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Dimensional Photonics Takes the Lead in Accuracy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 4, 2007
WILMINGTON, Massachusetts, September 4, 2007 Dimensional Photonics International, Inc. (DPI), a leading developer of high performance three-dimensional (3D) digital shape scanners, has recently completed a series of exercises that provide very positive results with regards to product performance and accuracy. DPI's scanners are based on a revolutionary technology called Accordion Fringe Interferometry (AFI) developed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory.
In the emerging field of 3D digital shape scanners, DPI is selling systems at the highest level of accuracy. DPI’s flagship industrial product, the AFI 5000P, has recently been put to a series of tests conducted by two major manufacturing corporations unaffiliated with DPI. The purpose of the tests was to determine the true accuracy of DPI’s AFI 5000P. The results showed the AFI 5000P to be twice as accurate as other systems, and to have a higher degree of repeatability than any other 3D scanner in the market. DPI’s product was the only system to capture data of the scanned surfaces (including shiny machined metal surfaces) without the application of spray or powder. The AFI 5000P was also the only system that did not require the use of an external photogrammetry system, optical adhesive-backed targets or pre-measurement for the merging of the scanned data. The AFI 5000P completed one study within 2.5 days, not the two weeks needed for other companies’ products.“We are very proud of these results. They confirm that our systems have broken through an accuracy and performance barrier that will allow manufacturers to rely on new generations of non-contact 3D shape scanners,” says Olaf N. Krohg, DPI’s CEO. “The time saved over conventional CMMs and other solutions can lead to millions of dollars in savings and increased profits for manufacturers.”
One test was conducted at the calibration-certification laboratory of a major aircraft manufacturer to gauge the AFI 5000P’s accuracy against known standards and other non-contact optical scanners. The testing procedure included six 1.5” (38.1 mm) diameter diffuse steel spheres mounted to a rigid steel plate that enabled sampling of the entire measurement volume. Nominal values were obtained using Leitz model 18106 PMM (volumetric uncertainty +/- .0001” (0.003 mm)). Four scans were combined to create the entire data set: one top; three sides (120 x 45 degrees). All measurements were collected at 68° F (20° C). The standard deviation of the sphere fit was found to be 0.000687” (0.017 mm). The average sphere distance from nominal was 0.0004” (0.010 mm) and 0.0009” (0.022 mm) worst-case. The average radius deviation from nominal was 0.0002” (0.005 mm), while worst-case was 0.0005” (0.013 mm).
Another test was an accuracy and repeatability study (i.e. gauge repeatability and reproducibility, “GR&R”) that was conducted at a major power systems supplier for the purpose of gauging the capabilities of the AFI 5000P system on real-world components. Three production components (machined and cast metal parts) were scanned by three individual operators, three times each for a total of 27 complete 3D scans of the objects. Each of the 27 complete scans required the merging of several viewpoints into a complete point cloud. Each point cloud was aligned to the blueprint coordinate system, and several hundred CMM data points were loaded into the file and compared with the scan data. All measurements took place at ambient temperature and under normal room lighting.The standard deviation was found to be 0.0003” (0.008mm) across all faces on the production parts. The datum alignment was repeatable to within 0.0001” (0.003 mm) worst-case. All data was collected within 2.5 days. Other scanning systems reportedly required as much as two weeks for the same tasks.
About DPI
DPI is a leading provider of high performance digital shape scanners to global industry. In addition to its industrial products, DPI is developing a 3D intra-oral scanner for dental applications. DPI’s proprietary technology, Accordion Fringe Interferometry (AFI), creates digital models (i.e. CAD models) of the surface of physical objects by immersing the object in patterns of light, then recording the manner in which the light patterns reflect from the object’s surface. The technology can be scaled to scan objects from nano-scale to several meters in three dimensions.For additional information, please visit DPI at www.dpi-3d.com or call at (978) 988-8825.
Media Contact
Olaf N. Krohg 220 Ballardvale Street, Unit D
Dimensional Photonics International, Inc. Wilmington, MA 01887-1050
(978) 988-8825 marketing@dpi-3d.com
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