Hexagon’s 3-D measurement cell is fast, accurate

Aug. 15, 2019
Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence launches a turnkey cell for automated, high-speed measurement of part surfaces and features.
If you manufacture large, geometrically complex parts with tight tolerances, then Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence might have the automated 3-D measurement system for you.

PartInspect L, launched this spring, is a turnkey cell for automated, high-speed measurement of part surfaces and features. It consists of an enclosure; a turntable to hold the part; a robot fitted with a Hexagon Aicon structured-light scanner; and a controller with OptoCat software that automates scan planning and execution.

The PartInspect L can measure components with a maximum height and diameter of 4.9 feet and weighing up to 4,400 pounds; it also can measure multiple small parts at one time. It is especially suited for measuring objects that would take too long to inspect manually or with a contact probe, such as those with varying wall thicknesses and multiple indentations, cavities or other features, according to Hexagon. In addition to inspecting plastic injection molded, blow molded and thermoformed components and assemblies, the cell is appropriate for measuring metal parts, solar panels and other products.

The plug-and-play system, which occupies a space about 10 feet wide, 8 feet deep and 8 feet high, takes two days or less to set up, said Amir Grinboim, product manager for 3-D optical scanners at Hexagon.

The system is designed to be used close to the production line. It has a wide entrance and open top so that large parts can be placed on the scanning turntable by crane, forklift or pallet transporter. Parts also can be loaded manually or via robot or cobot.

“With PartInspect L, high-speed quality control can be moved into the production space without the need for advanced training for all shop-floor users, offering significant productivity enhancement,” said Dirk Rieke-Zapp, commercial product manager for Aicon scanners and automation.

The touch-screen control is easy to operate and allows personnel without deep technical knowledge to run the unit, according to the company. Additionally, the interactive scan-planning feature, robot-path generation capability and collision-avoidance system provide truly automated 3-D measurement.

PartInspect L gives users immediate access to the data they need for quality control, rapidly converting physical measuring data to a digital format for reporting, analysis and archiving.

“The plastics industry is identified with a variety of parts, from small to large, with fine details and free-form features,” Grinboim said. “Whether the measurement intent is dimensional inspection or reverse engineering, the automated PartInspect L platform accommodates the precision of point-cloud measurement reconstruction, as well as the easy flow of data to the operator and programmer.”

The system comes in two different scanner configurations: Efficient and HiEnd.

The Efficient version comes with Aicon Prime-Scan, an entry-level scanner using blue light for better coverage of glossy and dark surfaces. Its digital camera has two field-of-view options for measuring small or large parts.

The HiEnd version incorporates the high- resolution sensor and digital projection technology of the Aicon StereoScan neo, a white-light scanner. It provides extremely accurate measurement and three field-of-view options for measuring small to large parts.

Both configurations can be augmented with Hexagon’s DPA Online photogrammetry camera, which is mounted on or beneath the scanner. It generates a reference frame to improve alignment precision for large or complex parts.

Pat Toensmeier, correspondent

[email protected]

Contact:

Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence  North Kingstown, R.I., 401-886-2000

www.hexagonmi.com