Keyence has extended its portfolio of precision measurement technologies with a new image dimension measurement system, the LM Series, which has accuracy to ±0.7μm.
Consistent sub-micron accuracy and repeatability is guaranteed through automated focusing and part positioning, making it ideal for applications with very tight tolerances in sectors from medical and electronics to high-precision metal manufacturing.
The LM Series is easy and rapid to program with intuitive on-screen help always available, and can be operated with one button. Items do not need to be precisely positioned, while rapid stage movement and a large field of view for a precision measurement system delivers speed as fewer images are needed compared with alternative systems. The auto-focus function ensures accurate focus irrespective of operator experience.
Up to 300 dimensions can be measured at a time, while the LM Series can measure up to 100 individual parts simultaneously. A convenient integral coaxial light offers a broad variety of lighting options to provide optimised stable edge detection, whatever the material of the item being measured. While more typically used in laboratory environments, the system is sufficiently robust to withstand the rigours of the shopfloor environment with its low-vibration stage.
An integral high-magnification lens with Z-focus positioning allows for highly accurate non-contact height and depth measurement for areas as small as 20 × 20 μm. Additionally, plane elements can be created which are independent from the stage and overall part slope, with flatness and interplane angle measurements easily added to programs. Suitable applications are plentiful and range from prototype and first-off part inspection to in-process sample and part inspection; and pre-shipping and incoming goods inspections.
Ailsa Morrison, applications engineer for the Metrology Division at Keyence, said: “Ever tighter tolerances are a defining characteristic of modern manufacturing and through the LM Series, Keyence is offering a rapid and reliable means to verify part dimensions to ever greater levels of accuracy. Alongside that, it really is a system that anyone, anywhere, can use – thanks to a range of automated and intuitive functions.”