Software, CMM Integrated for Portable 3D Inspection

Verisurf Software’s Master3DGage system provides rapid 3D inspection and reverse engineering capabilities said to help shops increase production and improve part quality. The combined hardware and software solution delivers automated in-process inspection on the shop floor, quickly verifying manufactured parts directly to 3D CAD models or 2D drawings. It can also be used for reverse engineering when no data or drawings are available. The system integrates Hexagon Metrology’s portable CMM with absolute encoders with Verisurf X 3D model-based inspection and reverse engineering software. Users can extend a 3D model-based workflow from CAD to CAM to computer-aided inspection, as well as reverse-engineer parts into the 3D model-based process.

When used for inspection, the system aligns the manufactured part to a 3D CAD model. The workpiece is probed to corresponding alignment targets and then inspected in real time by probing any surface or following automated inspection plans. Inspection results are reported in industry standard formats with intelligent geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) and color deviation maps.

For reverse engineering, the system uses a contact scan or probe to measure complex profile surfaces or prismatic features including planes, cylinders, cones and spheres, as well as 2D features such as lines, splines, circles and slots. Point-cloud and STL-mesh editing tools help prepare large data sets for 3D-mesh surfacing. Finally, 3D point clouds and meshes can be transformed into 3D NURB surfaces or solid models for precision manufacturing.