Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence has announced the launch of a new laser scanner. According to the company, the Absolute Scanner AS1 combines unmatched accuracy and data quality with an automatable data collection speed of 1.2 million points/s and unprecedented interoperability between portable measuring arm and laser tracker systems.
The AS1 is the ideal sensor for a wide variety of applications, such as in an automotive manufacturing shop - the same scanner can be moved back and forth as needed between a measuring arm used for interior quality control and a tracker configuration in the pilot plant performing flush and gap inspection to achieve a fully integrated and less expensive quality process.
The AS1 is a modular blue laser line scanner, the first in the industry to work with laser tracker systems and portable measuring arms. When used with a Leica Absolute Tracker AT960 laser tracker, it can provide scanning accuracy to as little as 50 microns for distances up to 30 meters, manually or automatically.
For smaller applications, the AS1 scanner can be easily mounted on any of the current generation of Absolute Arm 7-axis systems, enabling precision scanning and inspection of hidden areas in a measurement volume of 2 to 4.5 meters in diameter.
The Tracker functionality of the AS1 is powered by a new portable positioning unit, the Absolute Positioner AP21. The AP21 unit allows the AT960 tracker to collect comprehensive information on the position and orientation of the scanner. The AS1 can be quickly mounted to the AP21 using Hexagon's patented kinematic joint - the same repeatable mounting system already found on Absolute Arm systems. This makes it possible for a project shop team to move the same AS1 scanner from a laser tracker system to an arm system without tedious realignment or setup.
"In developing an enhanced laser scanner for our trackers, we wanted to bring the Shine technology we developed for our portable measuring arms into high-volume aerospace applications where trackers are required, explains Duncan Redgewell, President of Hexagon's Metrology Systems business unit. Lhe breadth of our team's hardware expertise has enabled us to develop a solution that breaks down the established codes between each system, allowing users to benefit from improved scanning performance in both tracker and measuring arm applications without having to invest in multiple scanning units. The AS1 can be used in the same way and with the same high quality results whether it is paired with our Absolute Tracker or Absolute Arm systems."
The laser scanning performance of the Absolute Scanner AS1 is based on the proven Systematic High-Intelligence Noise Elimination (Shine) technology that Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence said made a very strong impression on customers when it was integrated with the RS6 laser scanner for Absolute Arm systems in 2019. The Shine concept enables the collection of very high quality, high accuracy data at full speed on almost any surface or finish with default exposure settings. This minimizes the need to constantly change settings during the measurement process, as well as the associated operator training requirements. Thanks to Shine, the AS1 always delivers optimal performance - any type of surface can be scanned at any time without performance decreasing on difficult surfaces common with existing products on the market.
The dynamic tracking performance of the Absolute Positioner AP21 means that the latest Absolute Scanner is fully automated, enabling high-speed blue laser scanning within automated cells and structures, whether in-line, near the production line or in the quality room - a vital feature for the future of smart manufacturing in the aerospace industry. Hexagon's network of registered and accredited integrators is ready to develop customized automation systems based on this new metrology technology.
"Metrology-assisted automation is widely seen as the future of large-scale manufacturing, said Daniel Moser, technical director of products at Hexagon. Laser tracker-based systems have an important role to play in this future, primarily to ensure that quality is not sacrificed in the quest for high productivity. One of our primary goals in developing the AS1 was to provide a system that was built from the ground up with automation in mind, and can be integrated into a wide range of automated manufacturing solutions for the aerospace industry."
For Absolute Arm systems, the AS1 replaces the current flagship RS6 laser scanner, which will be discontinued.
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