For industries that regularly perform large-scale measurements, laser trackers offer accurate 3D measurements collected by a single operator. They have traditionally been a common solution within the aerospace and automotive industries, but as lightweight, versatile, portable coordinate measuring machines, laser trackers are ideal for a host of applications relevant to other industries including energy & power, general manufacturing, architecture & construction and transportation system manufacturing.
Laser trackers are straightforward tools: they measure two angles, plus a distance. The tracker emits a laser beam (hence, “laser tracker”) to a retro-reflective target (commonly a spherically mounted retro reflector, or SMR) that is held against the object being measured. The light reflected traces its own path back to the tracker. As the light re-enters the tracker, a distance meter in the tracker calculates the distance from the tracker to the retro-reflector. The collected coordinate data is transferred to metrology software to establish the X, Y and Z coordinates for the point collected. The software ultimately uses a collection of the points taken for interpretation and modeling.