Robotic Inspection Made Easy

Metrologic Group Services Inc. (Wixom, MI) presents the first all-in-one online robotic inspection software: Metrolog X4 I-Robot version v7, which eliminates the need for several software packages and a complex integration to control a robotic cell. Metrolog X4 I-Robot controls both the measuring device and the robot directly. A complementary product, Silma X4 I-Robot version V7, allows complete robotic cell simulation.

“Today’s manufacturing world is looking for ways to inspect better and faster, driven by the ever increasing costs of defects,” says Laurent Porte, the managing director of Metrologic Group. “CMMs are simply too slow and cannot keep up with the production rates. Other measuring devices, such as arms, portable devices or laser trackers, require a large amount of manual intervention with concerns over repeatability. In-line or near-line robotic inspection, mostly free from human intervention, is rapidly becoming part of a manufacturing line landscape. Unfortunately, today’s robot-based inspection solutions are qualified by many as unreliable, requiring multiple software packages and difficult to integrate, lacking accuracy and flexibility and most often cannot be used for 3D measurements and reporting.”

Metrolog X4 I-Robot software connects not only to the measuring device, but also to the robot controller, and “drives it like a CMM,” providing a centralized brain to control the robotic inspection cell. The systems take advantage of the intrinsic measuring device accuracy and not from the robot’s, which becomes a simple “manipulator.” Because the robot path is linked to the features to inspect, any new part or part design change can easily be (re)programmed. This approach eliminates the need for complex automation architectures and allows a CMM operator to rapidly learn how to take ownership and independently control a robotic inspection cell. “Our strength continues to be the ability to integrate any kind of 3D portable optical and touch probe device to any kind of robot to perform repetitive measurement sequences,” adds Porte.

Metrologic Group Services Inc., North American Innovation Center, 28064 Center Oaks Court, Wixom, MI 48393, 248-504-6200, Fax: 248-504-5430, metrologic.usa@metrologicgroup.com,www.metrologicgroup.com.