For an increasingly customised 3D inspection solution, Metrologic Group has developed a 3D sheet metal inspection bench in collaboration with French company INNODURA TB. The system involves 3D scanning large sheets of metal using a profilometer.
Innovative measurement systems
INNODURA TB is a company specialising in the development and production of innovative measurement systems. In 2022, the two companies joined forces to combine Metrologic Group’s Metrolog X4 3D measurement software with a 3D inspection bench specifically designed to measure and inspect sheet metal.
INNODURA TB was tasked with inspecting large stainless steel sheets measuring up to 14 metres long and 2 metres wide for an end customer. These large parts have complex undulations that needed to be characterised with precision. All angles and surfaces therefore had to be measured to verify the height of the reliefs.
“INNODURA TB proposed using Metrolog X4 in the sheet metal inspection application so that the end customer could be self-sufficient in updating their programmes if the geometry of the sheets changed. The reputation of Metrolog X4 and the support it can provide reassured the customer that INNODURA would still be able to provide maintenance if necessary,” explains Brice Simonneau, Systems Project Manager at INNODURA TB. “The computing power of Metrolog X4 allows us to control all of our customer’s inspection ranges without having to recalibrate using CAD (Computer-Aided Design). The 3D scan imported into the programme contains more than 50 million points.”
Metrolog X4 used for data analysis
What makes this project unique for Metrologic Group is that the Metrolog X4 solution was used not for measurement acquisition, but for data analysis. This analysis was complicated by the wavy shape of the sheets, their dimensions and the execution time constraints, limited to approximately 30 seconds.
This project required several demonstrations so that the end customer could see for themselves the efficiency and performance of the Metrolog X4 3D measurement solution coupled with the 3D test bench developed by INNODURA TB. The analysis performed by Metrolog X4 was illustrated several times, both on a sheet metal extract from a point cloud and on specific sections of it.
“We wanted to show them that our Metrolog X4 software is capable of analysing large amounts of complex measurement data very quickly,” explains Alexandre Goupy, Territory Sales Manager in charge of this project. “It’s an unusual project, as we manage the analysis and not the measurement, but it’s also in this area that we offer significant added value.’
Thanks to this collaboration, the end customer was able to measure its complex relief sheets in record time, while remaining completely autonomous in the development of its programmes. INNODURA TB was able to offer an open solution deployed on two 3D inspection benches, giving its end customer a high degree of autonomy in managing its programmes. As for Metrologic Group, we have strengthened our expertise in the field of specialised machinery, paving the way for increasingly customised 3D measurement solutions for our customers.