NIST to Use Laser Design SURVEYOR 3D Scanner

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, Nov 5, 2009 - Laser Design, Inc. announced that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has installed a Laser Design SURVEYOR WS Series 3D laser scanning system in the Materials Reliability Division located in Boulder, CO. The fully automated, CNC programmable system was purchased by NIST primarily for its industry-best high accuracy (0.011mm) and high resolution (0.005mm). It is equipped with the industry’s highest accuracy laser line scanning probe, the Laser Design SLP-250 laser-line scanning probe with 9 micron accuracy. Chris McCowan, Materials Research Engineer, explained, “The Laser Design SURVEYOR WS system met all our requirements: high accuracies, the best resolutions, and a compact size for our testing lab.”

The SURVEYOR WS system also includes a Renishaw PH-10 (CNC head indexer) and a 4th axis rotary stage for the most flexible 6-axis 3D scanning available. The dual system technology is capable of using a CMM touch probe as well for accuracies of up to .0001”. The system advances its next-generation capability with a mechanically accurate, highly stable, air-bearing German-engineered Wenzel CMM machine base and patented laser scanning technology from Laser Design. Laser Design’s SURVEYOR WS systems are recognized worldwide as the highest accuracy 3D laser line scanning systems suitable for use in Six Sigma, demanding quality assurance environments setting the standards for laser measurement technology.

NIST, a non-regulatory federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, was founded in 1901 to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology to enhance economic security and improve our quality of life. The Materials Reliability Division within NIST provides standard reference materials, recommended practice guides, and new improved characterization tools to better predict how, when, and why a material fails and prevent that failure so the safety and reliability of the Nation's physical infrastructure (e.g., buildings, pipelines, and bridges) is ensured. McCowan commented, “We will use the SURVEYOR WS system to measure the standard measuring specimens we provide to industry to make sure they conform to NIST-required accuracies.”

NIST personnel are experienced in using the most advanced and accurate measuring technologies to create universal standards of quality, and the Laser Design WS system will be part of their program to determine standards for laser scanning technologies. C. Martin Schuster, Laser Design President and CEO, commented, “Everyone at Laser Design is very proud to have one of the world’s foremost authorities on setting measurement standards, NIST, view our SURVEYOR WS system as the standard-bearer for excellence in the laser measurement world. With over 20 years in the high-precision laser measurement business, Laser Design is a leader in the industry. We are very pleased to have met NIST’s demanding requirements to fulfill their need for the highest quality measuring equipment.”

About Laser Design, Inc. / GKS Global Services

Laser Design, Inc. and GKS Global Services have been leading suppliers of ultra-precise, 3D laser scanning systems, along with CT scanning, dimensional inspection, 3D laser scanning, and long-range scanning services for over 25 years. Our engineers can assist with product development and design, rapid prototyping, and complete contract manufacturing services. GKS also offers rental equipment and expertise to customers with the occasional 3D scanning project.

For more information, visit http://www.laserdesign.com/.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke Statement on President Obama’s Intent to Nominate Patrick Gallagher as Director of the National Institute of Standa

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 10, 2009

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke Statement on President Obama’s Intent to Nominate Patrick Gallagher as Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama today announced his intent to nominate physicist Patrick Gallagher to be the 14th director of the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Gallagher, 46, is currently the NIST deputy director.

“NIST is a unique agency with a strong culture of world-class scientific achievement,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said. “Pat Gallagher has come up through the ranks and his continued leadership will be critical to an agency that is central to the nation’s ability to innovate and compete in global markets.”

If confirmed by the Senate, Gallagher will direct an agency with an annual budget of approximately $800 million that employs approximately 2,900 scientists, engineers, technicians, support staff and administrative personnel at two primary locations: Gaithersburg, Md., and Boulder, Colo. Gallagher will succeed William Jeffrey, who left NIST in 2007.

Though perhaps most widely known as the civilian provider of the nation’s standard time service, NIST also conducts research in measurement science, standards, and related technologies spanning all physical sciences, engineering and information technology.

The agency also is home to the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, a nationwide network of local centers offering technical and business assistance to smaller manufacturers; the Technology Innovation Program, which provides cost-shared awards to industry, universities and consortia for research on potentially revolutionary technologies that address critical national and societal needs; and the Baldrige National Quality Program, which promotes performance excellence among U.S. manufacturers, service companies, educational institutions, health care providers and nonprofit organizations.

Gallagher, who has a doctorate in physics from the University of Pittsburgh, came to the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) in 1993 to pursue research in neutron and X-ray instrumentation and studies of soft-condensed matter systems such as liquids, polymers and gels.

In 2000, Gallagher was a NIST agency representative at the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) and became active in U.S. policy for scientific user facilities. In 2006, he was awarded a Department of Commerce Gold Medal, the department’s highest award, in recognition of this work. In 2004, he became director of the NCNR, a national user facility for neutron research that is considered one of the most productive and heavily used facilities of its type in the nation. In September 2008, he was appointed deputy director of NIST.

Gallagher is active in a variety of professional organizations and is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Founded in 1901, NIST is a nonregulatory agency of the Commerce Department that promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life

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.

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