Application Notes Archives

Plastic/Polymer Medical Implants

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator For Accurate & Robust Inspection & Measurement Of Plastic Medical Implants

A wide variety of plastic materials are used in medical implants. For example, today most total knee replacement implants and many total hip replacement implants contain ultra-high molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). Among other benefits, this plastic provides cushioning and movement. Other examples of plastic medical implants include high density polyethylene (HDPE) for facial reconstruction implants and polyketones (PEEK) that are common for spinal applications. For the right applications, plastic materials can present significant benefits as plastics are in general both more resistant to chemicals and lighter than metals. Given all of this, it’s not surprising that the range of medical implant applications for plastics is very wide.

Total hip and knee replacement systems are made up of both metal & plastic components

Many plastic medical implants can be produced using conventional manufacturing processes such as CNC machining, injection molding, and 3D printing. This allows the fabrication of medical implants with very complex and unique geometries.

Plastic Medical Implant Inspection

However, like with all medical implants, the tight geometries involved need to be precisely controlled. In the past, this was often problematic as traditional optical comparators, historically one of the most used inspection systems for medical implants, have struggled when dealing with plastic parts. Specifically, the image of plastic parts produced by these systems tends to exhibit lots of glare and reflections. With traditional optical comparators, it’s often difficult to determine an appropriate level of illumination for plastic and polymer implants that allows the user to make out the features of interest without creating an over-brilliance of other surfaces. It’s a difficult balance that tends to introduce even more operator-subjectivity.

Digital Optical Comparators Ensure Quality Control of Plastic Medical Implants

The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator overcomes all these limitations. Its illumination is based on new and completely different technology that produces crisp and clear high-resolution images, with high contrast and superb definition, of plastic parts. Furthermore, all of VisionGauge®’s illumination is LED-based and programmable. This eliminates operator-to-operator variability and produces repeatable illumination conditions for extremely repeatable plastic parts measurements!

Plastic implants come in many different geometries to carry out a wide range of functions

Medical industry plastic implant measurements

VisionGauge®’s illumination works just as well on plastic parts as it does on metal parts

The crisp & sharp edges produced by VisionGauge® allow for very accurate measurements

LED-based Illumination for High-accuracy Measurement

VisionGauge®’s illumination is extremely flexible and many different types are available (i.e. transmitted, reflected on-axis and off-axis, etc.). The LED-based illumination also produces very low heat, requires very little power and remains stable over a very long lifetime.

With its new, advanced and flexible illumination, the VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is the ideal solution for detailed inspection and high-accuracy measurement of the wide variety of plastic medical implants being produced by today’s medical manufacturers – directly on the shop floor with no operator-to-operator variability.

Contact us about the details of your application and learn more about the other applications VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators can solve.

Download a .pdf version of this Application Note.

Hole Array Inspection and Measurement

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators for Fast, Easy, and Accurate Hole Array Inspection & Measurement

Some applications involve parts with a great many holes (for example: many thousands) that need to be checked. These parts can be made of different materials. We’ve worked on metal, carbon, ceramic and silicon parts like this. These parts are sometimes referred to as hole arrays or micro hole arrays.

These types of parts are used in different industries. Defense, semiconductor manufacturing, aviation and aerospace are a few industries that come to mind. Depending on the application, the holes can have different functions. Often, their presence has something to do with controlling a flow (of a gas, of particles, etc.). There could be different reasons for such flow control: It might be for cooling purposes, for uniformity of dispersion, etc. Gas Distribution Plates, used in semiconductor manufacturing and plasma reactors, are a typical example of these types of parts.

These parts are typically difficult to manufacture, and the holes have obviously been included in the part’s design for a reason, i.e. they have a role to play, typically a key one. So, most often, these parts need to be inspected in great detail to ensure that they will meet their requirements.

