There are many parts that need precision analysis and checking. Quality is of paramount importance. However, until recently there were few procedures that could give such excellent results in terms of speed, accuracy and reliability. CMM laser scanners (or coordinate measuring machines) can provide all of these essential components in a fraction of the time previously required to obtain the same results.
Life In The Fast Lane
As life continues to hurtle at a dizzying pace, products require more complex components, and these have to be reliable and of a suitable quality to be able to withstand rigorous and continued use. In fact, some components are safety-critical, so their analysis and inspection needs to be absolutely correct before they are placed in the environment they are intended to be used in.
Manual Gages
Manual gages still have their uses, but as technology improves and increases, it is only a matter of time before they are replaced by more technically accurate equipment, like CMM laser scanners. Manual gage and probes have always been problematic for some components, due to the sensitivity of the material. Using a manual gage also increases inspection time as it takes some dedication and familiarity with metrology to provide the most accurate results.
Better Measurement Coverage
By using CMM laser scanners you can obtain a much better measurement coverage simply by virtue of the sheer number of additional points of measurement that can be produced with one single scan. This means the whole of the surface of the object can be captured in one single scan, whereas probes would require many, many rotations to achieve the same result.
Immediate Results
Due to the high-speed nature of the scan, you can have the image of your component very quickly. That means it can be reverse-engineered and adjusted on a computer software program and ready to go into production. Previously it would have taken much longer to even complete the measuring process with a probe and then the process would take weeks to tweak and get ready for production.
Less Training For Staff Required
As we all become more familiar with computer processes, the process of taking an item and scanning it can be achieved with little or very basic training. There are no technical aspects that are tricky to learn or interpret, and there is very little that can go wrong without being identified and corrected immediately. There is a way to scan anything in the right way, but this is a simple process that anyone can learn quickly and easily. Of course, further training will be required for setting up the CMM software to generate the image.
Reduced Costs
As the inspection time decreases, so the production costs decrease. This is because there is no need for additional equipment or experts in using that equipment to carry out further analysis. No in-depth metrology experience or knowledge is necessary when using CMM laser scanners, as all of the measurement work is taken care of in one application. This vastly reduces the time from scan to creation.
