3D Metrology Within the Digital Quality-Control Workflow at Control 2023

How to drive productivity with a universal and powerful 3D inspection software

Published: Monday, June 5, 2023 - 12:00

(Metrologic Group: Baden-Württemberg, Germany) -- As one of the leaders in the 3D metrology software market, and with more than 40 years of experience, Metrologic Group is committed to improving the industrial performance of its customers. 

How to address 3D metrology challenges for manufacturing companies

At Control 2023 in Stuttgart, Germany, last May, attendees saw the company’s 3D metrology solutions, including its comprehensive X4 software platform. Within the digital smart factory, the company’s innovations for programming gain, speed, data sharing, and standardization illustrated Metrologic Group’s pioneering approach.

“Our focus at Metrologic Group is to work with our customers to improve their manufacturing efficiency, thanks to our X4 3D metrology platform,” says Laurent Monge, president of Metrologic Group. “Our track record of introducing new 3D measurement technologies to the market, combined with the fact we are now part of Sandvik Manufacturing Solutions, allows us to deliver next-generation metrology software solutions. 

“We deliver what we call ‘end-to-end metrology solutions,’ which encompass all aspects of the metrology process, from planning through virtual programming to on-machine measurement and measured data management.”

Three segments for more customer value

The need for accuracy and efficient metrology software solution remains high, but industry is also driving the need to switch to more digital data management, along with more responsive in-line adapted solutions. This is why Metrologic Group has simplified and restructured its offerings this year into three main segments—core, robot, and tech—to better address the specificity of the market. 

1. Core segment: The company’s historical DNA 

Added value and productivity 
Dedicated to metrology focused on high-precision measurement in laboratories, the Core segment responds to the important need for reliability and quality of controlled elements. Metrologic Group offers a complete, advanced, and reliable software solution that allows accurate metrological analysis, saving time, reducing costs, and improving process management. The new, simplified Core offering has much more value in terms of delivering efficiency and productivity to customers. It allows users to optimize the use of CMMs and devices (reducing downtime) while maintaining high levels of accuracy. In short, it saves time and money through customization, standardization, and offline solutions. With this new value proposition, Metrologic Group continues its commitment to support its customers in their performance and the reliability of their inspection schemes in 2023. 

Universal and agnostic solution 
Metrologic Group is one of the few to offer universal solutions for old CMMs to make them last longer and better. By providing universality, peace of mind, maintenance, hardware equipment, and services, the company offers a retrofit solution to help customers achieve the best running conditions on their old CMMs. In many cases they can update CMMs to run with a newer measuring device, like an oriented head or an optical sensor—in other words, high performance at a lower cost. Even if the hardware isn’t intended to be changed, a software upgrade can help keep CMM performance up to date. 

Five-axis solution with Renishaw 
Through a partnership agreement, Metrologic Group and Renishaw offer an accurate and productive five-axis solution via the REVO head and the Equator gauge system on the shop floor. There are growing demands within the manufacturing industry to increase productivity and efficiency levels at faster paces. This strong collaboration is strategic and is designed to address these current challenges.

“We are committed to working with our customers to improve their productivity and bring 3D measurement closer to the production line. The combination of Renishaw’s five-axis technologies with our solution is a key step in this process,” explains Monge.

With this approach, the X4 software platform is compatible with five-axis technology, which enables users to minimize dynamic errors and increase productivity at unmatched measuring speed, improve part quality, and reduce scrap. “The combination of our two technologies will enable much faster and higher-value measurements, both for process control on the manufacturing floor and for conventional quality assurance activities,” says Victor Escobar, president of Renishaw SAS. 

Services and training 
Metrologic Group offers its customers the opportunity to update their knowledge or move to a new software solution with all needed support and training. The company also provides these services:
• Efficient hotline: for after-sale service (problems, feedbacks, bugs)
• Training factory: to enhance knowledge and know-how about every solution
• Project management: for specific machines or objectives
• Programming capabilities on demand 

2. i-Robot segment: automated inspection on the production floor 

All-in-one metrology software solution 
With its software Metrolog X4 i-Robot, Metrologic Group revolutionizes robotic inspection with its all-in-one solution, combining robot control and inspection analysis in a powerful software package. Its user-friendly interface simplifies programming of robotic inspection routines, while advanced algorithms analyze collected data. Suitable for aerospace and automotive manufacturing, the software streamlines inspection processes, reduces errors, and improves efficiency for unparalleled accuracy and precision. 

Path planning 
Metrolog X4 i-Robot creates optimized robotic paths by considering all the constraints and limitations of the robotic installation, leading to efficient and effective inspections. This feature reduces errors, improves accuracy, and minimizes inspection time, making it an invaluable tool for high-precision inspections, even in complex industrial environments. 

