Optical measuring system is 10 times faster

Delighted with trial performance, Renault is to install a new optical measuring system for control and inspection of car bodies that is 10 times faster than current systems.

Delighted with trial performance, Renault is to install a new optical measuring system for control and inspection of car bodies that is 10 times faster than current systems.

ActiCM's AdventCR - a new optical measuring system for control and inspection of car bodies - has been chosen by Renault which, delighted with the performance of a prototype in trials, plans to purchase the system in 2005.

ActiCM will be present at several trade fairs in 2005, including Industrie Lyon, France, from 8 to 11 March 2005 and Control in Sinsheim, Germany, from 26 to 29 April 2005.

AdventCR is a non-contact fully automatic 3D optical measuring system, for ultra-fast off-line control and inspection of car bodies, designed for use on production lines.

It can be used for both geometric and surface point measurements and is 10 times faster than current systems.

It is accurate to between 50 microns and 300 microns, depending on the material and the measurement volume.

Renault will purchase a version that is even more efficient than the prototype the French car maker has approved, which had only one IVD (Intelligent Vision Device), whereas the final version will have four IVDs, to reduce control times even further.

"Today, measuring the complete car body takes eight to ten hours, as opposed to two hours with the AdventCR prototype," said Baptiste Faivre d'Arcier, leader of the PACA project (Photogrammetrie Appliquee a la Carosserie Automobile - photogrammetry applied to car bodies) at Renault, which validated the AdventCR? prototype.

These two hours can be reduced to 30 minutes if four IVDs are used, and the cost of this system would still be equivalent to that of a current CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machine).

Calculations and measurements can be deferred, so that the measured part is available immediately.

AdventCR is a complete solution composed both of software and hardware.

The software handles the powerful calculation and analysis of the image processing, the photogrammetry process and the results analysis and statistics report.

The hardware manages the data, and includes up to eight IVDs - a very compact optical sensor that incorporates two digital high-definition CCD cameras, along with several light sources.

Each IVD can be mounted in a measurement tunnel or on a robot's arm.

The robot is only used for transporting the IVD and is not involved in the system's precision chain in any way.

The Advent range is available in several versions - AdventCR for automobile manufacturing production lines, AdventSU for automotive sub-contractors, AdventSP for the aerospace sector and AdventME for mechanical machining.

These different versions will be marketed progressively from 2005 to 2007.

About ActiCM - ActiCM is based near Grenoble in south-eastern France.

The company was set up by two engineers who originally worked for the CEA (Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique - French Atomic Energy Authority); their aim was to make available to manufacturers novel and high-performance optical technology platforms.

ActiCM technology is the result of 18 years of research and development by a team of specialists in the field of photogrammetry and digital image processing.

Internationally protected by several patents, this innovative technology will lead to considerable productivity gains in industrial three-dimensional measuring.

ActiCM will be at the following trade fairs: * Industrie Lyon (France) from 8 to 11 March 2005.

* Qualitec 2005 in Jonkoping (Sweden) from 15 to 17 March 2005.

* Control in Sinsheim (Germany) from 26 to 29 April 2005.

* Intermach in Bangkok (Thailand) from 11 to 15 May 2005.

* CMOI in Marseille (France) from 23 to 24 November 2005.

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