- FMA
- The Fabricator
- FABTECH
- Canadian Metalworking
Categories
- Additive Manufacturing
- Aluminum Welding
- Arc Welding
- Assembly and Joining
- Automation and Robotics
- Bending and Forming
- Consumables
- Cutting and Weld Prep
- Electric Vehicles
- En Español
- Finishing
- Hydroforming
- Laser Cutting
- Laser Welding
- Machining
- Manufacturing Software
- Materials Handling
- Metals/Materials
- Oxyfuel Cutting
- Plasma Cutting
- Power Tools
- Punching and Other Holemaking
- Roll Forming
- Safety
- Sawing
- Shearing
- Shop Management
- Testing and Measuring
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Tube and Pipe Production
- Waterjet Cutting
Industry Directory
Webcasts
Podcasts
FAB 40
Advertise
Subscribe
Account Login
Search
Reducing CMM Scanning Time
New high speed scanning technology meets manufacturer needs for both faster throughput and more data points
A new high speed scanning system for coordinate measuring machines is achieving tremendous productivity gains. Manufacturers have retrofitted existing CMMs with the new Renscan5 system and infinite positioning REVO head from Renishaw and applied the system to speeding inspection on some of their more complex and time-consuming parts.
Following are results that they've realized, compared to previous practice:
- Three-axis axis scanning 15 mm/s—29 min. 13 sec.
- REVO scanning 400 mm/s for valve seats and 50 mm/s for valve guide bores—3 min. 42 sec.
- Three-axis scanning 15 mm/s—8 min. 5 sec.
- REVO scanning 500 mm/s—7 min. 5 sec.
"These developments are revolutionizing measurement throughput," said Paul Gane, Renishaw Canada's CMM product manager. "Besides major reductions in cycle times, Renscan5 and REVO make it possible to obtain far greater data point coverage. REVO's low-mass, low-inertia design allows ultra-high-speed data capture - up to 4,000 points a second compared to 200 to 300 data points for conventional scanning."
The agility and point-taking productivity of the Renscan5/REVO dynamic measurement system is stimulating the creativity of metrology professionals, added Gane.
Helical scanning, for example, can greatly speed the measurement of bores, while generating thousands of data points to determine roundness, concentricity or taper.
In comparative testing, he noted, Renscan5 reduced form measurement scanning of a cylinder bore from 90 seconds to just 2.5, enabling all cylinders of a V-8 engine block to be scanned in less time than a single cylinder by conventional methods.
A leading automobile manufacturer, he said, is applying the system's massive data capture capabilities to measure engines for wear analysis and deviations of the cylindricity of each cylinder in its spatial orientation. Wear is portrayed in visual graphics similar to a thermal scan.
"Faster inspection is especially vital on large, complex, high-value parts with many critical features," said Gane. "CMM inspection can be a major bottleneck to efforts to speed throughput and gain lean efficiencies. Form measurement of complex parts and critical geometries for functional fits can demand many thousands of data points. Needing to produce and document parts to ever-higher precision, ever-tighter tolerances, manufacturers are looking to CMM speed for a solution."
As a practical matter, conventional three-axis CMMs scan at rates of five to 15 mm/sec in order to hold accuracy, said Gane. This is to avoid high acc/dec rates and rapid axis changes that can induce inertia errors, causing deterioration in measurement accuracy.
"CMM inspection has been stuck in that time warp for over two decades," he added.
Created under Renishaw's longest and largest development program, Renscan5 blows away the speed limits, he said. The Renscan5 enabling technology encompasses a range of breakthrough five-axis scanning products that measure at up to 500mm and 4,000 data points per second, while virtually eliminating the measurement errors normally associated with existing three-axis scanning systems.
A 3D measuring device in its own right, the REVO head features two rotary axes - one in vertical plane, one in horizontal - to give infinite rotation and positioning capability. The REVO measuring head performs synchronized Y- and Z-axis motion to quickly follow changes in part geometry during inspection routines, avoiding the dynamic errors caused when moving the larger mass of a CMM structure. Where X-axis motion is required for the probing routine, Renscan5 moves the CMM at a constant velocity along a constant vector as measurements are being taken, removing the acceleration/deceleration inertia errors incurred in conventional scanning.
subscribe now
The Fabricator is North America's leading magazine for the metal forming and fabricating industry. The magazine delivers the news, technical articles, and case histories that enable fabricators to do their jobs more efficiently. The Fabricator has served the industry since 1970.
start your free subscription- Stay connected from anywhere
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Fabricator.
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Welder.
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Tube and Pipe Journal.
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Fabricator en Español.
- Podcasting
- Podcast:
- The Fabricator Podcast
- Published:
- 03/05/2024
- Running Time:
- 65:35
After Ludlow Manufacturing Inc. (LMI) received The Fabricator's 2024 Industry Award, Todd Ludlow, founder and president of the...
- Industry Events
NASCC: The Steel Conference
- March 20 - 22, 2024
- San Antonio,
The Fabricator's Manufacturers & Suppliers Event (MSE)
- March 26, 2024
- Schaumburg, IL
Coil Processing Workshop & Tours
- April 2 - 3, 2024
- Corpus Christi, TX
GOLF4MFG South
- April 15, 2024
- Charlotte, NC
16th Annual Safety Conference
- April 30 - May 1, 2024
- Elgin,