www.faro.com/sea
LS News 2008/Q3 Edition
LASER SCANNING AT AUDI: RECORDING REALITY’S DIGITAL FINGERPRINT BUZZ, constantly rotating on its own Ò Aaxis,DISCREET as well as a mirror, turning swiftly — one minute later displayed on the monitor: an accurately detailed representation of the long hall, the labyrinth of pipes over various thicknesses on the wall, the production machines in the area; in Fish-Eye-Optic, greyscale and in 3D. When completed this cloud consists of eight million points from the Laser Scanner LS 880 from FARO. Audi in Györ, Hungary, which employs 5,000 people in the motor and Audi TT model production, have been using the Laser Scanner since mid 2003. Attila Perge, Team Coordinater CAD-Team in the Factory Planning department, has not regretted his decision to purchase it: "At the time this was the best device on the market. We chose this scanner, due to the 360°-image it delivers, and it is also quasi spherical. Also, the scan speed and the resolution were unbeatable.“
Spheres as reference points The scanner is mounted on a trolley, offering a mobile measurement station — including notebook and power supply. To scan, the laser is positioned over a point marked on the floor of the workspace. 8mm thread bolts are positioned around the surrounding area, specific spheres coated white with a 14.5 cm diameter are screwed onto the bolts. These special spheres are the reference points allowing the scans to be positioned relative to one another. A minimum of three spheres are necessary to reference a scan. The exact coordinates of the reference bolts were measured by an external surveying firm. After 4.5 minutes and a 360° rotation of the laser on its axis, the scan is completed and is automatically saved. Mr. Perge continued, “including the setup and stowing of the equipment, a scan takes approximately 15 minutes which means that in one day up to 40 scans can be completed.” In a complete production
hall, including all of the machines, up to 500 scans can be completed.
Documentation and nominal / actual value comparison
From the point cloud to CAD data
Why are the scans performed? Mr. Perge answers: “Naturally to create a basis documentation of the actual builds beforehand, then to scan during and following the modification.“ This allows the actual status of a project to be presented in the CAD system, and wing designers to evaluate whether the proposed modifications can proceed or if additional changes are necessary.
The point cloud, produced through a scan, records the distance from the scanner for every single measured point. In order to work with the data, it is first filtered and transformed. To achieve this, FARO offers the software tool, FARO Scene, with which the data can be prepared for export into a CAD system. The reference spheres are manually recognised. Linked to the hall survey data, the scan can then be correctly positioned within the hall. The area to be modelled is selected within the point cloud, and the data exported into the CAD system. In Audi’s case, this is the Bentley Microstation. On the basis of the points, objects can be realised in the CAD system. FARO Scene supports not only Microstation but also other systems like AutoCAD, CATIA, I-Deas, PDS, IGrip, PDMs and RobCad.
Ò PERFECTION IN Schuco has acquired the FARO Laser Scanner LS to further improve the quality of their historic models which are popular worldwide — in particular with collectors. With the system, they can create CAD data which not only improves the attention to detail of the models but also leads to considerable time savings in the development process. For more than 70 years, Schuco, a company from Fürth, (Germany) has been among the world’s leading producers of model cars for collectors. They have a clear strategy with their model range: in addition to current vehicles they have historic models of automobiles, commercial vehicles as well as tractors in the
For example: During the construction of a new hall the course of the pipe work must be altered. A scan can be performed and the designer can import the data of the modified area into Microstation to compare the new object data to the planned data and modify the planned data.
DETAIL scales of 1:43 and 1:18. Above all, however, Schuco sets a high value on the quality and accuracy of detail of the models. “We hope that the use of the Laser Scanner LS will allow for significant time savings with the overall process, because we no longer have to create time-consuming constructions based on the pictures but have the CAD data available. As soon as the CAD data of a vehicle is available to us, we can push the development of the model. We assume the use of the scanner will enable us to reduce lead time for a model from 12 to 9 months,” explains Norbert Lörke from Product Development.
22
LS News
FOR
HIGH PERFORMANCE
Ò
DESIGNED
Designed with user friendliness in mind, the high performance of the Scanner can be used with minimal training to capture 3D point cloud data. Whether documenting a 50,000 square foot building or accurately capturing the scene of a crime, the possible applications are almost unlimited. The scanner offers:
Photorealistic 3-D images The FARO Laser Scanner LS produces three dimensional black and white images where every pixel has an X,Y and Z coordinate. For enhanced realism, colour can be added to the pixels through an upgrade option. Measurements can be made directly in the point cloud and 3D objects can be generated. These can be used to create dimensionally accurate CAD models.
