Hexagon Metrology Introduces the ROMER Absolute Arm

The new ROMER Absolute Arm is the first portable measuring arm with absolute encoders. This portable CMM can attain high levels of speed and productivity when taking 3D measurements.

Hexagon Metrology introduces a new generation of ROMER portable 3D measuring arms to the market. The ROMER Absolute Arm is the most accurate ROMER CMM ever manufactured. It is also the first measuring arm to have absolute encoders, a development that will greatly simplify the inspection process. This technology avoids the earlier need with all measuring arms to initialize the encoders – now the user can simply switch the machine on and start measuring.

The ROMER Absolute Arm is especially notable for its low weight and systematic, ergonomic design. Additional grip positions and a perfectly balanced main tube ensure the operator can work productively without fatigue during the inspection. “With its WiFi capability and high-capacity rechargeable batteries, the ROMER Absolute Arm can operate wirelessly. Our customers can select from two levels of precision and seven arm-lengths between 1.5 and 4.5 m”, explains Pirmin Bitzi, Hexagon Metrology product manager for portable measuring arms. The ROMER Absolute Arm is immediately available. Hexagon Metrology will be presenting the ROMER Absolute Arm for the first time at the CONTROL trade fair in Stuttgart,Germany from May 4 - 7, 2010.

ROMER measuring arms perform 3D inspections of countless industrial parts, in particular in the metal and plastic machining industries. Thousands of companies across all continents use ROMER products in product development, production, assembly and quality control.

About ROMER
ROMER is the originator of the portable measuring arm (first created in 1986). The technological advance, the know-how, the demand for constant quality in the manufacture of the arms, the international presence are the main strengths of ROMER. Other products from ROMER include scanning probes for reverse engineering, non contact probes for tube inspection and milling of raw materials.

About Hexagon Metrology
Hexagon Metrology is part of the Hexagon AB Group and includes leading metrology brands such as Brown & Sharpe, CE Johansson, CimCore, CogniTens, DEA, Leica Geosystems (Metrology Division), Leitz, m&h Inprocess Messtechnik, Optiv, PC-DMIS, QUINDOS, ROMER, Sheffield, Standard Gage and TESA. Hexagon Metrology brands represent an unrivaled global installed base of millions of Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMMs), portable measuring systems and handheld instruments, and tens of thousands of metrology software licenses. Hexagon Metrology empowers its customers to fully control manufacturing processes that rely on dimensional precision, ensuring that products manufactured precisely conform to the original product design. The company offering of machines, systems and software is complemented by a wide range of product support, aftermarket and value-added services.
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Fabrication of Micro CMM Spherical Stylus Tips and Their Evaluation

This paper describes a novel, integrated micro manufacturing process utilizing combination wire electro discharge grinding (WEDG) technology and one pulse electro discharge (OPED), to fabricate micro spherical stylus tips for micro coordinate measuring machines (μ-CMM).



With an optimal selection of parameters, burnished micro spherical stylus tips in variety diameters can be produced instantaneously. This process is particularly for production of micro ball-end stylus tips with diameters smaller than 0.1mm which are not available by conventional machining processes. With further research into probing systems, μ-CMM in the near future will be capable of measuring such micrometer-sized products as micro molds, micro dies and micro holes more precisely.
1. Background
During the previous decade, the trend towards the miniaturization of complex commercial micro products has led to an increased need for high-precision machining, assembling and measuring devices. As the accuracy of micro products increases, so does the need for highly accurate 3D measurements. The most reliable way to measure the size, form and space position of 3D components is through use of a ball-ended, contact touch-probe measurement system such as a coordinate measurement machine (CMM).
A new range of high-accuracy micro CMMs has recently been developed that are capable of measuring micro-scale features on millimeter-sized objects [1]. Commercial literature commonly states that these instruments can be used to measure the structure of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). However, the majority of commercially available micro CMMs incorporate stylus tips with diameters in the order of 0.12 mm, as determined by the availability of high-quality ruby spheres used for the ball tip, and this makes them incapable of measuring many MEMS structures such as deep micro trenches with high aspect ratio lateral side-walls, and micro nozzles for diesel or spark ignition engines. Therefore, one of the key factors required to achieve micro metrology by µ-CMM will be the availability of high-quality, micro ball-ended stylus tips.
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Hexagon Metrology Releases PC-DMIS 2010

Measuring software capabilities enhanced with new features

Hexagon Metrology today announced the release of PC-DMIS 2010, the latest version of its market-leading CAD-based metrology software. PC-DMIS is developed by Wilcox Associates Inc, a Hexagon Metrology company. PC-DMIS 2010 is a family of software products covering a variety of metrology hardware platforms and solutions sold under the banner of Enterprise Metrology Solutions (EMS). PC-DMIS 2010 rolls out enhanced versions of PC-DMIS CMM, PC-DMIS Portable and PC-DMIS Vision software. The release also introduces new products such as PC-DMIS Planner and the DataPage+ suite of products.

