The German automotive giant BMW is using Delcam’s PowerInspect software on two Zett Mess AMPG measuring arms for the critical task of chassis inspection.
With up to five inspection passes required per component this is proving a giant time-saving move for the Process Technology Prototype Development section of the BMW Group
At BMW every new chassis prototype is received by the development team as a CAD file, which is used to weld the design. Welding distortions of 3mm are the norm and have to be eliminated in a continual process of welding, inspection, correction, and inspection once more.
In the past, the inspection process for some of the parts required up to two hours; with the new software some parts are requiring only five minutes. With up to five inspection passes required per component this is proving a giant time-saving move for the Process Technology Prototype Development section of the BMW Group.
By allowing more inspections and real time results PowerINSPECT allows problems to be identified earlier and corrected at lower cost
The combination of the portability of the inspection arms and the easy-to-use software makes it practical to make many more inspections than is possible with a dedicated CMM that might be located at a considerable distance from the point of manufacture.
By allowing more inspections and by giving real time results in an easy-to-understand format, PowerINSPECT allows problems to be identified earlier and corrected at lower cost.
PowerINSPECT works with a wide range of inspection devices, including static coordinate measuring machines (CMMs), and optical and laser-based systems, but is best known as for working well with portable inspection arms.
The software does not require the parts to be held in a specific fixture, with its best-fit routines meaning inspection can be undertaken in any position. In addition, the arm and software make it possible to inspect two parts simultaneously on one table; if the alignment between the two parts is known, the user can switch between the two inspection sequences.
As well as being extremely functional, it is proving simple to use: essential for situations like that in BMW’s chassis prototype development, where both metrology specialists and production staff need to use the software.
As a result everything is moving much faster.
www.powerinspect.co.uk
German automotive giant is using Delcam’s PowerInspect software for speedier chassis inspection
No
http://www.powerinspect.co.uk/
