Optimax has launched the Optimax AURA K4D, which the company claims is the first instrument of its kind, combining the ‘industry-leading’ Kitov CORE+ and the 4D InSpec Surface Gauge.
Optimax says in the traditional process, operators had to manually move parts between a visual inspection station and a metrology lab to take measurements. The company says that the AURA K4D sees both functions now taking place in one seamless, automated workflow.
The company says the ‘true USP’ of the AURA K4D is its ability to identify, characterise, and measure within an automated closed-loop process, which it claims is a world-first for a single instrument. Once the brain and head flag a flaw, the system characterises it against prescribed tolerances. If the feature requires quantification, it automatically switches to the optical precision head, with no operator intervention required.
The Kitov CORE+ serves as the AURA K4D’s brain and body. It features a high-speed, six-degree robotic arm and a rotating table, which Optimax says allows it to manipulate and inspect complex parts up to 800mm in diameter, 500mm in height, and 40kg in weight.
Using CAD2SCAN software, the system automatically generates inspection plans in two ways: directly from CAD files, or through deep learning across multiple 3D scans. Optimax says that by combining traditional 2D and 3D machine vision with artificial intelligence and deep learning, the AURA K4D detects that standard sensors would miss, including pits, scratches, nicks, dings, and machine marks.
The company says that while the 4D InSpec is a renowned handheld gauge, within the AURA K4D environment, it becomes a robotically guided precision instrument. It uses dynamic interferometry technology to capture all phase data in a single snapshot in milliseconds, delivering instantaneous, non-contact 3D surface measurement with micrometre-level resolution.
The measurable depth range runs from 5µm up to 2.5mm (9mm on the XL Module), with a vertical resolution of 2µm to 2.5µm and a field of view of 7.7mm x 7.7mm, capturing 60 square millimetres in a single snapshot in under one second according to Optimax, the system also records the exact position of every defect.
