OPTICAL MEASURING SYSTEM INTERFACES TO ANALYSIS SOFTWARE

This direct connection offers a great advantage: before beginning data collection, a measurement plan can be created in the analysis software to prescribe the measurement procedure in a detailed way, guiding even inexperienced users through the measuring-process smoothly.

The optical measuring system MoveInspect HR from AICON 3D Systems GmbH (Braunschweig, Germany) is now delivered with a direct interface to PowerINSPECT analysis software from Delcam (Birmingham, UK). MoveInspect HR is a portable coordinate measurement machine, consisting of high-resolution digital cameras and the hand-operated MI.Probe. The data are collected by sampling defined measuring points with the probe. In doing so, the system even measures hidden points fast and precisely.

In contrast to articulated arms, MoveInspect HR allows for total freedom of movement around the measuring object as there is no mechanic limitation. The only requirement is a line of sight between the probe and the camera system. This means MoveInspect HR offers a wide field of application, from the geometric inspection of small handy components to the measurement of entire wind turbine rotor blades.

The direct connection of MoveInspect HR to PowerINSPECT offers a great advantage – before the beginning of data collection a measurement plan can be created in the analysis software, which prescribes the measurement procedure in a detailed way. This means even inexperienced users will be guided through the measuring-process smoothly.

During data collection, the MI.Probe acts as a central control unit. By pressing different buttons on the probe, the measuring process will either be started or undone, or the completion of a measuring process is signalized to the software. That makes the handling extremely easy.

Following to data collection, various analyses can be run in the PowerINSPECT software. For example, the comparison of the collected data with all major CAD formats. PowerINSPECT is able to manage alignment and positioning tasks as well. The software creates user-defined test reports including graphical presentations of the results with highlighted deviations.

“It’s absolutely necessary that the analysis of measuring data can be done in a fast and comfortable way. We are happy that our customers now profit from the new interface to PowerINSPECT next to the already existing plug-in to the software PolyWorks/Inspector,” explains Dr.-Ing. Carl-Thomas Schneider, the managing director of AICON. “That means everyone who is already using PowerINSPECT in his company doesn’t have to purchase new analysis software to work with our measuring system. This avoids both acquisition and training costs. Since our cooperation with Innovmetric, the producer of the PolyWorks software, we’ve already received a lot of positive feedback from our customers. We expect the same for PowerINSPECT.”

AICON 3D Systems GmbH is one of the world’s leading providers of optical camera-based 3D measurement systems. Founded in 1990, the company was a spin-off of the Braunschweig Technical University and the VW Group’s R&D unit. Today the company has 60 employees and a reference list that boasts renowned automotive manufacturers and suppliers, companies from the aerospace industry, and the areas of shipbuilding and renewable energies. www.aicon3d.com

Delcam is one of the world’s leading suppliers of advanced CADCAM solutions for manufacturing industry with a range of design, manufacturing and inspection software that provides complete, automated CADCAM solutions to take complex-shaped products from concept to reality. It is now the largest developer of product design and manufacturing software in the UK, with subsidiaries in North America, Europe and Asia, and software used by more than 30,000 organizations in over 80 countries. www.delcam.com