“PC-DMIS 2010 is a major product release for the metrology industry, not just an incremental software upgrade,” said Ken Woodbine, president of Wilcox Associates, Inc. “2010 is the culmination of development projects that have been in the works for several years. It also includes new hardware categories that have been added to the Hexagon Metrology group since the last major release of PC-DMIS. For example, the integration of PC-DMIS Portable with the new Leica TDRA6000 Total Station is a significant new interface. Our software development team is extremely excited about this release and we know our customers will be too.”

Feature Highlights
The core product of the EMS suite is PC-DMIS CMM, which is used primarily on automated Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMMs). It offers many new functional and productivity improvements across the board. A new feature allows users to select animation path lines and either insert a safety move at the point of selection or jump to that command location in their part program. This feature is ideal for the users who have very large part programs and want to easily navigate within them.

PC-DMIS 2010 offers enhanced support for the new Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing (GD&T) ANSI Y14.5 2009. New Comment functionality allows users to display pictures, videos or text to aid the operators in executing a measurement routine.

Other new measurement capabilities include total integration with the supported non-contact 3D laser line sensors. New capabilities for non contact sensors include enhanced visualization of all parameters for programming laser-based 3D geometric features, as well as easy re-execution of laser based measurement routines. PC-DMIS 2010 has been enhanced to handle the large point clouds that are commonly gathered with these types of sensors.

PC-DMIS 2010 is now available for shipment with Hexagon Metrology brands Brown & Sharpe, DEA, Leitz, Leica Geosystems and ROMER. It is retro-fittable as a software upgrade for most other CMM makes and models. Existing customers with current software maintenance agreements are eligible for a free upgrade to PC-DMIS 2010.

Wilcox Associates (PC-DMIS)
Founded in 1990, Wilcox Associates, Inc. is the developer of PC-DMIS, the world’s leading CMM software, and Enterprise Metrology Solutions (EMS), a tightly integrated suite of software products focused on the collection, evaluation, management and presentation of manufacturing data. These products allow manufacturers to quickly capture dimensional data, analyze it and act on it to reduce scrap, improve throughput and reduce costs. Wilcox Associates, Inc. employs over 100 talented software engineers located worldwide working in a collaborative environment. They are dedicated to bringing our customers the best metrology software technology possible.

Hexagon Metrology
Hexagon Metrology is part of the Hexagon AB Group and includes leading metrology brands such as Brown & Sharpe, CE Johansson, CimCore, CogniTens, DEA, Leica Geosystems (Metrology Division), Leitz, m&h Inprocess Messtechnik, Optiv, PC-DMIS, QUINDOS, ROMER, Sheffield, Standard Gage and TESA. Hexagon Metrology brands represent an unrivaled global installed base of millions of Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMMs), portable measuring systems and handheld instruments, and tens of thousands of metrology software licenses. Hexagon Metrology empowers its customers to fully control manufacturing processes that rely on dimensional precision, ensuring that products manufactured precisely conform to the original product design. The company offering of machines, systems and software is complemented by a wide range of product support, aftermarket and value-added services.



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Optical CMMs – The future of CMMs?

For decades we were taught to believe that if you ever wanted to measure anything properly, you needed a CMM. A couple of decades ago, portable arms were released and although they seemed novel,

nothing would compare to the rigidity and accuracy of three linear scales and drives. We were resigned to the fact that any improvement in CMMs would be only incremental. We lived this way for decades. Recently, however, optical CMMs began developing and maturing, which could be enough of a paradigm shift to become the revolutionary change the metrology market is looking for.

About the Optical CMM technology

While the technology comes in different “flavors,” most optical CMMs work around a similar principal. Nikon Metrology’s optical CMM (KCMM) begins with three linear CCD cameras. When light from an active infrared LED is detected, the three cameras triangulate its position in space.

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