There are many different parts, across many different industries, that have a great many holes that need to be inspected

Typically, the inspection needs to ensure that all of the holes are present and that their location and geometry are correct. Note that, in some cases and depending on functional requirements, the holes might not necessarily be round. In fact, we’ve come across quite a wide range of different hole geometries in these types of projects. VisionGauge automated hole inspection programs have no limits to hole geometry or placement

Inspecting 100% of the holes can be both challenging and extremely time consuming. Most inspection systems, to obtain the needed level of detail, proceed hole-by-hole. If a part has 18,000 holes, for example, then even if every individual hole can be dealt with quickly, this approach still takes a tremendous amount of time to cover the entire part. We’ve heard of parts for which a complete inspection required full days and even multiple days.

The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is especially well suited to applications where parts have a very large number (e.g. many thousands) of closely grouped holes as it can analyze all of the holes visible in the entire field-of-view at once, very quickly and accurately. This approach involves absolutely no compromise on accuracy. All the while, throughput is increased tremendously.

Motion operations (i.e. physically moving the part or the camera) are typically the most time-consuming steps in inspection and measurement programs. In applications involving a large number of closely grouped holes, the optimized approach offered by VisionGauge® drastically reduces the number of motion operations needed since it doesn’t involve hole-by-hole movement but rather simply ensuring that the entire part has been scanned through field-of-view-by-field-of-view coverage.

Furthermore, VisionGauge® can analyze every individual hole in the field-of-view extremely quickly (e.g. milliseconds) as it captures a great many measurement points (typically: thousands) almost instantly.

Multiple hole location inspection (starting image)

Multiple hole location inspection (selection image)

Analyzing all of the holes in VisionGauge®’s large field-of-view in a single operation provides for an enormous speedup

Outline of the Inspection Approach:

In broad terms, this approach involves the following steps:

Scanning the part, field-of-view by field-of-view
At every field-of-view:
- Capturing an image
- Locating the holes
- Saving the hole data (i.e. X,Y location, & geometry)

After the entire part has been scanned, comparing the measured hole data against the nominal hole data

So, in terms of programming, the program involves only a small number of instructions.

Scanning the Part

This is done using the software’s “Motion Control” tool, i.e:

Motion control step setup for microhole array inspection

As can be see above: we select the “Scan” mode, specify the 2 corners of the rectangular area to be scanned and also specify an overlap to ensure that every hole is completely visible in at least one field-of-view (i.e. we want to avoid that half the hole is visible in one field-of-view and that the other half is visible in the next field-of-view).

Capturing an Image

This is done using the software’s “Image Capture” tool.

Locating the holes and saving the hole data

This is done using the software’s “Counting & Sizing” tool, i.e.:

Hole array counting & sizing configuration

This is an extremely general-purpose tool and you shouldn’t be taken aback when you see all of the parameters in the above window as – for this application – we don’t need most of them.

Here we simply set thresholds to separate the holes from the background (we can use adaptive thresholds that are extremely powerful…). We also tell the tool to disregard the holes touching the borders: With the scanning overlap, this is how we ensure that every hole is seen completely at least once.

The images below, taken from a previous application of this type, illustrate this tool’s operation. Note that for reasons specific to this historical application, the images below are front illuminated (i.e. captured using reflected illumination). The holes thus appear dark and the part light. In most applications, we would use back (i.e. transmitted) illumination, which yields even more robust results.

Raw image

Analyzed image (i.e. the holes extracted are in red)

Comparing the measured hole data against the nominal hole data

This is done using an external “Hole Checker” library that we have developed for exactly these types of applications. It reads-in a user-supplied text file with the nominal hole data (i.e. X,Y location and diameter, in the most basic case). It then compares the measured hole data to the nominal hole data. Note that if (because of the Image overlap) a hole was measured more than once, it is only the first of these measurements that is considered.

