(NVision: Coppell, TX) A heavy equipment manufacturer with facilities throughout the world has improved the dimensional accuracy of its ground engagement tools by using an NVision HandHeld laser scanner to measure tooling and finished products with a higher degree of accuracy than was possible in the past. Measuring these tools is challenging because of the complexity of their shapes, tight dimensional tolerances, and harsh manufacturing environment.

“We have significantly lowered our reject rate and improved our ability to hold close tolerances by using the HandHeld laser scanner to generate complete 3D geometry at all stages of the product development process,” says a 3D scan technician for the manufacturer.

The company is a leading manufacturer of buckets, teeth, edges, and other products for construction and mining equipment. Teeth produced for earth-moving equipment typically have organic shapes that are difficult to measure because they have relatively few flat surfaces that can be used for traditional gauge measurements. Inspection is difficult even with coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) because such a large number of points need to be captured to fully inspect a 3D surface.

 …