drives, micromotors, ball bearings, watches

• and many more.

Product reliability in these applications depends on the quality of the subcomponents and mating parts which is defined by the capability of the measurement technology. As parts continue decreasing in size, the tolerances levels are also decreasing, making measurement a challenge and current technologies are not keeping scale with this need. Everything from implanted medical devices to diesel injector nozzles can be produced more efficiently, at lower cost, with higher yields, through the use of higher precision, more accurate, reliable, and flexible measurements.

Click here to read more

Reference Lab for the Nanometer Range

Carl Zeiss repeatedly redefines the limits of contact and optical measuring technology

OBERKOCHEN/Germany – April 14, 2009.Carl Zeiss recently opened a special, new measuring lab with state-of-the-art equipment in Oberkochen where it will measure micrometers and nanometers with maximum precision. As a reference lab, it is used to calibrate ZEISS measuring machines and standards, and for measurements on behalf of customers. It is also a demo room for high-end measuring technology. Under very special conditions, the specialists there work with the best measuring machines Carl Zeiss has to offer. The air temperature of the lab with its own air conditioning system must not deviate from the standard temperature of 20 degrees Celsius by more than 0.1 degree Celsius. The entire measuring lab from Carl Zeiss has been accredited by the German Calibration Service as a linear measuring center for many years.

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High Speed CMM

The Werth Inspector FQ is an extremely fast measuring machine with linear drives. Positioning speed is up to 1,000 meters / second with acceleration speed of 10 meters / second2. It comes standard with zoom optics and can be outfitted with additional sensors such as touch probes and laser scanning. For even faster utilization it can be used in the “Measure OnTheFly” mode, capturing measurement data while the machine remains in constant high speed motion.



Werth Inc. Contact Info
Werth, Inc
8 Custom Dr.
Old Saybrook, CT 06475
860-399-2445
info@werthinc.com

Delcam’s PowerINSPECT gives a clear competitive advantage

Rayco uses PowerINSPECT to ensure a high-quality product for its customers

Investing in a Romer CimCore portable coordinate measuring arm with Delcam’s PowerINSPECT inspection software has proved to be a big time-saver for Rayco Manufacturing, Inc. "It saves us many hours compared to the manual way most fabrication shops check their work,” said Roger Timmons, Quality Assurance Engineer, "and we get more information about our production faster, so we can make adjustments quickly and accurately. That’s a clear competitive advantage for us.”

Rayco Manufacturing, based in Wooster, Ohio, was established in 1978 to build equipment for the tree and landscape industry. Most of the work at the company is cutting and welding steel to form the structures of the machines. As Rayco grew and its product ranges expanded, the company decided that it needed to further improve the consistency of its steel fabrications and assure their quality from the first laser cut through to the completed fabrication.

An important advantage of PowerINSPECT for Mr. Timmons was that the software has a simple user interface which is intuitive and easy to use. "The learning curve was very short, which let us get the most from the measuring arm in the shortest possible time,” he commented. "I also like being able to import our CAD models directly into PowerINSPECT and overlay what we measure. This reveals immediately where any discrepancies may be.”

"Five minutes with PowerINSPECT saves an hour out on the assembly floor,” Mr. Timmons claimed. "We can make adjustments before the components get into the assembly flow.” For example, the software showed that the run-out on some of the feed wheels used on its chippers was not acceptable. Detecting the situation prior to assembly saved the one and a half to two hours it would take to remove and replace an inaccurate feed wheel.

In another example, the frame for one of its machines was exhibiting a twist during assembly. According to Mr. Timmons, "We measured it during welding and found that the fixture needed correction. We also use the system for troubleshooting out on the assembly floor to determine why a part may not be fitting perfectly, so future parts can be corrected before they go to assembly. We can do this in about 10 minutes, a time saving of up to 1,000% compared to any manual method.”

Rayco did not have a dedicated quality department until about three years ago. "Today, we inspect critical parts and all fixtures on a regular basis,” Mr. Timmons said. "This helps us put out a high-quality, high-performing product for our customers.”

Making a Point: Picoscale Stability in a Room-Temperature AFM

Forget dancing angels, a research team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Colorado (CU) has shown how to detect and monitor the tiny amount of light reflected directly off the needle point of an atomic force microscope probe, and in so doing has demonstrated a 100-fold improvement in the stability of the instrument’s measurements under ambient conditions. Their recently reported work* potentially affects a broad range of research from nanomanufacturing to biology, where sensitive, atomic-scale measurements must be made at room temperature in liquids.

