ModelMaker H120 — the latest generation of portable laser scanners from Castle Donington-based Nikon Metrology UK (www.nikonmetrology.com) — incorporates blue laser technology, a fast frame rate and specially developed optics, giving it the ability to measure challenging materials. The system offers field-of-view widths up to 120mm and point resolutions down to 35μm.

A frame rate of over 450Hz is available, even when measuring difficult surfaces such as carbon fibre and gloss black, as well as reflective or multi-coloured parts.

With 2,000 points per scan line and no reliance on point-to-point interpolation to artificially boost data density, it is possible to measure very small details on large surfaces, even when cycle time is critical, says Nikon.

Indeed, the company says the ModelMaker H120’s use of advanced optics and a blue low-speckle laser to generate high-accuracy low-noise data allows the unit to identify even small surface scratches and abrasions.

In addition to the rapid collection of surface data, sharp edges are represented with clarity, thanks to a scanner accuracy of 7μm and a combined system accuracy — with Nikon Metrology’s MCAx articulated arms — up to 28μm.

Meanwhile, the fourth generation of the company’s Enhanced Sensor Performance (ESP4) adapts the laser source intensity, not just for every scan line, but for every point in each scan line, enabling parts with significant colour changes or reflectivity to be measured from any angle.

This minimises the need for training, as a single-scanner setting can measure almost all parts encountered in industrial-metrology applications, says the company.

Furthermore, thermal stability and temperature compensation eliminate the need for a warm-up period (the user simply connects the unit to a PC using a USB cable, powers up and starts scanning within a few seconds), while real-time feedback provided by displaying the boundaries of the measurement area ensures that scanning always take place from the optimal position.

Through direct integration with a variety of software tools for scanning, probing, processing and dimensional analysis of measurement data, users can tailor the solution to their needs.

Applications range from inspection using GD&T (geometric dimensioning and tolerancing) with colour map comparisons to nominal CAD, fly-outs and sectional cut-throughs, to reverse engineering — or using high-definition scan data to generate polygon meshes for additive manufacturing.