InnovMetric Announces the Launch of PolyWorks 2016

This latest release promises to revolutionize the market by enabling a universal end-to-end 3D metrology workflow

Published: Thursday, March 31, 2016 - 12:25

(InnovMetric: Quebec, QC, Canada) -- InnovMetric Software Inc., the leading provider of universal 3D metrology solutions, has announced the launch of PolyWorks 2016, the latest release of the company’s universal 3D metrology software platform. PolyWorks 2016 fully supports probing and laser scanning on stationary CNC coordinate measuring machines (CMMs), and delivers a truly universal 3D metrology workflow that allows users to operate any type of portable metrology device and CNC CMMs within a common framework, from a single software module, using similar tools and methods.

“Portable metrology devices and CNC CMMs used to be operated in very different ways. Offline CMM programming and online CNC measurements were traditionally performed in different modules using different tool sets. This time is now over,” says Marc Soucy, president of InnovMetric. “More than 10 years ago, InnovMetric embarked on an ambitious journey to deliver a universal hardware-independent 3D metrology software platform to our customers. With PolyWorks 2016, the definition of what constitutes a universal platform takes on an entirely new meaning: a universal hub that interfaces with any type of 3D metrology measurement device, and offers a universal workflow for performing all inspection tasks. This innovative end-to-end approach will significantly lower the total cost of software ownership for industrial manufacturers as it eliminates metrology workflow silos, decreases the cost of training, facilitates broader collaboration between teams, ensures consistency in measurement results, and increases workforce mobility.”

With PolyWorks 2016, operators of portable metrology devices and CNC CMMs are able to:
• Define a measurement plan without being physically connected to a specific measurement device
• Specify geometry controls on measurement objects and prepare inspection reports
• Connect to a noncontact or a contact-based portable metrology device, or to a CNC CMM controller (from Hexagon, Mitutoyo, Nikon, Pantec, Wenzel, and I++ servers), to play the measurement sequence
• Review measured object geometry controls and reports, or multipiece inspection results through the built-in SPC functionality

Operating portable metrology and CNC CMM devices within a common framework is now possible with the introduction of two new major components in PolyWorks 2016: the Measurement Sequence Editor and the Offline Simulation.

Measurement Sequence Editor

Since 2012, PolyWorks has offered the powerful Play Inspection tool that automatically generates a step-by-step measurement sequence to capture 3D datasets of a new piece using portable metrology devices. PolyWorks 2016 expands the capabilities of the Play Inspection technology by allowing the customization of its automatically generated sequence. Using the new Measurement Sequence Editor, users can now:
• Configure the order of measurement operations
• Control device position moves
• Trigger CMM-specific operations, such as moving the probe head to a specific location or changing the orientation of a measurement tool
• Easily add guidance messages and images
• Create conditional blocks of operations
• Insert macro scripts, opening up unlimited process customization possibilities

Offline Simulation

PolyWorks 2016 also delivers a new easy-to-use Offline Simulation functionality that automatically generates simulated point-cloud data and probed points from a CAD model of the measured part, while going through a simulated measurement workflow. Offline Simulation allows users to quickly create simulated measured object components, data alignments, data color maps, geometry control tables, 3D scene snapshots, and inspection reports before the real measurement task, without needing access to a measurement device. The PolyWorks 2016 Offline Simulation also fully supports CNC CMMs, allowing users to control the probing and laser scanning tool orientations and trajectories on a virtual device.

Universal inspection projects

Thanks to the universal 3D metrology architecture of PolyWorks 2016, only minimal changes will need to be made to a PolyWorks inspection project so that it can be used with multiple hardware platforms to optimize object measurement methodologies and adapt them to different measurement principles. As a result, PolyWorks 2016 opens a new era for universal inspection projects and device interoperability, ensuring total flexibility for customers to select the appropriate measurement devices for their needs  and maximize the return on their 3D metrology investments.

For more information about PolyWorks 2016, including products, demonstrations, and upcoming PolyWorks conference events, please visit www.innovmetric.com.

About The Author

InnovMetric Software

Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Quebec, QC, Canada, with subsidiaries worldwide, InnovMetric Software Inc. is the leading provider of universal 3D metrology software solutions. The world’s largest industrial manufacturing organizations (Toyota, General Motors, Volkswagen, Honda, BWM, Daimler, Ford, Rolls-Royce, Pratt & Whitney, Boeing, Embraer, Bombardier, Apple, and many more) trust InnovMetric’s PolyWorks software and associated technical services to maximize the benefits of 3D measurement technologies for their engineering and manufacturing applications. Including its subsidiaries and joint ventures, InnovMetric Software has more than 250 employees across 10 countries: Canada, United States, Mexico, Brazil, France, Benelux, India, Thailand, China, and Japan.