This “Hole Checker” tool produces a text file with 1 line per (nominal) hole, every line containing:

The hole number (same as the input / nominal file)
The hole nominal position (same as the input / nominal file)
A PASS or FAIL indicating if the hole was found
If the hole was found: the measured X & Y hole position
If the hole was found: the measured hole diameter

Note that VisionGauge®’s “Map View” tool can also be used to provide a graphical layout of the results, as well as allow easy “operator review” of the results (i.e. click on a hole and the software brings it back in the middle of the field of view, so that the operator can revisit / review, etc.).

VisionGauge®’s extensive CAD-Comparison capabilities

Of course, VisionGauge® also has extensive CAD-Comparison capabilities (i.e. patented CAD Auto-Align™ & CAD Auto-PASS/FAIL™ tools). These can also be useful in this application, at the very least for “quick inspection & verification” purposes. For example: bring up the CAD file and quickly manually “move around the part” and generally asses the alignment of the holes to the CAD data. This can provide a quick confirmation / sanity-check as to whether or not “things look good” and glaring defects will “jump out” at the operator.

Summary

VisionGauge® offers powerful and unique tools that allow for highly optimized inspection and measurement of parts with a large number of holes, much faster than with traditional approaches. The results produced by VisionGauge® remain very accurate, to the instrument’s full resolution. Furthermore, these fast, accurate, and fully-automated inspections are very easy to setup with VisionGauge®.

Download a .pdf version of this VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator Application Note.

Read more about other applications VisionGauge® software and systems are being used to solve.

Inspection of Broach Cutters

The perfect solution for checking broach cutters

Broaching is used when precision machining is required, especially for unusual shapes. Among other uses, broaching machines are often used to manufacture, to very high accuracy, the slots in aircraft and land-based turbine discs. To achieve the required accuracy, the broach cutters need to be inspected and measured to very high accuracy. The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is the ideal solution to monitor the broach cutters. The system can automatically verify their profile and control key dimensions. The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is extremely fast and accurate, it can be used directly on the shop floor, and it is free from any operator error.

The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is used by manufacturers to check broach cutters:

VisionGauge Digital Optical Comparator inspecting broach cutters

Quickly check 100% of your production, directly on the shop floor!
Eliminate operator subjectivity!
Our systems are much faster & much more accurate than traditional approaches.
Because the system doesn’t require any programming, it is extremely fast and well adapted for quick part changeover
The system is appropriate for both small & large parts. You can check parts across the entire stage travel so that even large parts can be checked at high magnification, with very fine resolution.
With its extended optical depth-of-field and Auto-Focus tool, the system is perfectly suited to deal with the challenges of precision broach cutter inspection.
Advanced patented & patent-pending technology!
Automatically measure and display deviations from nominal and quickly identify out-of-tolerance areas.
Automatically collect measurements, statistics, images, and other data for complete documentation & reporting.
The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is a drop-in replacement for traditional optical comparators.
The system has a broad set of measurement tools to quickly, easily, and very accurately carry out all required verifications.

The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is the new standard for inspecting all kinds of precision broach cutters.

Much higher accuracy, directly on the shop floor!

Overall view of broach inspection and measurement

Automatically compare the part to its CAD file and carry out a wide range of high-accuracy measurements

Inspection and Measurement of Broach Cutters

Accurately check a wide range of broach cutters

Download a .pdf version of this Application Note.

Contact us to let us know the details of your application and to learn more about additional applications that use VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators.

Industrial Gas Turbine (IGT) Bucket Inspection

High-Accuracy Inspection and Measurement of Industrial Gas Turbine (IGT) Buckets

Industrial Gas Turbine buckets, blades, and nozzles encounter high temperatures and extreme force. Modern-designed gas turbine blades and turbine buckets operate under extreme industrial stresses, and the ever-increasing performance requirements of land-based gas turbines requires that they be manufactured to meet tighter and tighter requirements. Blades and buckets represent some of the most critical parts in power generation systems and their fir tree dovetail root form is where some of the tightest-tolerance requirements are found.

