Vision Measuring Systems Advance Noncontact Dimensional Measuring Technology
Today’s vision measurement systems and microscopes use various technologies for noncontact measurement. This article discusses five principal technologies that may be used to “find the edge.”
In all aspects of life, it is said that change happens on the edge. Vision measuring systems are essentially designed to “find the edge” and define it relative to any process that might be affecting or changing it.
In the past, noncontact measuring systems could be quite subjective. Multiple technicians would rarely achieve the same results using a single technology. Current-generation, noncontact system platforms are not only better at finding the edge, but also at delivering a competitive edge to manufacturers and materials scientists. These are the people who design, test and measure components engineered to micron-scale tolerances. To put this scale into perspective, it’s useful to note the diameter of an average red blood cell is about 7.2 microns, and a human hair may range in diameter from 40 to 120 microns. At the next level of measurement, a nanometer is 1/1,000 of a micron.