Case Study: Wide Dynamic Range

  

AFI 5000P is the first system that enables fast, accurate inspection on critical components without the need to compensate for surface properties. Ever since scanning was developed, manufacturers have been trying to apply the many advantages to a wide range of inspections. However, scanners have either been error-prone or required coating the parts with powders or paints. The AFI 5000P is the first scanning system that meets all requirements for total inspection across manufacturing environments and products.Â

Â

Problem

Up to this point in time, there has been no effective means of performing 100% inspection on many real-world components due to:

• risk and lack of traceability
• CMMs too slow
• CMMs not enough coverage
• ball offset on CMMs
• optical techniques required coatings or spray
• optical techniques were not accurate
• optical techniques were not suitable for manufacturing environments

Both optical and CMM devices have been well-tested by manufacturers, but both are problematic on real-world components.  Hence, they require compromises. For example, optical scanners require messy sprays which add thickness (hence the incorrect surface is measured), may compromise the metallurgy or material properties, are not controlled and may be toxic to humans. Thus, at the expense of speed, manufacturers have been compromising their inspection processes with either slower, manual CMMs, which deliver far less data, or with optical systems with their associated limitations. 

Solution

The AFI 5000P was employed to measure a broad range of surface properties in a single field of view. The surfaces used for the test were: matte white, shiny machined/ground steel, black anodized aluminum.

Test conditions were:

• no coatings or sprays allowed
• full data coverage on all visible surfaces
• no targeting/photogrammetry permitted
• data must be accurate and repeatable to within applicable manufacturing tolerances
• system must be rugged for manufacturing environments
• NIST traceable
• suffer no loss of performance across varying environments
• no statistical variance from surface to surface

The unsprayed, uncoated components were placed in the AFI 5000P's field of view. The AFI 5000P scanned all surfaces in multiple views and the scans were accurately merged. All data was inspected using geometric and statistical analyses.

Conclusion

The AFI 5000P met all requirements for a total inspection system capable of quickly verifying dimensions in a rapid manufacturing environment. Because the AFI 5000P can measure small components, large structures, and everything in-between, it represents the "total solution" that manufacturers are looking for. 

The AFI 5000P was the only system that met all customer requirements by delivering:

• accurate data
• uncorrupted data, regardless of surface properties
• fast acquisition
• total inspection
• scaleable systems for large and small components
• no coatings or sprays required
• full data coverage on surfaces
• no targeting required
• no additional photogrammetry systems required
• suitable for real-world manufacturing environments
• NIST traceable