In 2008, wheel-alignment machine builder Burke E. Porter Europe NV (BEP) approached 3-D measurements specialists LMI Technologies Inc. for advice. At the time, BEP was developing plans to improve performance for end-of-line wheel alignment with its series of noncontact-alignment (NCA) machines. These measure toe and camber, displaying the results as guides for operators to make the necessary adjustments to bring vehicle parameters within the customer-specified values.

The issues

BEP realized that noncontact alignment needed higher precision, robustness, and a user-friendly plug-and-play interface. It recognized that the way to achieve these goals would be to start at the beginning with a radically new view on the measurement technology.

Existing sensor technologies based on single-laser line profiling had proven to be a dead end. An ambitious start toward capturing a full 3-D image of the wheel had been carried through to a prototype stage when LMI Technologies was contacted.

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