High speed In less than a minute the FARO Laser Scanner LS can take an 8 mega pixel scan of the surrounding area. This is up to 100 times faster than conventional scanners, thus reducing the time needed for capturing data on-site, increasing the efficiency and profitability of the data capture.
Modularity The FARO Laser Scanner LS is constructed with interchangable modules — the distance sensor, mirror module and PC module. This makes the unit easy to maintain and has the added advantage that additional modules can be purchased to benefit from future developments such as long range modules or high accuracy modules. This secures the investment and ensures that cutting edge technology remains affordable.
Proven technology Many years of experience in the practical application of the technology can be seen in the design. The Scanner is compact with sealed units, push-button operation and can be geo-referenced making it suitable for daily operation in difficult environments.
N EW LS P RODUCTS
AND
A B C
A CCESSORIES [A] PDA Together with our new WLAN (WiFi) connection, the PDA controls your FARO Laser Scanner wireless.
[B] Colour Bracket Our new Colour Bracket allows you to take colour scans without any parallax errors.
[C] FARO WLAN Now you can control your FARO Laser Scanner with your notebook computer or PDA from any point within the range of your WiFi network.
D
FARO Laser Scanner LS Software Packages
T
he FARO Laser Scanner LS880 and LS420 are able to digitise a large variety of objects. The new software packages enable FARO to cover at least 80 percent of the LS’ broad market potential, as each package offers a specialised solution for professionals in Architecture, Historical Preservation, Forensic Investigation, Tunnel & Mining, Product Design and Quality Assurance, as well as Process and Power Plants, Re-Engineering and Asset Management. In order to deliver the most effective solutions to FARO customers, FARO has partnered with the leading software in each industry: Autodesk, ATS, Inn.TecJRC, INOVx, Geomagic and many others. The FARO LS’ rapid data collection increases productivity by dramatically reducing the amount of on-site scanning time, and the new, industry-specific software packages enable users to process and present their results quickly and more effectively. The eight available software packages include:
D
E
[D] Battery Allows cable free Super Mobile Scanning.
[E] Backpack With the FARO LS Backpack, your Laser Scanner will go wherever you can go!
s
FARO Architecture based on FARO Cloud and Autodesk ADT enables fast 3D modelling for buildings.
s
FARO Design Studio based on Geomagic Shape Studio enables fast 3D modelling of any scanned product shape.
s
FARO Compare based on Geomagic Qualify allows easy geometrical comparisons to would-be 3D shapes of CAD drawings.
s
FARO Process, Power & Piping based on INOVx PlantLINx enables efficient 3D-modelling of process industry equipment and sites. Excellent for fast Asset Management with export to AVEVA and Intergraph.
s
FARO Forensic helps the police force to analyse blood splatter, bullet shot trajectories and suspect height.
s
FARO Tunnel & Mining based on ATS RRTunnel helps to analyse and compare existing Tunnels against CAD and normal profiles.
s
FARO Heritage based on JRC Reconstructor allows efficient modelling and presentation of cultural heritage objects.
[F] Tripod The light-weight carbon fibre tripod gives you the necessary mobility, with full stability - despite it´s weight of only about 3.5kg.
F
[G] FARO Scene V4.1 Now all FARO Laser Scanner Software is being offered in the Langauges English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese.Version 4.1 increases productivity by dramatically reducing the amount of on-site scanning time, and enables users to process and present their results more effectively. FARO Scene v4.1 brings several major benefits to our customers and expands on our unique solution for professionals in laser scanning.
All these tools cooperate directly with FARO Scene, the Company’s high-performance, user-friendly software for viewing, administrating, filtering and managing large 3D point clouds collected with the FARO Laser Scanner LS and can provide an even faster return on investment for more markets than ever before.
Process, Power & Piping in Malaysia
LS News
33
Ò SOFTWARE
H OW THE L ASER S CANNER LS C AN B E U SED TO D OCUMENT A C RIME S CENE
Virtually Offshore with
PLANT DESIGN ENGINEERS In the shadow of the Petronas Towers in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Plant Design Engineer teams are able to virtually walk around offshore platforms taking measurements and planning alterations. The question of accurate as-built data being made available to engineers and planners has found a new answer.
