Although the CMM has been around for more than half a century, advancements have allowed it to maintain its position as the go-to technology for quality inspection.
Unlike manually operated gages or portable measurement devices, coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) can automate the measurement process and therefore remove quality inspection bottlenecks. The highly versatile tools can measure a wide range of parts and materials. They can use a variety of methods and quickly adapt to production changes.
For example, CMMs can perform dimensional analysis, reverse engineering, tooling certifications, and CAD comparison; handle multiple sensors including contact or noncontact, tactile, scanning, or optical; and handle complex parts more efficiently than comparable tools, experts say.