The WRTL system offers unique wireless connectivity for large-scale automated control projects using laser trackers.
Hexagon's Manufacturing Intelligence division today announced the launch of its latest solution for automated controls, based on 6-degree-of-freedom (DoF) laser tracker technology. The WRTL solves common configuration problems encountered by customers using large automated control systems. It eliminates the need to connect a cable to the laser tracker and scanner controller, increasing the mobility of these devices when installed on an autonomous mobile robot (AMR) or automated guided vehicle (AGV). The system is particularly suited to the large-scale inspections increasingly common in the aerospace and wind power industries.
Compatibility with the Absolute Scanner AS1, the revolutionary 3D laser scanner launched in 2021, enables high-density data to be collected with an impressive level of precision. The scanning system based on the WRTL solution therefore delivers accuracy of the order of 50 microns in a measurement volume with a diameter of 60 meters, irrespective of the robot's accuracy. Thanks to the greater freedom of configuration that WRTL offers users, plants can now run without operators, carrying out large-volume checks autonomously at night. When the operator returns the next day, he can consult the measurement report for analysis, and the manufacturing process is ready to move on to the next stage.
" Before the introduction of the WRTL system, automated control was limited to fixed cells performing specified, repetitive tasks. ", explains Rodrigo Alfaia, Laser Tracker Product Manager at Hexagon. " We make automated inspection truly mobile, something previously only possible with portable equipment. Inspection can be carried out here or elsewhere, without the need to drill holes in the floor for robot rails or turntables. "
The flexibility of replacing fixed robot tracks with automated guided vehicles (or autonomous mobile robots) that can be moved around the factory and perform tasks at various locations, opens up new horizons in automated inspection and manufacturing. In the absence of WRTL, it would be necessary to maintain and adapt a cable connection between the scanner controller and the laser tracker. The WRTL system solves this problem, making both laser tracker and scanner completely mobile and flexible. This makes it possible to carry out automated high-volume inspections that were previously impossible.
The WRTL is the only high-volume scanning solution offering absolute precision and wireless operation. Up to four robot scanner systems can operate in parallel with the WRTL: four trackers and four scanners mounted on autonomous mobile robots, working in pairs or in a cross configuration, in which each laser tracker monitors several scanners. This flexibility boosts productivity on site. Thanks to the AT960 laser tracker's long-distance 6DoF functionality, these autonomous mobile robots can be positioned up to 30 meters from the laser tracker without interrupting or disrupting the measurement.