Conventional forensic surveys of crime or accident scenes — known as “total station work” — involve photographing the scene from numerous angles with a standard camera, tape measuring distances between critical objects, and diagramming relative positions of pieces of evidence. This survey technique has two fundamental weaknesses: time sensitivity and point-of-view. First, crime and accident scenes are time sensitive and can be corrupted in a matter of minutes. Second, a forensic team generally approaches a scene with a theory of what took place, and if they are wrong, it may be impossible to go back to the scene for a second try. Pine Falls Technical Services — a metrology consulting firm — showed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Winnipeg Police Department, how a laserbased imaging device could piece together the remains of a vehicle that had been
Petrochemical facilities built in an era before Computer Aided Design often have little or no documentation whatsoever of what was constructed. Even those with detailed plans often underwent changes and restruc- turing, meaning the old plans do not accurately match what exists today. Pipes, valves and reducers may have been moved or replaced to accommodate a change in the facility while storm damage may have caused the rework of a particular area. Whatever the reason, planned or unplanned changes to offshore facilities mean that any records kept during the initial construction become outdated and refits planned on inaccurate data cause unexpected last minute alterations to be made. In order to plan for refits or alterations, accurate data of what currently exists (as- built) is necessary to ensure an on time turnaround. Even a day’s delay during a refit can cost millions of dollars in lost production time.
FARO & INOVx launch RealityLINx Exchange for AVEVA PDMS
INOVx Solutions, Inc., the leading provider of solutions for Asset Certainty™ in partnership with FARO Technologies, Inc., the world’s single source for a complete line of portable CAM2 solutions, used the INTERGEO fair in Leipzig, Germany, to launch RealityLINx Exchange for AVEVA PDMS, a new software tool to render FARO scan data to AVEVA PDMS. Additional interfaces to other popular CAD systems like Intergraph PDS, AutoCAD and Bentley MicroStation will be developed next. RealityLINx is a best-in-class software suite for Virtualization™ that allows for the creation and dayto-day use of intelligent virtual models seamlessly with existing enterprise software systems such as SAP PM, OSIsoft PI and Meridium. RealityLINx Exchange provides new support and functionality for working with laser scan point clouds including the ability to dynamically provide point cloud data to popular CAD systems. Now the resulting point cloud data from FARO Laser Scanners can also be imported into RealityLINx Exchange, reformatted and then rendered in AVEVA PDMS as the basis for capital projects and on-going engineering modifications. A must tool for all FARO Laser Scanner users!
Precise Casting Mould
“To document this information in an accurate and organised manner is a small investment for any petrochemical firm but the returns and the value of such data is enormous which is one reason why PD Engineers are such a success,” concluded Ron from PD Engineers.
in their words... “It seemed like a natural fit for reconstructing crime or accident scenes.”
Crystal Cave Scanning
First an asset database is created. This allows pipes, valves, reducers, etc. to be matched with standard specifications. Then the scan data is segmented to allow large quantities to be easily managed, and assisted modelling allows the user to quickly match specified features within the scan data. Once the entire facility is modelled, the “intelligence” shows exactly what each specific pipe would be carrying including information such as liquid or gas temperature, pressure, etc.
and fast, quickly freeing up the area for civilian use. The destroyed car and scattered parts were digitally captured all around the gravel pit, giving a comprehensive view of what happened in the explosion. “We knew how fast the FARO Laser Scanner LS worked and the extreme detail of the images that it produced,” explained Doug Ursel of Pine Falls Technical Services. “It seemed like a natural fit for reconstructing crime or accident scenes.”
