In Spain, a technology center called Eurecat faced challenges in inspecting industrial sheet metal parts. The team needed to work efficiently, but the stringent requirements of product quality inspection exceeded the capabilities of their structured light 3D scanner. After using 3D laser scanning for sheet metal inspection (SHINING 3D’s FreeScan Combo laser 3D scanner), Eurecat overcame the challenge of quality control and improved digitization efficiency by more than 5 times.
3D scanning the sheet metal part with FreeScan Combo
Multifunctional Metrology Laser 3D Scanner
- Blue laser & Infrared light
- Accuracy of 0.02mm
- Powerful and ergonomic
- Reddot winner 2024
Client: Eurecat
Location: Spain
Products: Design and distribution of ISF machines, sheet metal parts manufacturing
Need: Quality inspection of sheet metal parts
Solution: SHINING 3D FreeScan Combo 3D scanner
Results:
- Shiny and reflective parts can be scanned without using scanning sprays
- The digitizing process has sped up 80%
- Fine details can also be captured
Eurecat and the ISF Technology
The ISF machine
Eurecat provides innovative technologies that offer solutions for various sectors, including industrial, digital, biotech, and sustainability. In the industrial sector, they have created a new generation of ISF machines to facilitate the implementation of Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF) technology in the industry. ISF is a technology suitable for producing complex, non-prismatic, and organically shaped parts, allowing the manufacture of sheet metal parts with complex geometries. It is an excellent solution for companies manufacturing products in the automotive, aeronautical, mechanical, and household appliance industries. In addition to machine development, Eurecat offers customization and low-volume production services for aluminum and sheet metal parts.
Whether as a machine developer or a part manufacturer, Eurecat has to measure the parts to ensure the proper functioning of the machine and the quality of the parts produced.
Challenges of Scanning Sheet Metal Parts
Eurecat needed a reliable and efficient way to digitize and measure the sheet metal parts they designed and manufactured. Since 2015, they have been using a grating technology structured light 3D scanner. Although it is a fast and reliable digitizing technique, they still encountered 2 significant difficulties:
Reflective Surfaces
Structured light scanners with grating technology have limitations in acquiring data on reflective surfaces. Objects such as sheet metal parts require scanning spray to matt the surface before scanning. “That was certainly a mess since it added additional steps to our workflow and tedious cleaning tasks afterwards,” a staff from Eurecat claimed.
Key Features
Structured light scanners with grating technology also have limitations in capturing fine details. “Most of the shapes we deal with are smooth and easy to digitize, yet crucial smaller features, such as bent corners or cutting edges, could not be measured with enough detail, with enough resolution,” said an employee from Eurecat.
3D Laser Scanning for Sheet Metal Inspection
Eurecat is looking to solve the above problems with blue laser technology. Blue laser scanners can digitize objects with shiny and reflective surfaces without scanning sprays and provide fine details. They finally chose the FreeScan Combo.
“The blue laser technology from the FreeScan Combo was a promising step forward in the 3D scanner technology”, a staff from Eurecat continued, “seemed to tackle the pain points we were suffering before directly.”
After 8 years of using grating technology, switching to blue laser technology has transformed Eurecat’s quality control process. With the help of the SHINING 3D FreeScan Combo 3D laser scanner, scanning reflective surfaces is no longer a challenge, and the ability to capture fine detail has improved overall inspection accuracy.
Explore What’s New in 3D Printing
-
Transforming Golf Gear with Farsoon 3D Printing: Tees, Ball Markers, and Irons
-
How Atomization Technology Is Transforming Metal Powder Production
-
FGF 3D Printing in Furniture Design: Sustainable, Custom, and Stylish Solutions
-
What Material Is Used for 3D Printing? A Complete Guide to 3D Printing Materials
Frequently asked questions
What is the FreeScan Combo used for?
The SHINING 3D FreeScan Combo is a metrology-grade 3D laser scanner used for inspecting industrial sheet metal parts. It combines blue laser and infrared light with 0.02mm accuracy, and at the Eurecat technology center in Spain it replaced a structured light scanner to handle quality control of ISF-formed sheet metal parts.
How does blue laser 3D scanning handle reflective surfaces?
Blue laser technology digitizes shiny and reflective surfaces without scanning spray. Eurecat's previous structured light scanner required spraying sheet metal parts to matt them first, adding workflow steps and cleaning; switching to the FreeScan Combo removed that step entirely while still capturing fine detail.
How much did the FreeScan Combo improve inspection efficiency?
Eurecat improved digitization efficiency by more than five times and sped up the digitizing process by 80%. The blue laser scanner also captured fine details like bent corners and cutting edges that the older grating-technology structured light scanner could not resolve with enough resolution.
Why did Eurecat switch from structured light to laser scanning?
Eurecat switched because their grating-technology structured light scanner struggled with reflective surfaces and fine details. After eight years using structured light, the blue laser FreeScan Combo let them scan reflective sheet metal without spray and capture crucial small features, transforming their quality control process.
What is Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF)?
ISF is a technology for producing complex, non-prismatic, and organically shaped sheet metal parts with intricate geometries. Eurecat develops a new generation of ISF machines for the automotive, aeronautical, mechanical, and household appliance industries, and also offers customization and low-volume production of aluminum and sheet metal parts.
Have a question or a project? Let’s talk.
Tell us what you need — a real applications engineer replies within 24 hours. NDA standard, no sales script.