Hexagon Technology Center Gmbh

Leica Geosystems Ag

Claudio Iseli

Bernhard Sprenger

Josef Müller

Jochen Scheja

Thomas Bösch

Silvan Meile

Markus Geser

Bo Pettersson

Jürg Hinderling

Pascal Jordil

Matthias Wieser

Thomas Jensen

Charles Leopold Elisabeth Dumoulin

Roman Steffen

Hannes Maar

Patrik Lengweiler

Frank Przygodda

Marcel Rohner

Bernd Reimann

Johan Stigwall

Beat Aebischer

Simon Mark

Oliver Faix

Heinz Bernhard

Thomas Ammer

Lukas Heinzle

Alexandre Heili

Alberto Tarizzo

Asif Rana

Danick Brühlmann

Lukas Baumann

Jürgen Schneider

Katrin Mentl

Michael Schlenkrich-Erasmus

Michael Reiterer

Paolo Mastrapasqua

Frank Lamping

Roland Burgstaller

Marc Thelen

Frank Valpertz

Claudio D'angelo

A capacitive distance sensor for determining distances from an object, wherein the distance sensor has at least one sensor electrode and at least one compensation electrode. Deviations from an ideal parallel orientation of distance sensor and object and/or errors caused by capacitive edge effects can be compensated by means of the compensation electrode.

Capacitive distance sensor

An auxiliary measuring instrument, configured to form together with a ground-based surveying device having range-and-direction measuring functionality, a system for surveying or staking out object points, wherein the auxiliary measuring instrument including a handheld main body of a defined length, and a man-machine interface, wherein the auxiliary measuring instrument is designed in a pen-like form and size and is configured to aim at an object point to be surveyed or staked out in a one-handed manner with a first end of the auxiliary measuring instrument and wherein a body is attached at a second end of the auxiliary measuring instrument, wherein the body is designed for optical-image-based determination of the position of the auxiliary measuring instrument by the surveying device.

Surveying system and auxiliary measuring device

A method comprising: setting up a stationary surveying device at a first known positioning in a surrounding area of the object; retrieving from a memory a set of object points of an object to be surveyed and/or to be marked; surveying and/or marking from a first positioning object points of the set of object points that can be surveyed and/or can be marked from the first positioning by means of the free beam, on the basis of a target direction; ascertaining missing object points of a set of object points; relocating the surveying device to a second, unknown positioning in the surrounding area of the object; automatically determining a second positioning by the surveying device on the basis of the knowledge of the first positioning, so that the second positioning is known; surveying and/or marking missing object points by means of the free beam from the second positioning.

Surveying system and auxiliary measuring instrument

A calibrating method and system for an auxiliary measuring instrument which is designed to form together with a ground-based, stationary, surveying device having range-and-direction measuring functionality, a total station, a system for surveying and/or staking out object points. The auxiliary measuring instrument including a body which has a code for determining the orientation by using a pivoting movement of the body about a resting contact end of the auxiliary measuring instrument.

A computer program product for numerically correcting an endpoint position of a Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) implemented on a computing unit, receiving as input temporally resolved information from a set of sensors attached to or integrated into the CMM, and to a method for numerically correcting an endpoint position of a CMM, wherein errors between a targeted endpoint position and an actual endpoint position reached during a measurement process are numerically compensated through the use of the computer program product.

Dynamical modeling of CMMs for numerically correcting measurement results

Object analysis comprising measuring a frequency-dependent natural oscillation behavior of the object by dynamically-mechanically exciting the object in a defined frequency range (f) by means of generating a body oscillation by applying a test signal, and detecting a body oscillation generated in the object on account of the exciting. Moreover, the method involves simulating a frequency-dependent natural oscillation behavior for the object by generating a virtual digital representation of the object, and carrying out a finite element analysis on the basis of the virtual representation comprising dynamically exciting, in a simulated manner, the virtual representation into a virtual frequency range for generating a virtual body oscillation, calculating the virtual body oscillation generated in the object on account of the exciting in a simulated manner, and deriving an object state on the basis of a comparison of the measured natural oscillation behavior and the simulated frequency-dependent natural oscillation behavior.

Oscillation analysis on an object produced by means of additive manufacturing

A computer program product and to a method for compensating thermal errors in a mechanical process, the mechanical process in particular provided by a mechanical device such as a coordinate measuring machine, a tooling machine or an articulated robot arm. Thermal errors arise due to thermal disturbances affecting the mechanical process, wherein thermal disturbances may arise from environmental influences affecting the mechanical process or from internally generated changing temperature distributions.

