Metrology Data That Drive Manufacturing

HxGN Live is the annual international conference sponsored by Hexagon, the global company best known in the manufacturing industry for its broad range of metrology equipment. With its recent acquisition of Vero software, Hexagon now has CAM software products to make metrology data a key driver of shopfloor productivity, as this year’s event made clear.

Where will metrology fit in as the manufacturing industry moves quickly toward an environment that is driven by a data and connected across the entire supply chain by a single “digital thread?” A good answer emerged at the HxGN Live event, which took place June 1 through 4. This answer can be summed up by the theme for the metrology component of this conference as announced by Norbert Hanke, Hexagon Metrology president and CEO. Three words state this theme: Sensing. Thinking. Acting. Proficiency in these three areas establishes metrology as the business of solving problems. This is much more than the activity of taking measurements, as some might narrowly define metrology.

In his Metrology Keynote presentation, Mr. Hanke explained that sensing is at the heart of metrology equipment, whether by contact or non-contact techniques, or a unified combination of these methods. This “sensory input” represents the measurement of workpiece dimensions and feature characteristics. Thinking refers to the analysis of measurement data so that it becomes useful information to manufacturers. Software and software systems provide this analysis and reporting function. Finally, acting refers to the ability of shop and factory personnel to make decisions that ultimately improve productivity, which in this context includes the rate at which good parts are produced. Metrology, then, is a driver of productivity, not a barrier that consumes time and resources on the shop floor without delivering additional value.

When Steve Sivitter, CEO of Vero Software joined Mr. Hanke on the stage, he explained how one of the key connections that enables metrology to drive productivity is in CAM software. As the engine that drives machine tools and other CNC equipment, CAM software is best positioned to be the agent by which metrology data can immediately influence the manufacturing process to ensure the production of parts that meet all of the dimensional specifications of the customer. Mr. Sivitter made it clear that the range of Vero software brands, which include EdgeCAM, Surfcam and WorkNC, now gives Hexagon a comprehensive path for looping metrology data securely into strategies for implementing data-driven manufacturing concepts.

Technical presentations and new products introduced in the exhibit area showed how Hexagon Metrology is backing up its vision for metrology as a problem solver and productivity driver with real world solutions, both in hardware and software.