NEWS

With the installation of a high-precision, optical measurement system at our production site in Dachau, Amper-Plastik continues the forceful investment in the industry of the future. The smart 3D coordinate measuring machine of the VL model series by Keyence allows a fast and contact-free measuring of micro to larger scale components with a side length of up to 500 mm. By scanning the articles from all sides in a 360°-capture 3D images are created to be subsequently processed and easily shared.

Easy Handling, Rapid and Precise Measurement

Measuring highly complex plastic injection parts is a time-consuming business and may last in certain cases up to several days. Therefore, an accurate and fast assessment of first-of-tool parts while the sampling is ongoing, has been on the top of the injection moulding department’s wish list for a long time. This wish came true with the installation of the new device.

The system captures the measuring objects automatically from different perspectives once these are placed on top of the integrated rotary table. By stripe light projection and stereo recording of two cameras the machine creates up to 16 million measuring coordinates on the article’s surface within a few minutes only - precision at a scale of down to 2 µm. The proprietary software converts the coordinates into a polygon profile. A digital twin of the real item has emerged. 

Target-Performance Comparison and Extended Range of Functions

Within the downstream processes the measuring system reveals its true value. The software allows the user to conduct a target-performance analysis against the CAD construction data of the article. At the push of a button deviations to the drawing are visualised in a colour scale code and can be evaluated at the range of a thousandth millimetre. Comparing the digital image with the results of a previous moldflow-analysis the developers are enabled to draw conclusions about their work results.

With the optical system lengthy measurements to determine contour shapes, wall-thickness deviations and form- & position tolerances are all a thing of the past. These can be accomplished by analysing the digital twins in a fraction of the time required so far. Thereby the 3D-scanner is the perfect supplement to our multi-sensor coordinate measuring system already in place and allows us to shorten or eliminate iteration loops until the first-sample inspection reports can be provided. This represents your saving in time on the road to the perfect product. By intelligent algorithms, the scan and measuring of several articles at the same time becomes possible, further increasing the efficiency, particularly on multi-cavity tools.

Closing the Digital Circle

The new 3D-scanner benefits all Amper-Plastik departments with immediate effect. For once scanned the retrieved data can be processed at all decentralized PC workstations. The range of applications covers development, tool construction, and quality management, but also the internal tooling department, using the device to scan and digitalize prototypes, electrodes, or even complete tool inserts.

The result: The digital cycle of development, simulation, tooling, production, and quality control at Amper-Plastik has become a closed loop.