A new metrology-grade 3D scanner - the result of several years of research and development – is aimed at offering manufacturing and engineering professionals the most effective and reliable portable and automated 3D measurement solution on the market.

Here, you can explore the broad lines that led to this new product introduction. You can understand the new capabilities that come with this innovation. You can visualize the size, material, finish, and complexity of the parts that can now be measured with this new and improved 3D scanner. You can imagine the speed that is needed to measure such complex physical parts within seconds. You can study the 3D scanner’s features, which enable the capture of accurate dimensional measurements of physical objects — regardless of their size, material, finish, and complexity. Finally, you can examine the benefits of adding this new metrology-grade 3D scanner to your metrology tools.

What Led Creaform to Develop a New Metrology-Grade 3D Scanner?

Creaform is, of course, attentive to the needs of their users and always looking to provide them with the most cost effective and reliable tool on the market. Over the last few years, manufacturing companies in the aerospace, aeronautical, and automotive industries have seen their quality standards rise. The tolerances required by customers are becoming tighter, and the pressure to constantly meet these tolerances is increasing. In addition, the needs of manufacturing and engineering professionals continue to evolve. They must capture 3D dimensions of more complex parts, shapes, and free forms, which require more accurate measurements. Additionally, the time to perform measurements and quality controls is under pressure and must be optimized in order to prevent downtime or stalled production, which delay time-to-market.
During the research and development period, the company had in mind the needs of three engineering groups. First, product development engineers, who are under pressure to innovate, reduce the time to market of their new products, and work with complex shapes and designs to offer more competitive solutions. Second, quality assurance and production teams, who must optimize their manufacturing process, identify and fix production and quality problems, and manage downtime. Third, quality control people, who must validate if the customers’ requirements have been met and confirm that the parts fulfill their purpose for the end users.

Faster, More Accurate and Versatile Portable 3D Scanner

With these perspectives and issues in mind, Creaform developed the HandySCAN BLACK, a patented third-generation metrology-grade scanner. First, the high-performance tool meets the rising quality standards with its 4X superior resolution. Thanks to the unique and versatile combination of newly improved high-performance optics and multiple blue laser technology, the 3D scanner now captures finer details and larger volumes. In addition, it performs more accurate and traceable measurements with a volumetric accuracy of 0.020 mm + 0.040 mm/m. This specification is compliant with the German standard VDI/ VDE 2634 part 3 and is certified ISO 17025, ensuring that reliability and full traceability meet international standards.
Moreover, this new metrology-grade tool now has a larger scanning area covered by 11 blue laser crosses, which can take up to 1,300,000 measurements per second. Such a measurement speed - 3X faster than the previous version — ensures optimized acquisition time and data processing rate in order to provide users with an instant mesh. In short, the workflow from data acquisition to ready-to-use files has never been faster.
In short, the HandySCAN BLACK is the jack-of-all-trades of 3D scanners. With its adaptative scanning area and limitless scanning volume, it can measure every part whatever its size, material, finish, and complexity. Also, because the resolution was quadrupled, in comparison with the previous model, the scanner is now the preferred choice for scanning small injection plastic parts or small sheet metal parts.

Designing New, Complex, and Innovative Parts with a Competitive Advantage

With its ISO 17025 accreditation, the HandySCAN BLACK is the best choice to reach the highest accuracy and the finest level of detail to ensure full traceability of the measuring system. It is the jack-of-all-trades of 3D scanners that can be used in every step of the product lifecycle management (PLM) process, from concept and design to manufacturing and servicing. It also stands as the new standard in portable metrology for first article inspection (FAI) and quality assurance (QA).
The new portable 3D scanner is an indispensable tool for product designers, who will be able to maintain a strong competitive advantage in designing new, complex, and innovative parts. It is also an essential device for process and production engineers, who can now accelerate the time-to-market by reducing delays in production. Finally, the HandySCAN BLACK is a fundamental instrument for quality assurance managers, who will now be able to reduce production downtime by quickly locating and fixing problems.
This new Creaform scanner combines high-performance 3D scanning, new and improved optics, multiple blue laser technology, and ergonomic design with the distinctive simplicity and portability advantages that are a staple of the company´s products. Their flagship portable metrology-grade 3D scanner sets the standard for the measurement of all kinds of parts, regardless of their size, material, finish, and complexity, within seconds anywhere.