New solution simplifies user experience and cuts CMM programming time from days to hours.
Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division has launched the Autonomous Metrology Suite, a software solution built on its cloud-based Nexus platform. The suite is designed to simplify coordinate measuring machine (CMM) workflows by eliminating the need for coding, helping manufacturers streamline quality control processes amid a shortage of experienced metrologists.
Manufacturers in automotive, aerospace, and general engineering face challenges such as shorter product lifecycles and frequent design changes. These factors increase the demand for precise measurement, while a shortage of skilled CMM programmers and fragmented quality data contribute to delays in introducing new parts and maintaining consistent performance across shifts.
Hexagon’s Autonomous Metrology Suite uses digital twin technology to sync each connected CMM with its physical counterpart, ensuring the appropriate inspection program is sent to the correct machine. This approach helps reduce human error. Quality, utilization, and environmental data are sent to a cloud dashboard, enabling informed decision-making on the shop floor.
All applications in the suite share a consistent modern and intuitive web interface that guides both new and expert users through the process, helping to democratize the creation of CMM programs and reduce the level of skills required to interact with the solution. Depending on complexity, programming could be reduced from days to hours, following which the program deployment to one or more CMMs, execution and reporting can be fully automated from a single interface.
These efficiency gains are driven by a set of tightly integrated applications built on Hexagon’s Nexus platform, automating and streamlining the entire metrology workflow. Metrology Mentor guarantees consistent inspection methods from plant to plant, eliminating a risk that two operators measure the same part in different ways. The suite enables Hexagon’s existing Global S, Tigo and MAESTRO CMMs to join the same digital workflow, meaning existing investments continue to pay dividends, with support planned for 3rd party hardware.
- The Metrology Mentor app automatically generates ISO- and ASME-compliant inspection programs directly from CAD. By standardizing measurement techniques through the Metrology Mentor application, the platform ensures that regardless of operator skill level, measurement programs consistently adhere to geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) standards.
- Metrology Reporting consolidates data from Hexagon and third-party dimensional metrology and tomography systems, providing live batch quality analytics, statistical insight and full part histories with an accessible and high productivity web-based user interface.
- Finally, Metrology Asset Manager keeps watch over calibration status, machine operation and errors and environmental factors such as temperature, humidity and vibration, ensuring machines stay healthy and measurements remain trustworthy. It also delivers utilization data to help users understand and improve overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
All apps in the suite share a consistent interface, allowing users to drag and drop files, follow prompts, and view updates across the suite. This common design helps users learn new apps more easily after using one.
Paragon Medical, an early adopter of the technology, has been instrumental in validating the suite’s capabilities. The manufacturer started its continuous improvement journey addressing OEE visibility with Metrology Asset Manager, democratized quality data with Metrology Reporting, and is now rolling out a standardized inspection processes while accelerating new staff onboarding with Metrology Mentor.
The Autonomous Metrology Suite is available to pilot customers in June, with full commercial availability this year that includes on-premise software to synchronize programs, CMM digital twins and reports with Nexus, and execute CMM programs without the explicit requirement for metrology software as PC-DMIS. Future suite developments will further simply the rapid acquisition, analysis and application of metrology data within manufacturing processes utilizing the Nexus platform’s open connectivity, automation and collaboration capabilities.
For more information, visit hexagon.com.
