Application Notes Archives - Page 2 of 2

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.

EDM-drilled or Laser-drilled cooling hole measurement and inspection

Quickly, accurately, and easily carry out cooling holes inspection and measurement of round and shaped holes.

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…).

Automotive trim inspection on a VisionGauge Digital Optical Comparator

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.

Inspection & Measurement of Orthopedic Implants

The Ideal Solution for Orthopedic Implant Inspection (including knees, hips, plates, shoulders, and many more)

Performing a quality inspection on orthopedic implants presents a number of challenges. There are a wide variety of implant sizes and shapes, and they have complex geometries that require tight tolerances. 100% inspection is a necessity and it is unacceptable to miss even one defect. It is common for implants to be manufactured in small lots so there is very high product changeover. Therefore, it is very advantageous that product inspection takes place directly on the production floor. And if any programming is required on the quality inspection system, it needs to be fast, easy, and as error-free as possible.

The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator was originally developed with extensive collaboration with a large medical OEM to meet the requirements of orthopedic implant measurement and inspection, so this inspection is one of their ideal applications.

These systems are accurate, very fast, and require minimal to no programming. The system can operate directly on the shop floor and can produce automated inspection reports and gather complete device history: Collect images, Pass/Fail results, measurements, statistics with graphs/charts and output all data from an inspection to a centralized database. Unique and patented tools like CAD Auto-Align™ and CAD Auto-Pass/Fail™ efficiently and automatically compare a part directly to its CAD file to very high accuracy, automatically and completely without operator variation or subjectivity. These systems are successful on a broad range of applications. The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator has no limitations to part geometry and a wide range of implants are easily supported, including both metal and plastic.

Knee implant inspected with auto pass/fail on a VisionGauge Digital Optical Comparator

orthopedic implant inspection of a plate with CAD Auto-Pass/Fail on a VisionGauge Digital Optical Comparator

Inspection and measurement of a plastic part on a VisionGauge Digital Optical Comparator — VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators also work extremely well inspecting plastic parts!

There are many reasons why VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators are employed by orthopedic implants manufacturers to inspect and measure the medical implants and devices they produce:

Compare products directly to their CAD data, completely automatically (no more overlays or Mylars!)
VisionGauge®’s patented CAD Auto-Align™ and CAD Auto-Pass/Fail™ tools are easy to use to automatically inspect and measure parts, and they produce very high-accuracy results.
Accuracy down to +/-0.0001″ demonstrated in real-world applications, directly from the shop floor!
VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators are proven faster and allow for significant gains in throughput compared to traditional comparators.
Results are 100% consistent between users – No more variation from operator to operator!
Automated programs can be stored and recalled per part as needed or the system can be used in manual mode – either way, the system is especially well suited for inspecting small lots with rapid part changeover.
The systems provide multiple options for complete documentation and reporting of statistics, measurements, images, and other data.
The system’s extended optical depth-of-field and Auto-Focus tool easily overcome the difficulties of orthopedic implant inspection.
Make defects truly stand out and entirely remove glare with multiple options for adapted computer-controlled LED illumination. VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators produce stunning results on both metal and plastic parts!
Automatically measure and display deviations from nominal: Quickly and easily locate areas out of tolerance.
VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators are not limited to performing inspections only in the camera’s field-of-view: A part can be compared to its CAD/DXF data across the entire stage travel. Check large and long parts at high magnification and very fine resolution with ease.

VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparators are perfect to inspect a wide range of orthopedic implants and devices: knees, hips, plates, shoulders, and many more…

inspection of a very wide range of orthopaedic implants

The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is used by many medical device manufacturers to carry out the inspection of a very wide range of orthopaedic implants

With its patent pending Tooth Checker™ tool the VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is perfect for inspecting medical bone screws

Hip stem inspection (orthopedic device) and measurement on a VisionGauge Digital Optical Comparator with CAD Auto-Align.

Orthopedic forging inspection on a VisionGauge Digital Optical Comparator

The systems are also widely used in the inspection of forgings.

