Application Notes Archives

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:

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

The ever-increasing performance requirements of land-based gas turbines requires that they be manufactured to meet tighter and tighter requirements. Buckets represent some of the most critical parts in power generation systems and their fir tree root form is where some of the tightest-tolerance requirements are found.

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 small, expandable tubes used to treat narrowed arteries. They 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:

Quickly perform fast and accurate inspection on 100% of your parts, directly on the production floor.
Completely eliminate operator subjectivity!
Carry out both defect detection and high-accuracy measurements.
We offer a complete range of solutions: from manual to fully-automated.
No limitations on the stent length or diameter. Verify parts across the entire stage travel so that even large parts can be checked at high magnification, with very fine resolution.
Integrated 4th axis rotating mandrel allows for full 360° inspection at very high resolution.
Supports both bare-metal uncoated stents and drug-eluting coated stents.
VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators have a broad set of measurement, defect detection, and pattern matching tools to quickly, easily, and very accurately carry out all required verifications.
With their extended optical depth-of-field and long working distance, our systems are perfectly equipped to meet the challenges of stent inspection.
Automatically measure and display deviations from nominal, quickly identifying out-of-tolerance areas.
Advanced patented & patent-pending technology!
Operator review tools can be used for defect evaluation and classification.
Automatically collect 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.

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.

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.

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 patent-pending 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 Patent Pending “Tooth Checker™” Tool

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

VisionGauge®’s powerful and innovative new Patent Pending “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

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.

Cooling Holes Inspection / Cooling Hole Measurement and Verification

The 700-Series VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is the Perfect Solution for EDM- and LASER-Drilled Holes and Slots Inspection and Measurement

The 700 Series VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is widely used by manufacturers across a broad range of industries (including aerospace and power generation) to inspect and measure EDM- and LASER-drilled cooling holes and slots:

Automatically verify hole presence & accurately measure hole location
Supports both round and shaped holes
5 axes of motion (X, Y, Z, Rotary, Tilt) to properly view parts from all sides & angles
Quickly, easily, and accurately inspect 100% of the holes on your parts
Robust shop floor design
Can output the hole offsets which can be used to modify EDM drilling programs
Mounting system allows your parts to go directly from the EDM drilling machine to the inspection and measurement system without re-fixturing (quick & easy and also minimizes stack-up error, etc…)
The system can be supplied with the same working envelope as your EDM drill. If you can drill it, we can check it!
Holes can be checked either one at a time, looking straight down each hole’s nominal axis (ideal for coated parts, to minimize errors due to coating thickness variations) or multiple holes can be checked at once, viewing them at an angle (which is even faster and well suited for uncoated parts or parts with a uniform coating thickness)
The system has an extended depth of field, so that everything is perfectly in focus regardless of the part’s geometry (even in areas of very high curvature) as well as a very long working distance (so that there is lots of clearance between the part and the entire optical system to comfortably accommodate large and unusually-shaped parts)
Extremely powerful “adaptive” feature-detection software tools are able to accurately find and locate EDM-drilled holes on different surfaces, with different reflectivity, at different viewing angles, etc…
Specialized software tools are especially well suited to deal with burrs and splatter
Automatically create reports and collect measurements, statistics, images and other data for complete documentation
Fast and intuitive “operator review” mode allows the operator to quickly revisit out-of-tolerance areas, etc…
The ideal system for inspection and measurement of cooling holes on aircraft engine and IGT (Industrial Gas Turbine) components (blades, vanes, heat shields, shrouds, etc.). Parts can be either (ceramic) coated or uncoated.

Automatically Verify Hole Presence and Location

measurement and inspection of EDM- and LASER-drilled drilled holes and slots

Supports Both Round & Shaped Holes, Anywhere on the Part!

An extended-travel machine with 24″ x 24″ x 24″ travel and a trunnion configuration for large and heavy parts is also available, along with other customizations.

Ring with cooling holes. For the larger rings, it is typical to use an extended-travel 700 series system to check the hole presence and measure the hole location and geometry.

The 700-series VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is a very cost-effective, perfectly adapted solution for the measurement and inspection of EDM-drilled holes. It is rapidly becoming the new standard in the industry!

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

Flexible Automotive Parts Inspection and Measurement – Seals and Trim

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators for Verifying Automotive Seals and Trim

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators offer the perfect solution for inspecting and measuring a variety of automotive parts, including flexible extruded seals and trim (e.g. door trim, weather seals, etc…).

Automatically compare automotive parts against their CAD data without requiring templates, overlays, or Mylars. VisionGauge®’s proprietary, patented CAD Auto-Align™ and CAD Auto-Pass/Fail™ tools accurately and automatically match the CAD file to the part along datums or using an overall ‘best fit’. A PASS/FAIL result is then determined based on the criteria of the inspection for that part, preventing variation from operator to operator.

The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is adaptable and supports both uniform and variable tolerances. You can apply tighter tolerances along critical segments and loosen tolerances in other areas. Our software’s automated Feature-Based Pattern Matching and Registration tools facilitate solving applications on parts either with or without fixtures. Additionally, unique part geometry is not an obstacle with VisionGauge®’s advanced inspection toolset.

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators can automate measurements on parts and report deviations from nominal positions directly on the image of the part – identifying areas that are out-of-tolerance with ease. These measurements, along with images and statistics, are collected in VisionGauge®’s flexible Data Groups where they can be saved or exchanged with other programs for complete documentation of the inspection. A wide variety of automated reporting options are available to meet your requirements.

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators are well-known for their power and ease of use: Entire inspection operations can be initiated and fully documented with as little interaction as an operator scanning a barcode. The software user interface is intuitive, and VisionGauge®’s toolboxes make it simple to manage different automated programs and settings for different parts.

Compared to traditional inspection methods, VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators provide faster, more reliable results for increased throughput. Customizable options for illumination, magnification, workholdings, and many more are available to meet your specific inspection process criteria. Our systems are designed to be robust and highly-accurate, delivering repeatable and operator-independent results – even directly on the shop floor.

The system can readily handle part distortion, part rotation, material inconsistencies, and all difficulties experienced when inspecting and measuring flexible automotive seals and trim.

flexible automotive seal inspection and CAD overlay comparison on a VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator

automotive seal inspection and CAD overlays on a VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator

Comparing a flexible automotive seal against its CAD data

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators produce crisp and clear ultra-high-resolution images. All of the part’s fine details are extremely visible!

CAD Auto-Align and CAD Auto-Pass/Fail tools for flexible automotive components inspection

Automatically compare a part to its CAD data and get repeatable, highly-accurate PASS/FAIL result without operator subjectivity.

A .pdf version of this VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator Application Note is available to download. Also, learn more about other applications our systems are regularly being used to solve.

Find out why the VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is the new standard for inspecting flexible extruded seals and trim in the automotive industry. Contact us with more information about your application and to arrange a demo of our systems.