Power and Piping
To capture the virtual world, PD Engineers use the Laser Scanner LS from FARO Technologies. INOVx Solutions,a software partner of FARO Technologies, PlantLINx and RealityLINx are used by PD Engineers to model the cap- tured data.
destroyed by a bomb. A pipe bomb was placed under the front seat of a large station wagon. What police saw was a blast that scattered parts of the car around the pit, but left a major piece of it intact. The training demonstration gave Pine Falls’ engineers a chance to apply new technology to what has been an age-old problem of forensic surveys. The FARO LS is the latest in a new generation of metrology tools. Essentially, the device is a 3D camera that employs a laser as a light source, capturing the reflected image in extreme detail. A scene sweep can be 360°x 320° with a range as far as 76 meters. It captures 120,000 points per second – up to 100 times faster than most time-of-flight scanners. In forensics, a primary benefit is the fidelity and permanence of the images, plus the ability to view the image from any angle. The test at Winnipeg showed that gathering crime scene data can now be simple
Model control with Scanner LS
Doug Ursel Pine Falls Technical Services
4
Call us for a FREE demo or visit www.faro.com/sea
News
NEW – UP TO 30% HIGHER PERFORMANCE The only 8-foot portable measurement arm certified to .0007” (.018mm) repeatability
NEW – EXCLUSIVE FARO I-PROBE Individually serialised with automatic size recognition and built-in probe temperature sensor
NEW – BLUETOOTH® CABLE-FREE OPERATION Wirelessly inspect and digitise up to 30ft. (10m) away
NEW – ERGONOMIC HANDLE FOR 6 & 7 AXIS MODELS Improves ease-of-use, comfort and measurement effectiveness
NEW – AUTO SLEEP MODE Automatically turns off unit to save energy and extend component life
NEW – UNIVERSAL QUICK MOUNT Adds mounting flexibility while reducing setup time Also available in 6 Axis configuration
Infinite Rotation for non-stop measuring
Space-Age composite construction
Scanhead positioned for better ergonomics and unobstructed hard probing Use Laser and Hard Probes seamlessly Laser scan up to 19,200 points per second No intermediary software running in the background
FARO Laser ScanArm V3 Higher Accuracy. Enhanced Performance. Lighter Weight
The Ultimate Por table CMM!
Fusion FaroArm
The all-new FARO Laser ScanArm V3 is ideal for inspection, point cloud-to-CAD comparison, rapid prototyping, reverse engineering and 3D modelling. Users can hard-probe measure simple point variations, then laser scan sections for larger volumes of data – without the wasted time of adding/ removing attachments, untangling cabling or importing data from another CMM. Compatible with Geomagic, Polyworks, Rapidform and many other 3rd-party software programs, the ScanArm empowers you to bring top-quality products to market more quickly.
Quality Without Compromise NEW – HIGHER ACCURACY, GREATER VALUE 15% Accuracy improvement over its predecessor the Titanium FaroArm
TEMPERATURE SENSORS Located in each joint, they allow the Arm to react to thermal variations for maximum accuracy and portability
NEW – BLUETOOTH® CABLE-FREE OPERATION Inspect and digitize wirelessly up to 30ft. (10m) away
LIGHTWEIGHT CONSTRUCTION High-strength, lightweight construction for total portability and true “measure anywhere” performance
INTERNAL COUNTERBALANCE Internal counter balancing provides comfortable stress-free usage
Platinum FaroArm Mos t Common Applications Aerospace: Alignment, Tooling & Mold Certification, Part Inspection Automotive: Tool Building & Certification, Alignment, Part Inspection Metal Fabrication: OMI, First article inspection, Periodic Part Inspection Molding/Tool & Die: Mold and Die Inspection, Prototype Part Scanning
MULTI-PROBE CAPABILITY Includes various Ball Diameters, Curved and Extended Probes
UNIVERSAL 3.5” QUICK MOUNT Universal 3.5” quick-mount offers “Mount-it-where-you-make-it” convenience and less downtime
Quantum FaroArm
One Step Closer to Perfection
5
News
Suzuki Saves Manufacturing Time with FaroArm Suzuki Manufacturing of America Corp. (SMAC) opened
The Platinum FaroArm satisfied both requirements.
in Rome, Georgia, in May 2002 as Suzuki’s only U.S.-
The accuracy and speed of the FaroArm were key
based manufacturing facility and began producing the
factors in the decision to turn to a FARO solution.
industry’s first 4-wheeled All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs).
