Manufacturers of complex component parts understand all too well how important it is to acquire an accurate and precise scale of measurement to check their parts to specification and establish conformity with the data. Much of today’s industry and technology relies on accurate measurement. Manufactured products are measured by instruments to check their conformance to the required fit and function based on GD&T standards. This need is all the more important in the aerospace, automotive, consumer products and medical industry, as part failure can cause the potential for huge recalls.
Turning to industrial computed tomography (CT) for your GD&T projects is a cost effective solution compared to other traditional methods because of the technological capabilities it can offer. With industrial CT you are obtaining a complete and accurate 3-D model of the part’s internal and external geometries after scanning. Complex parts are scanned in a free-state environment, allowing for both external and internal measurements to be made and validated quickly and accurately. Once the scan is completed, a GD&T program is written around the scan dataset and referenced to the part print for each GD&T callout. From there, the GD&T program is instantaneously applied to future scans of the same part, saving time and money for programming.