Creaform has released the latest addition to its MetraScan 3D line up. Pitched by Creaform as the fastest and most accurate portable optical CMM scanner, the MetraScan Black can be seamlessly integrated in any quality control, quality assurance, inspection, MRO or reverse engineering workflow. Moreover, the company says the device can be operated by users of any skill level in any type of environment.

The MetraScan Black dimensional metrology system has been developed to measure complex parts and assemblies from an array of manufacturing processes and industries, such as automotive, aerospace, power generation, heavy engineering, casting, forging, sheet metal, injection moulding and composites.
MetraScan Black features 15 blue laser crosses for larger scanning areas that take up to 1,800,000 measurements per second and perform live meshing, ultimately cutting down the time between acquisition and workable files. The device also features a measurement resolution of 0.025 mm to generate highly detailed scans of any object.
Accuracy of 0.025 mm is based on VDI/VDE 2634 part 3 to ensure complete reliability and full traceability to international standards. To enhance shop-floor accuracy, MetraScan Black features patented dynamic referencing that compensates for the instabilities of surrounding environments.
When paired with the Creaform HandyProbe, the MetraScan Black lets users harness the capabilities of both 3D scanning and probing for a complete, streamlined inspection process. Customers can choose from two models – Black and Black Elite – based on speed, part complexity and accuracy requirements.
“Product quality issues impact scrap rate, production ramp-up, production rate and downtime, ultimately affecting manufacturing costs and overall profitability,” says Guillaume Bull, product manager at Creaform. “Manufacturers need to rely on innovative 3D measurement technologies, like MetraScan 3D, to refine their product development and quality control processes.”
For further information www.creaform3d.com

Based on many years of positive experience with products from clamping device specialist Röhm, BoKa Automation GmbH is relying on two-jaw grippers for its newest development. With these products, a robot grips individual workpieces for further part handling directly on the machine.
Following its formation in 2014, BoKa Automation GmbH has grown into a €1.8m turnover concern. Co-founder Severin Bobon describes the company mission: “Our main goal has always been to provide the best possible service and solutions to customers.” This is a principle that was followed in the development of CodaBot, the newest product from BoKa.
CodaBot stands for ‘Collaborative Discharge Assistant Robot’. Since a wide variety of workpieces are to be handled by CodaBot, flexibility is the top priority, even for the grippers.
A system located near Hamburg shows how CodaBot operates. There, medical products – namely bone pins made of titanium – are removed from a turning machine automatically. Afterwards, a titanium chip is removed from a frontal thread bore, in order to clean the bone pin in an ultrasonic bath. A device then cleans and blow dries the bone pin in order to then deposit the sensitive workpieces free of damage and scratches. This objective is a challenge, even for the Röhm grippers.
Machining is performed from conventional 3 m bar; the workpieces can be up to 100 mm in diameter. A two-jaw gripper is deployed, the RPP50 from Röhm, which has been modified with special features according to customer requirements. Depending on the workpiece dimensions, smaller or larger grippers are used, which can be pneumatically actuated and are designed to be self-holding.
A wide variety of such two-jaw grippers is available from Röhm. Equipped with two parallel fingers, they are especially suited for gripping round and angular-shaped workpieces.
For further information www.roehm.biz

Mack Brooks Exhibitions has postponed EuroBLECH 2020, which was scheduled to take place at the Hanover Exhibition Grounds in Germany on 27-30 October.

The new date for the show, which focuses on sheet metalworking technology, is 9-12 March 2021. However, a digital innovation summit will take place on the original date.
Nicola Hamann, managing director of Mack Brooks Exhibitions, says: “Following feedback from our exhibitors and visitors indicating the need to participate in an event, even if not in physical form, we will organise a digital innovation summit taking place on 27-30 October. This event will provide our exhibitors with a platform to demonstrate their latest machines and solutions, and arrange virtual meetings with international visitors. We believe it is our duty to assist the industry through these extraordinary times by offering a marketplace as a platform for innovations and a starting point for the recovery of industry.”
For further information www.euroblech.com

Dormer Pramet has agreed to acquire the business of India-based Miranda Tools, a manufacturer of HSS and solid-carbide cutting tools, subject to conditions.

With a corporate base in Mumbai and several manufacturing facilities in the state of Gujarat, Miranda is one of the leading domestic cutting-tool brands. Employing more than 580 people, the company offers a portfolio that includes drills, taps, milling cutters and saws.
The acquisition will enhance Dormer Pramet’s production capabilities with a proven manufacturing platform and further strengthen the company’s round tools offer for the general engineering, automotive component manufacturing and MRO industries. Dormer Pramet is a global cutting-tool manufacturer with more than 20 sales offices around the world, including in New Delhi, supporting sales to more than 90 markets.
For further information www.dormerpramet.com

Water Jet Sweden has launched Alphajet, the next generation of taper angle control (TAC) and perpendicular waterjet cutting.

Alphajet is mechatronics based on compact design with a fixed TCP point. According to the company, extraordinary cutting result are achieved with carefully selected machine elements and small precise movements at an angular accuracy within ±0.05 mm.
Alphajet features a compact design that means lower weight and less limitations on the work area. This factor is extra beneficial for those who want to arm their machine with more than one cutting tool. Users can fit up to four Alphajet systems on the same machine, thereby quadrupling the cutting capacity without compromising accuracy.
The less movement, the higher accuracy. This principle was one of the guidelines when designing Alphajet, which has a fixed TCP so that the machine’s X and Y axes do not need to move in order to handle TAC.
Alphajet also features a proprietary gearbox design. The 45-30-30° angles require very small movements in the A and B axes when cutting, while the choice to position the tool holder very low on the cutting head provides a low rotation point with small, more accurate movements. Alphajet has the ability to withstand a maximum angular compensation TAC up to ±13°, which the company says is the best on the market.
The mechatronic system is equipped with Fanuc absolute servomotors, thus no reference cycle needs to be run. These absolute motors are directly connected in a harmonic drivetrain to eliminate any mechanical sources of error, such as backlash and play.
No special CADCAM programs are required as IGEMS basic CAM waterjet modules already contain data for the most common materials.
For further information www.waterjetsweden.co.uk