Atomic force microscopes (AFMs) are one of the workhorse tools of nanotechnology. AFMs have a sharp, pointed probe fixed to one end of a diving-board-like cantilever. As the probe is scanned across a sample, atomic-scale forces tug at the probe tip, deflecting the cantilever. By reflecting a laser beam from the top of the cantilever, researchers can sense changes in the force and build up a nanoscale topographic image of the sample. The instruments are terrifically versatile—in various configurations they can image electrostatic forces, chemical bonds, magnetic forces and other atomic-scale interactions.

To read more click here

Leica Absolute Tracker Yields Groundbreaking Accuracy and More

New Absolute Interferometer Enables "Dynamic Lock-on" to Tracker Beam

Miamisburg, OH - Leica Geosystems, a Hexagon company, today announced field measurement results have culminated in the highest distance accuracies of any Leica laser tracker in the company's history. This new line of Leica laser tracker introduces a distance accuracy specification of 10 µm (MPE) within the full measurement volume of up to 80 meters (262.47 ft). Compared to the previous-generation laser tracker from Leica Geosystems, the Absolute Tracker's distance accuracy has been improved by greater than a factor of two. The Leica Absolute Interferometer, which measures both relative and absolute distances, is responsible for this substantial performance improvement. It has several redundant systems built in, thus assuring the highest dependability of measurement data.The typical measurement volume of the Leica Absolute Tracker models AT 901-B and AT 901-LR is now 160 meters. Measurements of very large objects can now be performed without repositioning the laser tracker. The laser tracker's advances in thermal stability, minimal warm-up times and the weight of only 22 kg render the portable CMM to be extremely stable and flexible for a wide range of industrial metrology applications in aerospace, automotive, power generation, shipbuilding and general engineering.

The Leica Absolute Tracker integrates future-oriented technologies providing the basis for several new metrology features and products being developed by Leica Geosystems. One such advance is the Absolute Interferometer or “AIFM” in the Absolute Tracker. The AIFM combines the ability to instantly re-establish an interrupted laser beam and immediately start measuring a moving target. “Dynamic lock-on” capability is a significant improvement to user productivity. Until now, no single distancing unit was capable of dynamic lock-on, previous generation laser trackers were forced to use both laser interferometers (IFM) and Absolute Distance Meters (ADM) in combination. With the Absolute Tracker, Leica Geosystems has taken the strengths from both of these technologies, and combined them together to produce the AIFM. What makes the Absolute Interferometer revolutionary is that it can measure absolute distances to a moving target with the instantaneous update rate and the dynamic performance of a laser interferometer.

This new functionality will be released later in the year. All existing Absolute Trackers will be upgraded with a simple software upgrade. Laser trackers from Leica Geosystems have played a leading role in industrial metrology since 1991. Since then, the technology inside the laser tracker has been undergoing continuous improvements, yet many of the original laser trackers from the first series are still in use today, a testimony to their dependability in the field.
About the Metrology Division of Leica Geosystems

The Metrology Division of Leica Geosystems is a global supplier of comprehensive hardware and software packages to the industrial metrology market. These products integrate with popular CAD programs, various build-and-inspect tools, and reverse engineering software. Using state-of-the-art laser technology, Leica’s laser trackers and theodolites make quality control, part mating, assembly and construction of large and small parts easier and more accurate than ever. The U.S. headquarters for Leica Geosystems' metrology products is located at the Hexagon Metrology Precision Center in Miamisburg, Ohio. For more information about Leica Geosystems' metrology products and services, visit their web site at www.leica-geosystems.com/metrology, or call 937-353-1218.

About Hexagon Metrology

Hexagon Metrology serves the high precision measurement and inspection needs of Worldwide manufacturers with its extensive line of metrology hardware, software, accessories, and customer services. The company's name-brand portfolio of quality assurance products include Brown & Sharpe, Cognitens, Leica Geosystems, ROMER, Sheffield, PC-DMIS, DEA, Leitz and TESA. Hexagon Metrology has an unrivaled installed base of more than 1.5 million handheld, stationary and portable measurement devices, and over 30,000 seats of PC-DMIS metrology software. The company is a subsidiary of Hexagon Measurement Technologies, a business unit of Hexagon AB (Nacka Strand, Sweden), a publicly-traded company (OMX Nordic: HEXA B). The Hexagon group consists of nearly 8,200 employees located in 30 countries.

Call 800-426-1066 or visit http://www.hexagonmetrology.us/ for more information about Hexagon Metrology Inc. and its trusted brands.

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