The implementation process was straightforward
Today, SMAC employees build frames, mold plastic,
and they benefit from using the advanced, yet
and assemble ATVs at a rate of more than 200 units per
easy-to use device every day.
eight-hour shift. Last year alone, almost 60,000 ATVs came off the line and in March 2008, the Rome facility
The FaroArm has improved SMAC’s consistency
celebrated the production of its 250,000th ATV.
and overall quality levels. They continue to find new applications every day, but the greatest value
SMAC measures and inspects various parts including
gained remains the time savings as the FaroArm
ATV frames, suspension and engine parts, rims and grip
helps SMAC meet their deadlines more quickly
carriers. These different parts range greatly in size and
and efficiently.
complexity. Suzuki used a stationary CMM which, although accurate, also often proved to be too slow for
During the past quarter century, Suzuki has done
their manufacturing schedules and timeframes. They
more than just give birth to a new industry;
also
it continuously sets new standards as to what
used traditional hand tools – such as calipers, height
consumers should demand in quality and
gauges and micrometers – but these presented their
performance.
own problems of accuracy, repeatability and automatic report generation. SMAC needed something that provided accuracy similar to a stationary CMM, but with the convenience and
FARO Platinum Arm
speed of hand tools.
FARO Laser Tracker X
FARO Gage & Gage-PLUS
TEMPERATURE & OVERLOAD SENSORS Located in each joint, they allow the Arm to “feel” and react to thermal variations and improper handling for maximum accuracy
XTREMEADM Acquires the beam instantly with fast,
NEW — BLUETOOTH® CABLE-FREE OPERATION
high-accuracy Absolute Distance Measurement
Inspect and digitize wirelessly up to 30ft. (10m) away
SELFCOMP OPTIONAL 7-AXIS AVAILABILITY Provides an additional Axis of Rotation for non-contact Laser Line Probes or curved probes
INTERNAL COUNTERBALANCING Internal counter balancing provides comfortable stress-free usage
MULTI-PROBE CAPABILITY
1.2M ( 48” ) WORKING VOLUME Ideal for all your small parts, molds and assemblies
TEMPERATURE & OVERLOAD SENSORS
Automatically compensates to quickly ensure high accuracy
Allow the Gage to “feel” and react to thermal variations and improper handling for maximum accuracy
FULL FEATURED STANDARD EQUIPMENT
INTERNAL COUNTERBALANCING
Integrated Precision Level and Weather Station is included
Allows the user to move FARO Gage easily with one hand which eliminates fatigue
SMART WARM-UP
MULTI-PROBE CAPABILITY
“measure anywhere” capability
Newly expanded operating temperature, along with Active Thermal Compensation make it ready for all environments
EXTENDED-USE BATTERY
VERSATILE MOUNTING OPTIONS
EXTENDED-USE BATTERY
Integrated extended-use battery provides true “measure anywhere” capability
Mounts vertically, horizontally or upside down, providing versatility in tight or congested shop areas
Optional — Provides true
NEW — AUTO SLEEP MODE
“measure anywhere” capability
Includes various Ball Diameters, Touch-Sensitive, Curved and Extensions
Automatically turn off unit to save energy and extend component life
SPHERICALLY MOUNTED RETROREFLECTORS Certified Precision Probes
Including various Ball Diameters, Touch-Sensitive, Curved, and Extensions
“measure anywhere” capability
UNIVERSAL 3.5” QUICK MOUNT offers “mount-it-to-where-you-make-it” convenience and less downtime
News
6
Call us for a FREE demo or visit www.faro.com/sea
JANUARY-JULY 2008 GALLERY
Thailand Automotive & Parts Inspection Seminar
events
FARO Thailand hosted the 1st Automotive & Parts Inspection seminar on 29th February 2008 at the ThaiGerman Institute. This 1-day seminar attracted more than 60 participants. The live demonstration of our 2 Arm additions - Quantum FaroArm and Fusion FaroArm, were one of the main highlights of the seminar. Participants were also given the opportunity to measure their actual prototypes.
exhibitions MTA Malaysia 2008 The MTA Malaysia exhibition held in Kuala Lumpur was a huge success with a total of 24,000 visitors from 69 different countries. The event has once again gathered the world’s leading metalworking and precision engineering solution providers and top buyers in the Malaysia manufacturing industry. FARO is proud to participate in the annual MTA Malaysia. This exhibition is reputed to be THE EVENT that gathers the world’s leading metalworking and precision engineering solution providers and top buyers in the manufacturing industry. Live demonstration showcasing the portability and functionality of our products attracted more than 80 visitors to our booth.