Advanced thermal compensation of mechanical processes

A method of compensating errors in a coordinate measuring machine adapted for determination of at least one spatial coordinate of a measurement point on an object to be measured. The method comprises measuring a distance from the first reference element to the first structural component, wherein the measured distance indicates a displacement or a deformation of the first structural component, defining a dynamic model with a first set of state variables, the state variables being related to a set of physical properties of the reference module and representing an actual state of the reference module, deriving the actual state of the reference module by a calculation based on the dynamic model, and deducing compensation parameters based on the actual state.

Error compensation for coordinate measuring machines using a reference module

Method for providing avoiding of excitations of oscillations of a measuring machine and/or for reducing or damping such oscillations by actively controlling a driving unit of the measuring machine or actively controlling an actuation of an additionally attached actuator. The method using information about an actual state of the measuring device, the actual state is derived based on a dynamic model and/or by use of a suitable sensor unit. A state controller, an actuator or a frequency-filtering element are used for counteracting or preventing oscillations.

Active damping of a measuring device

A machine state monitoring system for recurrently determining a change in static or dynamic properties of a geometry of a machine with positional encoders to derive a coordinate information of at least a first machine portion with respect to a second machine portion, which are movable with respect to one another. The monitoring system includes one calibration-monitoring-unit with an optical, at least two-dimensional measuring location sensing unit which is fixed to the first machine portion and configured to optically sense an at least two dimensional location information of an artifact which is provided at the second machine portion, and temporarily moved into a sensing range for determining the change in the static or dynamic properties of the geometry of the machine by a comparison of multiple of such sensings, the compensation parameters are then updated and is used to derive the coordinate information from the encoders.

Machine geometry monitoring

A system for providing state information for at least a part of a tool positioning machine embodied as manipulating machine or as coordinate measuring machine is provided. The system comprises the tool positioning machine defining a machine coordinate system and having a base and a machine structure. The structure comprises a tool head and structural components for linking the tool head to the base, at least one drive mechanism for providing movability of the machine structure relative to the base, a position determining system for deriving at least one coordinate of the machine structure in the machine coordinate system and a controlling unit adapted for controlling movement of the machine structure. The system comprises a calibration setup. A calibration component is mounted on the machine structure and defines a moveable reference point, another calibration component is arranged with defined spatial relation to the base and provides a nominal calibration position.

System for determining a state of a tool positioning machine

A Self-monitoring manufacturing system adapted to produce at least one object. The system includes at least a first processing facility adapted to perform a respective first processing step with the object, and a production control unit, wherein the production data comprises nominal pre-processing object data. A production monitoring unit for checking a pre-processing object state of the object is arranged, such unit being adapted to obtain actual property data of the object in-line of the production in-advance of applying the first processing step, to generate deviation data by comparing the actual property data with the production data for the first processing step, and to provide the deviation data for performing the first production step with the first processing facility in deviation-adjusted manner.

Self-monitoring manufacturing system

A hexapod CMM or hexapod-like CMM has a base structure and a movable structure connected to each other by at least three telescopically extendable legs via spherical joints. Each of the telescopically extendable legs comprises a linear first member and a linear second member having countersliding surfaces and are designed in such a way that allows a relative, linear movement of the first linear member and the second linear member. Further each of the telescopically extendable legs has an air cushioning mechanism, which comprises at least one air supply system connected to at least one source of compressed air and having at least one air escape. The air escape is arranged in such a way that compressed air escaping the air escape flows into a gap between the countersliding surfaces of the at least two linear members of the leg cushioning the two linear members against each other.

Non-cartesian hexapod or hexapod-like coordinate measuring machine

A coordinate measuring machine (CMM) having a belt drive unit for an elongated axis element of the CMM, the belt drive unit comprising a belt, the ends of which are clamped on the elongated axis element, a pulley unit, comprising a drive pulley and two idler pulleys, wherein the belt entangles the drive pulley and the idle pulleys in an omega-shaped manner, and wherein the pulley unit is configured to cause a relative linear movement between the axis element and the pulley unit, wherein a damping layer is disposed adjacent to the belt.

Coordinate measuring machine with an improved belt drive

Growing community of inventors

Au, Switzerland

Claudio Iseli