Multisensor Measurement—Making Sense of It All
It has been common practice for manufacturers to have separate measurement machines that excel at particular measurements. Today, driven by both economic and technological forces, the best of class of traditionally separate technologies are combined in multisensor measurement machines.
Multisensor measurement machines have existed since the 1980s, in response to changes in manufacturing technology. In an effort to reduce part counts, manufacturers use computer-aided design (CAD) and engineering tools to design parts with unique, complex shapes and tight dimensional tolerances. New multi-axis machine tools, EDM technology, advances in injection molding and other manufacturing technologies are turning out sophisticated parts with numerous physical features that have critical shapes, sizes and locations. Often, tiny features must have accurate relationships with bores or surfaces that are inches away or on opposite surfaces. Correct performance of the final product depends on each part meeting the design specifications in the CAD file.