Most existing 3D capture technologies can’t be used to record objects in motion, and they usually require a stationary platform for operation. Some technologies can record 3D data at video rates (e.g., flash LADAR), but their spatial and range resolution are severely limited.

A new white-light 3D scanner using hybrid positioning to scan large objects and output a file with no post processing has recently been released.

The Go!SCAN 3D can scan up to 10 times faster than standard 3D scanners. It also has a large 15 in. by 15 in. scanning field of view and a measurement rate of 550,000 measures per second. These allow the device to scan a car’s gas tank in about two minutes—with a final 3D mesh exported during that same time.

Beamex and Emerson have partnered to offer Calibration Excellence, a best-in-class solution for managing calibrations. This solution delivers the benefits of a complete automation asset management and premier calibration management functionality in an integrated solution.

Electronic applications typically have challenging surfaces, angles, steps, and structures that must be measured during development. Whether it is circuit-board flatness or microstructures on the board itself, precise measurement is crucial. Components continue to shrink in size, and surfaces become problematic, but measurements must still be precise.

For those of you looking for a way to emerge from the doldrums of realizing that summer is almost over, I suggest you circle today, Wed., Sept. 19, on your calendar. No, it isn’t the first day of fall; that is Sept. 22. Sure, the leaves turning brilliant colors, sipping cider, and getting sticky-faced from caramel apples are high points of the fall season, but a more important occasion is here, at least in my warped mind: International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Now what could be more exciting than that?

“Quality is not free, but it has a pretty darn good ROI.”

Olympic sports keeps pushing athletes to find new and nuanced ways to condition their bodies. The same is true with their equipment. Engineers continually look for new refinements that propel the competition to a new level.

A new versatile measurement system devised by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) accurately and quickly measures the electric power output of solar energy devices, capabilities useful to researchers and manufacturers working to develop and make next-generation solar energy cells.

You won’t hurt RUTH the robot’s feelings if you disagree with her, but it will be difficult to prove your point, given that her opinions are backed by mathematical evidence.

Let me start with a confession: I’m an imposter in the metrology community. My background is in the design engineering community—well-meaning folks who don’t quite grasp the complexities of the manufacturing process and the measurement systems that support it.