Installation of a bucket on a gas turbine disk

The Super-Extended 500 Series VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators are designed to carry out very high-accuracy inspection and measurement of large parts and heavy loads and, as such, they are perfectly suited to the inspection and high-accuracy measurement of Industrial Gas Turbine (IGT) Buckets.

VisionGauge® systems – with their patented CAD Auto-Align™ and CAD Auto-Pass/Fail™ tools – are the perfect solution to check the bucket’s root form profile as well as the profile’s location relative to the part’s datum set.

VisionGauge® is extremely fast, produces very high-accuracy operator-independent results, and can automatically produce complete inspection reports.

500 Series VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator - Super-Extended Travel Configuration — The super-extended travel configuration 500 Series VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator for inspection of large and heavy parts.

Super-Extended Travel 500 Series VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator inspecting fir tree / root forms on buckets — Fir Tree / Root Form Inspection with the Super-Extended Travel 500 Series VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator

The Super-Extended Travel Configuration of the 500 Series VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator accommodates up to 60″ of travel and supports heavy loads up to 300 pounds. These systems are very robust and ready to operate directly on the shop floor.

VisionGauge®’s patented inspection technology quickly and accurately computes and displays the deviation from nominal at a part’s control sections and compares the results to bi-directional tolerances. The result of each comparison can be collected in a report and an overall Pass/Fail or Go/No-Go result can be output for each part. You can check parts against their CAD data across the entire range of travel, beyond the optical field-of-view – completely automatically.

Contact us for more information about how our VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators can meet and surpass even the strictest of your Industrial Gas Turbine application requirements, including IGT bucket inspection and measurement.

Learn about other applications regularly being solved with VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators, including additional applications in the Power and Energy / Industrial Gas Turbine market.

Stent Inspection and Measurement

The perfect solution for stent inspection and measurement

Stents are critical precision devices in which no manufacturing imperfections can be accepted. The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is your complete solution to carry out the inspection and measurement of coronary, endovascular, and other types of stents.

What Are Stents?

Stents are small, expandable tubes used to treat narrowed arteries. They are a crucial part of treating many health conditions and are often made of metal. As a piece of medical equipment that enters the body, stent manufacturing leaves no room for error.

How the VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator Can Improve Your Stent Inspection and Measurement

The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator offers comprehensive metrology for stent manufacturing to help you ensure high quality in every stent that passes through your production line.

Fast, Accurate Inspections With No Subjectivity

With VisionGauge®, you can quickly perform fast and highly accurate inspections on 100% of your parts, directly on the production floor. Our unbiased stent measurement and inspection tools completely eliminate operator subjectivity for dependable results every time.

Unparalleled Flexibility and Versatility

VisionGuage® Digital Optical Comparators have a broad set of measurement, defect detection, and pattern-matching tools to quickly, easily, and accurately carry out all required verifications. Our solutions range from manual to fully automated, so you can choose the right one for your operation.

With no limitations on stent length or diameter, you can verify parts across the entire stage travel and check even large parts at high magnification with very fine resolution. The system supports both bare-metal uncoated stents and drug-eluting coated stents.

High-Resolution, Advanced Stent Inspection Tools

stent pattern example

Our stent manufacturing quality control and inspection solutions offer precision and performance with advanced patented and patent-pending technology and powerful features like:

An integrated 4th axis rotating mandrel for full 360° inspection at very high resolution
Extended optical depth-of-field and long working distances to meet the challenges of stent inspection
Automatic measurements and displaying deviations from nominal, so you can quickly identify out-of-tolerance areas
Operator review tools you can use for defect evaluation and classification
Automatic collection of measurement results, statistics, images, and additional data for complete electronic documentation and reporting

The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator can verify stent integrity, measure critical dimensions, and verify patterns. Our systems are fast, easy-to-operate, and highly-accurate — capable of exceeding the most demanding inspection requirements.

The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator can verify stent integrity, measure critical dimensions, and verify patterns. Our systems are fast, easy-to-operate, and highly-accurate – capable of exceeding the most demanding inspection requirements.