Universal 
Metrolog X4 i-Robot’s universality is a major advantage because it’s compatible with a wide range of robotic equipment and optical sensors, providing flexibility to businesses to select the best-fit equipment for their needs and budget. This feature allows easy integration into existing systems, which reduces costs and downtime, and optimizes inspection processes.

3. i-Tech segment: special machines and custom installation 

With the X4 i-Tech offer, Metrologic Group addresses customers’ custom in-line inspection projects:
• Solving a specific in-line inspection need by creating a custom machine and installing it in their production flow
• Designing integrated software solutions for a custom machine 

Metrologic Group also offers select i-Tech software components to meet customer requests. Metrologic Group will assemble the software components to address specific functions, such as CAD management, simulation, and drive sensors. 

A seamless approach for the connected factory 

Visitors to Metrologic Group’s booth at Control 2023 were able to immerse themselves in the digital end-to-end ecosystem through four distinct steps: preparation, programming, execution, and analysis. This connected approach can reduce the total cost of ownership for industrial manufacturers by eliminating metrology silos, facilitating greater collaboration between teams and plants, and ensuring consistency of measurement results. 

Perfectly integrated into the digital quality workflow, the end-to-end process improves all stages of manufacturing, thanks to transversal tools that can optimize the 3D measurement process and finally “make sense” of data. From the initial planning of the 3D measurement strategy to analysis of the inspection results and machine monitoring, this approach works seamlessly for total cost control and process optimization. 

Step 1: Prepare 

The first step is to prepare the measurement process offline by identifying the features to be measured and creating the inspection feature plan. Planner X4 is compatible with any CAD and any embedded PMI data or inspection planning files (proprietary or standard ones like QIF). 

Step 2: Program 

Metrologic Group’s dedicated offline analysis and virtual programming software Silma X4 is based on the digital twin concept, enabling better throughput, efficiency, and faster programming. As an intelligent program that improves productivity, Silma X4 and its Path Planning module simplify, streamline, and optimize inspection processes. The Silma X4 Inspection Path Planning module significantly improves productivity by reducing programming time by up to 60%. 

Step 3: Execute 

By seamlessly connecting Metrolog X4 software to the chosen measuring device, the user can drive it, capture the data, and perform the complete analysis, then report, export, and publish the data in any desired format, including SQL database with simple connectivity. With its universality, Metrolog X4 connects the whole chain of measurement equipment, whatever the brands or technologies. As a best-in-class software in GDT analysis, and with accurate point cloud algorithms, Metrolog X4 has proven its value to the world’s largest manufacturers.  

Step 4: Manage 

Metrologic Group provides different digital collaboration tools for manufacturing decision-making, simplifying the workflow, and interacting with production. This last step, based on a digital collaboration platform, aims to facilitate teamwork and process monitoring by interconnecting all team members who capture or need access to 3D measurement information. 

At each step of the quality control process, the end-to-end solution offers added value and helps customers and end users standardize their metrology capacities for optimized cost, effort, and training management, all from a single point of reference. 

Manufacturing automation with Sandvik Metrology Solutions

Sandvik’s range of products and solutions are designed to enhance quality, efficiency, and productivity.

As a member of the Sandvik Group since 2018, Metrologic Group collaborates with various Sandvik entities to enable new options for traceability in a seamless production chain. By interconnecting the machining and quality assurance process, Sandvik Group facilitates the integration of 3D metrology into the manufacturing system. 

As part of the end-to-end approach described above, Metrologic Group and Dimensional Control Systems (DCS), a manufacturing quality software and service provider, have partnered to offer a comprehensive solution that combines simulation, design, measurement planning, inspection, quality monitoring, and management.

To provide customers with a proven in-line inspection solution, Metrologic Group also has teamed up with DWFritz, which designs, builds, and supports engineered-to-order automation systems and an expanding line of high-speed, noncontact metrology and inspection solutions. The ZeroTouch high-speed, noncontact inspection platform can be combined with Metrolog X4 software. These two Sandvik companies work closely to deliver an efficient and comprehensive metrology solution that produces accurate results and meaningful data in an industry-proven package. 

Sandvik metrology solutions can help automate the manufacturing process and provide value as unique products or as building blocks for a complete platform. By implementing the different products, customers will benefit from improved quality control, digital thread integration, closed-loop feedback, automation, and time saved. 

About The Author

Metrologic Group

Metrologic Group specializes in 3-D inspection software solutions, design, and manufacture of dimensional control systems. Related service activities include 3-D measuring software development, upgrade and retrofit of coordinate measuring machines (CMMs), in-line control systems, training, and maintenance and calibration of CMMs. Since being created in 1980, Metrologic’s sales network has grown to 30 countries with subsidiaries in the United States, Germany, Spain, Italy, China, and Sweden.