How Do Metrology-Grade 3D Scanners Contribute to a Controlled Manufacturing and Inspection Process?

When it comes to adopting additive manufacturing in their company, manufacturers often focus on the machine itself, without necessarily taking into account the entire 3D printing workflow. However, the choice of CAD software, post-processing solution or inspection tool for the created parts are essential links in terms of gaining productivity and efficiently integrating this manufacturing method. This is a point that SolidCAM is particularly attentive to, having already conducted several studies to understand which solutions are the most suitable for their customers. As part of those efforts, they turned to OGP, an industry leader in inspection equipment, to explore metrology-grade 3D scanners and the many advantages they offer, especially to machine shops.

Metrology is the science of measurement, typically the inspection of manufactured parts to ensure they meet their designs. As 3D printing becomes more and more common, we’re beginning to see more organic parts that become increasingly difficult to inspect. Inspecting parts like this is typically performed by CMMs (coordinate measuring machines) where a robot is used to measure the shape of a part by touching it repeatedly via a probe. While this method has long been proven to be effective, it has some limitations such as the need to write the inspection program before starting the data analysis. However, for several years now, the market has been offering more advanced solutions, allowing users to save time and to be more precise. These metrology-grade 3D scanners can be particularly useful when combined with additive manufacturing.

Metrology-grade 3D scanners are ideal for part inspection (photo credits: ShapeGrabber)

Metrology & Inspection

One of the most common uses of metrology-grade 3D scanners in additive manufacturing is for part inspection. As 3D printed parts become increasingly complex in design and form, 3D scanners are proving to be much more flexible than other inspection methods, and offer some key advantages. With CMMs, you need to know upfront exactly what you’d like to measure, and how. Then you need to write your inspection program accordingly and can then begin collecting your data on those identified features.