Verify stent integrity & measure critical dimensions

VisionGauge® supports different types, lengths & diameters of stents

Able to verify different patterns

Download a .pdf version of this Application Note.

Contact us with your application requirements and to learn more about additional applications successfully using the VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator.

Learn More About Metrology Solutions for Stent Manufacturing

Patients and providers should never wonder if their stents were built properly. You can ensure quality results with every product through dependable stent measurement and inspection tools.

The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator supports stent manufacturers with a range of advanced features and a system that prioritizes accuracy and flexibility. We’ll help you choose and implement the right solution for your operations and can even provide training services to help you use it as effectively as possible.

Reach out to us today to discuss your application with a representative or learn more about how our customers use the VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator.

Precision Bearings Inspection and Measurement

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators are the perfect solution for checking precision bearings.

Precision bearings provide high runout accuracy and generally need to support high rotating speeds, often in the presence of large loads. They are used in a very wide range of applications. A few examples include:

wind turbines
helicopter rotors
gear drives
crop shears
rolling mills
machine tools spindles

other machine spindles (e.g. balancing machines)
high speed turbochargers
cement crushing equipment
machine components for the semiconductor industry
etc…

Precision bearings must be manufactured to very high accuracy to ensure that they provide superior rotational accuracy and consistency, minimize drag, reduce heat generation, and provide long life.

The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is used by manufacturers to check all types of precision bearings, directly on the shop floor. These systems are much faster and much more accurate than traditional approaches, and they eliminate operator subjectivity. The system doesn’t require any programming, so it is especially well-adapted for small lots and quick part changeover. Moreover, with an extended optical depth-of-field and Auto-Focus tool, the VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is perfectly suited to deal with the challenges of precision bearing inspection.

Bearing gap measurements — Accurately measure all key characteristics, including roller drop, cage clearance, etc…

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators include advanced patented and patent-pending technology, including tools to automatically measure and display deviations from a part’s nominal and quickly identify out-of-tolerance areas. The systems automatically collect measurement results, images, statistics, and other useful data for complete documentation and reporting.

The VisionGauge® OnLine software that drives the system includes an extensive set of measurement and inspection tools allowing you to quickly and easily verify with high-accuracy all required characteristics of bearings (roller drop, cage clearance, etc…). All types and sizes of bearings are supported. VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators are appropriate for both small and large parts: You can check parts across the entire stage travel so that even large parts can be checked at high magnification, with very fine resolution.

Accurately check tapered roller bearings

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators to check precision bearings are available with a variety of customizations, including horizontal and vertical configurations, multiple magnifications, extended travels, options for illumination, optional laser measurement modules, and much more. The system is a complete, drop-in replacement for traditional optical comparators, proven to increase throughput and improve accuracy in verifying your production.

verification of precision bearings Inspection and measurement of precision bearings

The system is very flexible and can be used to check different types and sizes of bearings

Much higher repeatability, directly on the shop floor!

Contact us with the details of your application to find out why the VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is the new standard to inspect all kinds of precision bearings.

Download a .pdf version of this VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator Application Note.

Learn more about the many applications solved with VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators.

Orthopedic/Medical Rasp Inspection and Measurement

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators are the Perfect Solution for Inspecting Orthopedic/Medical Rasps

The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is widely used by orthopedic implant manufacturers to check medical rasps for a number of reasons:

Automatically compare parts to their CAD data (no more overlays!)
With its patented CAD Auto-Align™ and CAD Auto-Pass/Fail™ tools, the system can check rasps completely automatically!
VisionGauge®’s patented Tooth Checker™ tool automatically identifies the part’s teeth and allows you to check all roots and crests against their tolerances.
Check the entire profile at once or each tooth individually, directly on the shop floor!
Eliminate operator subjectivity!
Much faster than traditional approaches.
Because the system doesn’t require any programming, it is especially well-adapted for small lots and quick part changeover.
Automatically collect measurements, images, statistics, and other data for complete device history documentation.
The system is not limited to the camera’s field-of-view; It can compare a part directly to its CAD data across the entire stage travel, so even large parts can be checked at high magnification, with very fine resolution.
The system is perfectly suited to deal with challenging applications in orthopedic implant inspection with its extended optical depth-of-field and Auto-Focus tool.
Different types of adapted computer-controlled LED illumination are supported to eliminate glare and make defects stand out. The system works extremely well on both metal & plastic parts!
Automatically measure and display deviations from nominal and quickly identify out-of-tolerance areas.

