Metris Releases RCA for Robotized Laser Inspection

By DE Editors

Metris (Leuven,  Belgium) released RCA, the Robot CMM Arm designed for Metris laser scanning inspection that offers the automation capability of a traditional CMM combined with the mobility and part accessibility of an articulated arm.

Metris RCA, a robotized CMM arm that introduces patented technology to accelerate repetitive 3D inspection jobs, offers rugged design,  easy programming, and intrinsic absolute accuracy that increase 3D laser scanning productivity and flexibility of onsite inspection assignments.

The Robot CMM Arm combines a highly accurate internal 7-axis articulated arm with an external skeleton driven by electric motors. This concept creates a measuring robot that drives a Metris MMD laser scanner along the programmed motion path. Due to its premium encoder technology and stiff carbon fiber axes, RCA intrinsically offers truly absolute measurement accuracy within an inspection volume of 4.2m dia. (larger models to come later).

The first release of RCA is equipped with the Metris MMD laser scanner, and, with 7 degrees of freedom, the RCA has infinite options available to access any inspection location, says the company.

The RCA seamlessly integrates with Metris Camio CMM software. Scanner path and orientation can be interactively defined using a handheld control panel, or directly from CAD using Camio’s offline programming capability. Plus, Metris RCA obsoletes transportation of parts, as the system can be flexibly installed next to the test object and it runs quick, repeatable and accurate part-to-CAD inspection.

For more information, go to Metris.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.