Laser measuring technology in Industry 4.0

A major requirement for the fourth industrial revolution is capturing large volumes of valid data in real time. This is why 3D scanning has proved itself a beneficial alternative to tactile measuring for dimensional inspections within the production cycle. This has led SCHÄFER Container Systems, manufacturer of beverage container systems, IBCs and special containers, to invest in the MetraSCAN 750 Elite from Creaform to supplement its manufacturing processes. In combination with the portable HandyPROBE, an optical coordinate measuring machine (CMM), the system is being used for contact-free inspection processes as well as for component analysis in design. This investment continues SCHÄFER Container Systems’ uncompromising transformation to Industry 4.0

Even in harsh, dynamic production environments, optical 3D scanners deliver fast, reliable and precise results. These systems have shown themselves to have significant advantages, particularly in the inspection of complex geometries, because the precision achieved by 3D scanning using laser technology is meanwhile frequently higher than the threshold value required for quality control.

The MetraSCAN 750 Elite, for instance, allows optical scanning and digitalising with an accuracy of up to 0.025 mm and equally high measurement resolution. The volumetric accuracy achieved is 0.064 mm, for part sizes between 20 and 600 cm. That’s made possible by 15 blue laser crosses which have a measurement rate of 1.8 million measurements per second.

As a result, the benefits of this technology, such as speed, user-friendliness and mobility, can be used in 3D scanning very efficiently to improve both product quality and the work of our quality assurance experts. The efficiency gain can be quantified by the significantly reduced reaction times in the value creation process.

At SCHÄFER Container Systems, the three-dimensional scanning process is mainly used to visualize shape and dimensional deviations in our stainless steel IBCs and KEGs. At the customer’s request, the new system can also be used in reverse engineering processes to capture a digital record of existing industrial products.

Among those to benefit from this new measuring technology will be customers whose individual quality and inspection requirements are implemented, monitored and digitally logged seamlessly on site as part of the 4.0 production process.