Medical rasps inspection with multiple entities verification

The system is very flexible and supports different inspection approaches depending on what you want to check…

Examples of measurements performed on medical rasps

Measure tooth height, tooth spacing, tooth angle, tooth bottom radius, etc…

The system’s front illumination produces a very sharp image showing a very high level of detail.

The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is the new standard for inspecting rasps, orthopedic tools, and implants in the medical industry. Contact us with your application for more information and videos showing rasps inspection in action.

Download a .pdf version of this VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator Application Note here.

VisionGauge®’s Patented “Tooth Checker™” Tool

VisionGauge®’s Patented “Tooth Checker™” tool is specially adapted to check parts
with teeth

VisionGauge®’s powerful and innovative patented “Tooth Checker™” tool automatically locates, to very high accuracy, the crests and / or roots of a part’s teeth or threads and determines if they are within their tolerance band. It can also determine all other part characteristics, such as tooth pitch, thread depth, major & minor diameters, etc…

Bone screw teeth verification with the VisionGauge® “Tooth Checker™” tool

Fully automated
Completely independent of part orientation & clocking
With a rotary stage the crest and root points can be used to calculate part runout
Can also be applied to parts that are larger than the field-of-view
The tool is usable in both manual and fully-automated modes (i.e. within an automated program)
The tool produces a PASS / FAIL result (which can be exported and used in all of the same ways as the current PASS / FAIL results) and also shows where the part passes and where it fails
Supports linearly variable tolerances, plus/minus tolerances, plus/plus tolerances, minus/minus tolerances, etc…
Smart “Adaptive Thresholding” automatically disregards point imperfections

Perfect for quickly and accurately checking:

Bone screws
Medical rasps
Gears
Fluted Instruments
Threads & fittings
Etc…

Medical Rasp Inspection and Verification

The Tooth Checker tool can check that either crests, roots, or both, are in tolerance

Automatic thread inspection: Automatically detect crests and roots in major/minor diameters of teeth or screw threads with VisionGauge®’s new Patent Pending “Tooth Checker™”.

Quick & Easy to Set Up!

Using the crest & root points that the Tooth Checker tool has found, it can then automatically determine all other part characteristics

Overview Video:

Our new Advanced Analysis and Report tools also allow operators to follow-up a Tooth Checker™ operation to review, explore, and label results at each cross section of interest in the field-of-view.

CAD Auto-Pass/Fail Entity Cross Section Analysis on a Fir Tree Inspection

Download a .pdf version of this VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator Application note here.

Inspecting and Measuring Thread Rolling Dies

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators are the ideal solution for the inspection and measurement of Thread Rolling Dies

Compare thread rolling dies directly to their CAD data 100% automatically (no need for overlays!).
The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator’s proprietary CAD Auto-Align™ tool aligns a CAD/DXF drawing straight to its part, with customizable options to produce the best results.
The CAD Auto-Pass/Fail™ tool produces an operator-independent PASS/FAIL result, completely automatically.
Accurate and repeatable inspections directly on the shop floor!
All part geometries are supported – the possibilities are limitless!
The system can automatically locate and check the features of interest according to your specifications.
VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators support variable tolerances. Tighter tolerances can be applied in critical areas and looser tolerances elsewhere.
The system automatically measures a part’s deviations from nominal at critical points or along entire segments of the part’s edges. Edges that lie outside of the defined tolerance band are quickly located and displayed.
Automated collection of measurements, statistics, images, and other data for complete documentation.
Obtain faster, more accurate, and more reliable results than when using traditional inspection methods and systems.
The system is extremely to use: It can be setup so that – for the operator – everything is done using the barcode reader.