The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is the new standard for inspecting orthopedic implants in the medical industry. Contact us to find out how we can solve your application.

Download a .pdf version of this VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator Application note here. Learn more about other inspection and measurement applications solved by our systems. A press release from November 2023 is also available.

Turbine Blade Fir Tree Root Form Inspection and Measurement

The Perfect Solution For the Inspection and Measurement of Turbine Blade Fir Tree Root Forms

There are many reasons why the VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is widely used by manufacturers in the aerospace and power generation industries to perform turbine blade fir tree root forms inspection and measurement, sometimes also referred to as a “Christmas Tree” blade:

Automatically compare turbine blade fir tree root forms against their CAD data (no more overlays!).
The system can completely automatically inspect and measure turbine blade fir tree root forms with its proprietary CAD Auto-Align and CAD Auto-Pass/Fail tools (Patents Pending).
Demonstrated accuracy down to +/-0.0001″ in real-world applications, directly on the shop floor!
The system supports both uniform and variable tolerances. You can apply tighter tolerances on pressure faces and looser tolerances elsewhere.
Eliminate operator subjectivity!
Much faster than traditional approaches.
Automatically collect measurements, statistics, images and other data for complete documentation.
The system is not limited to the camera’s field-of-view; It can compare a part to its CAD data across the entire stage travel. So even large parts can be inspected at high magnification.
With its extended optical depth-of-field and Auto-Focus tool, the system is perfectly suited to deal with the challenges of turbine blade fir tree root form inspection.
Automatically measure and display deviations from nominal and quickly identify out-of-tolerance areas.

Apply tighter tolerances on pressure faces and looser tolerances elsewhere for turbine blade fir tree inspection and measurement — Variable Tolerances Support is Ideal for Turbine Blade Fir Trees

Proprietary CAD Auto-Align and CAD Auto-Pass/Fail tools simplify fir tree root form inspection and measurement — Proprietary CAD Auto-Align and CAD Auto-Pass/Fail tools

The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is rapidly becoming the new standard for the inspection and measurement of turbine blade fir tree root forms in the aerospace and power generation industries.

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

Broached Slots and Turbine Disk Inspection and Measurement

The Perfect Solution For Turbine Disk Inspection and Broached Slots

There are many reasons why the VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is widely used by manufacturers in the aerospace and power generation industries for the inspection of turbine disks:

Automatically compare turbine disk fir trees directly against their CAD data (no more overlays!).
With its proprietary CAD Auto-Align™ and CAD Auto-Pass/Fail™ tools (Patents Pending), the system can inspect turbine disks completely automatically!
Demonstrated accuracy down to +/-0.0001″ in real-world applications, directly on the shop floor!
The system supports both uniform and variable tolerances. You can apply tighter tolerances on pressure faces and looser tolerances elsewhere. Tolerances can be made to vary gradually between different zones.
Also ideal for the inspection of blisks, EDM slots, and other aerospace engine components.
Eliminate operator subjectivity!
Much faster than traditional approaches.
Automatically collect measurements, statistics, images, and other data for complete documentation.
The system is not limited to the camera’s field-of-view; It can compare a part to its CAD data across the entire stage travel. So even large parts can be checked at high magnification.
With its extended optical depth-of-field and Auto-Focus tool, the system is perfectly suited to deal with the challenges of broached slots and turbine disk inspection and measurement.
Automatically measure and display deviations from nominal and quickly identify out-of-tolerance areas.

Fir trees with variable tolerances during turbine blade inspection — Variable tolerances support is ideal for turbine disk fir trees

inspection of a blink with VisionGauge Digital Optical Comparator — Also ideal for the inspection of blisks and EDM slots

Auto Pass/Fail inspection of a turbine disk fir tree with CAD Auto-Pass/Fail™ — Proprietary CAD Auto-Align™ and CAD Auto-Pass/Fail™ tools

The VisionGauge® Digital Optical Comparator is rapidly becoming the new standard for inspecting turbine disks and broached slots in the aerospace and power generation industries.