Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division has announced the launch of Autonomous Metrology Suite, software developed on its cloud-based Nexus platform that is designed to transform quality control across manufacturing industries worldwide. By removing all coding from coordinate measuring machine (CMM) workflows, it helps manufacturers speed up critical R&D and manufacturing processes as experienced metrologists become harder to find.  

Manufacturers across automotive, aerospace and general engineering report the same pressures: shorter product lifecycles and frequent design revisions have increased the need for high-accuracy measurement, but there are fewer skilled CMM programmers and quality data is scattered and underutilized. These issues slow new-part introduction and make it difficult to repeat good results shift after shift.   

Hexagon’s Autonomous Metrology Suite tackles the problem head-on. A digital twin of every connected CMM synchronizes seamlessly with its physical counterpart, so the correct inspection program always reaches the right machine, helping to eliminate possible human error. All quality, utilization and environmental information flows straight to a cloud dashboard, creating a continuous digital thread supporting data-driven decisions on the shop floor.  

All applications in the suite share a consistent modern and intuitive web interface that guides both new and expert users through the process, helping to democratize the creation of CMM programs and reduce the level of skills required to interact with the solution. Depending on complexity, programming could be reduced from days to hours, following which the program deployment to one or more CMMs, execution and reporting can be fully automated from a single interface.  

These efficiency gains are driven by a set of tightly integrated applications built on Hexagon’s Nexus platform, automating and streamlining the entire metrology workflow. Metrology Mentor guarantees consistent inspection methods from plant to plant, eliminating a risk that two operators measure the same part in different ways. The suite enables Hexagon’s existing Global S, Tigo and MAESTRO CMMs to join the same digital workflow, meaning existing investments continue to pay dividends, with support planned for 3rd party hardware.  

•    The Metrology Mentor app automatically generates ISO- and ASME-compliant inspection programs directly from CAD. By standardizing measurement techniques through the Metrology Mentor application, the platform ensures that regardless of operator skill level, measurement programs consistently adhere to geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) standards.   

•    Metrology Reporting consolidates data from Hexagon and third-party dimensional metrology and tomography systems, providing live batch quality analytics, statistical insight and full part histories with an accessible and high productivity web-based user interface.   

•    Finally, Metrology Asset Manager keeps watch over calibration status, machine operation and errors and environmental factors such as temperature, humidity and vibration, ensuring machines stay healthy and measurements remain trustworthy. It also delivers utilization data to help users understand and improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)   

Because every app shares the same intuitive interface, users can drag and drop files, follow on-screen prompts and see updates propagate instantly across the suite. The intuitive design of the shared user interface means that if users learn how to use one app, they can more easily learn how to use the whole suite.  

Gary Peacock, General Manager Metrology Software at Hexagon, said: "Autonomous Metrology Suite addresses skills shortages by revolutionizing measurement programming with a no-code environment and user experiences that dramatically reduce operator training time.  

“With more pressure on experienced metrologists, Autonomous Metrology Suite amplifies their efforts by automating processes from programming to multiple CMM execution and reporting, removing quality control bottlenecks with consistent measurements.”     

Paragon Medical, an early adopter of the technology, has been instrumental in validating the suite's capabilities. The manufacturer started its continuous improvement journey addressing OEE visibility with Metrology Asset Manager, democratized quality data with Metrology Reporting, and is now rolling out a standardized inspection processes while accelerating new staff onboarding with Metrology Mentor.  

Jeff Livingston, Senior Quality Manager, Paragon Medical, said, “Like many manufacturers, we’re under growing pressure to speed up production while managing scattered data and a shortage of skilled CMM programmers. Manual monitoring across our 17 CMMs created bottlenecks, inconsistent measurement strategies and operator training challenges. Now, with the Autonomous Metrology Suite tying it all together through a single intuitive interface, we see a clear path to unified quality and manufacturing. What used to take hours or days is done in minutes, and the impact is amplified across throughput, training and team communication.”   

The Autonomous Metrology Suite is available to pilot customers in June, with full commercial availability this year that includes on-premise software to synchronize programs, CMM digital twins and reports with Nexus, and execute CMM programs without the explicit requirement for metrology software as PC-DMIS. Future suite developments will further simply the rapid acquisition, analysis and application of metrology data within manufacturing processes utilizing the Nexus platform’s open connectivity, automation and collaboration capabilities.  

For more information, visit hexagon.com.