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators are well-adapted to surmount the complications of thread rolling die inspection and measurement, improving the quality of your inspection process and results.

No fixturing is required. The system can correct for part-to-part placement variation.

Automatically compare a part to its CAD data and get an accurate, repeatable, and operator-independent PASS/FAIL result.

Automate comparison of a part to its CAD/DXF data for a reliable, highly-accurate overall PASS/FAIL result.

Automatically measure and display deviations from nominal and quickly identify out-of-tolerance areas.

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators capture extremely crisp and clear ultra-high-resolution images. A part’s fine details truly stand-out for inspections.

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators have a broad set of high-accuracy measurement tools.

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators are the new standard for obtaining fast, accurate, and high-quality inspections in the thread rolling die industry. Contact us for more information about how our systems and software can solve your application.

Download a .pdf version of this VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator Application Note. Also, learn more about additional applications solved using VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators and Profile Projectors.

Extrusion Inspection and Measurement

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators are perfect for applications that require inspecting and measuring extrusions.

The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator automatically compares difficult-to-inspect extrusions against their CAD data (no more overlays!).
VisionGauge®’s patented CAD Auto-Align™ feature automatically and accurately lines up the CAD to the part, along one or multiple datums or by performing an overall “best fit”.
Our patented CAD Auto-Pass/Fail™ tool automatically produces reliable Pass/Fail results – completely eliminating operator subjectivity.
Automatically measure and display deviations from nominal and quickly identify out-of-tolerance areas.
Variable and uniform tolerances are equally supported on the same parts: Tighter tolerances can be applied to some critical locations while looser tolerances are in effect in other places.
There are absolutely no restrictions to part geometries, and the system works equally well on both fixtured and unfixtured parts.
VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators can be used right on the shop floor to deliver highly-accurate and repeatable results without variation between operators.
Multiple, flexible options are available for documenting and outputting measurement results, images, statistics, and additional data. Results can be reviewed following a part’s inspection – or immediately and automatically exported to your SPC solution.
Much faster and more accurate than traditional approaches!
VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators are powerful and easy to operate: The system can run a complete, pre-programmed inspection routine and output results using just the barcode reader.

VisionGauge® systems possess a widely-applicable set of inspection and measurement tools and features that exceed expectations when it comes to the verifying the quality and characteristics of extrusions.

Extrusion measurement of curvature and thickness performed on the VisionGauge Digital Optical Comparator.

Reflected illumination facilitates viewing all internal and surface features in addition to the outer profile of the part. The system also has a broad set of high-accuracy measurement tools.

Comparing an extrusion cross-section to its CAD data to obtain a Pass/Fail result on a VisionGauge Digital Optical Comparator.

Compare a part directly to its CAD data, compeltely automatically, and get an accurate, repeatable, and operator-independent PASS/FAIL result.

An extrusion cross-section inspected on the VisionGauge Digital Optical Comparator.

The system captures and displays extremely crisp, super-high-resolution images. You can see all of the fine details on your part!

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators are the extrusion industry’s new standard for carrying out fast and accurate inspections. Get in touch with us with the specifics of your application to see how our systems can improve the quality of your verification process.

Download a .pdf version of this VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator Application Note. Also, read more about other inspection and measurement applications in various industries where our systems are regularly being employed.

Tag: Application Notes

Plastic/Polymer Medical Implants

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator For Accurate & Robust Inspection & Measurement Of Plastic Medical Implants

Plastic Medical Implant Inspection

Digital Optical Comparators Ensure Quality Control of Plastic Medical Implants

LED-based Illumination for High-accuracy Measurement

Hole Array Inspection and Measurement