InterMold Thailand 2008
InterMold Thailand 2008 attracted more 32,000 quality buyers over the 4-day exhibition. This highly specialised show was an excellent opportunity to showcase our latest technology for the Thailand market. FARO had more than 120 visitors who were keen to view our portable measuring machines.
MTA Hanoi 2008 The 1st MTA exhibition in Hanoi was a huge success which attracted more than 6,000 visitors during the 4-day trade event. Live demonstration of our latest addition - Quantum FaroArm with ScanArm V3 was the main attraction at our booth, which attracted more than 150 visitors.
News
7
ONGOING PROMOTIONS
editorial
UPDATE YOUR PROFILE OR SUBSCRIBE TO OUR E-NEWSLETTER TODAY AND GET A FREE GIFT!
The 1st half of 2008 proved to be another successful period for FARO. The launch of the Quantum FaroArm and the Fusion FaroArm late last year has enabled us to increase our coverage into the different market segments. I’m also extremely excited by our launch of the FARO LaserScanArm V3, and the Photon Laser Scanner 80/20 early this year, giving further value-add to our customers.
Visit our website www.faro.com/sea today!
In this edition, we have a special coverage of our FARO Laser Scanner LS. We have interesting user stories from industries like the Power Plant, Automotive and Forensics sectors. The evolution of this product and technology to suit the market’s needs has been the direct result of our customers’ feedback, hence making them the direct beneficiaries of this advancement. Additionally, it is our pleasure to introduce our valueadded promotions as our way to express our gratitude for your continuous support! If you look at FARO’s overall technology portfolio, you will find that they directly respond to our customers’ need to produce higher-quality products – and deliver them to market – faster than ever. As always, I would like to thank our FARO team in SEA for all their contribution and hard work and also congratulate our customers in using our technology to make their products and processes the best in the world. Share with us at least one interested contact who we do not know yet (contacts will be compared to our customer database). You can give us up to 3 contacts. If the person you’ve referred to us buys a FARO product within the next six months from FARO South East Asia, you will receive an Apple iPod Touch (8 Gigabyte) by mail.
Sincerely, Hakiran Sandhu Regional Country Manager, Asia Pacific
Due to availability it is possible that we may not be able to send your prize immediately after the sales. In this case we will notify you and will send your Apple iPod Touch as soon as possible. This promotion ends on 28 December 2008
FARO Upcoming Events MMT 2008
27 - 30 Aug 2008
Jakarta
Metrology Seminar
Sept
Penang
Metrology Seminar
Oct
Ho Chi Minh
Metalex Thailand 2008
20 - 23 Nov 2008
Bangkok
Manufacturing Indonesia
3 - 6 Dec 2008
Jakarta
Hotline Numbers +800-6511-1350 Singapore
Indonesia
1800-511-1350
00-1803-657842
India
Vietnam
000800-650-1397
120-65-0065
Faro News is circulated across Asia Pacific. Share your FARO success story with us and you could be featured in the next FARO News!
SINGAPORE
AMERICA
Asia Pacific Headquarters Contact: Hakiran Sandhu
FARO Technologies Inc. 125 Technology Park Lake Mary, FL 32746 (800) 736-0234 (407) 333-9911
Korea, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan
share your story
FARO Singapore Pte Ltd 3 Changi South Street 2 #01-01, Xilin Districentre Building B, Singapore 486548 Phone +65 6511 1350 Fax +65 6543 0111 Email : salesap@faro.com www.faro.com/sea
imprint publisher FARO Singapore Pte Ltd, Changi South Street 2, #01-01 Xilin Districentre Tower B, Singapore 486548 tel: +65 6511 1350, fax: +65 6543 0111 email: salesap@faro.com website: www.faro.com/sea
Contributors FARO US Marketing Hakiran Sandhu
Editor Joleena Chia Publication Design Joceyline Leong
© 2008 FARO Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. 04REF102-004.PDF. Revised August 2008.
Q3
www.faro.com/sea
News
2008/Q3 Edition
Major Tool & Machine Uses the FARO Tracker To Increase Opportunities and Meet High Accuracies Requirements One of Major Tool’s many projects required fabrication, machining and inspection of a very complex free-form shaped vessel. Major Tool was able to monitor the material movement during the welding process to help control weld distortion on the shop floor at the work centre. Major Tool also used the FARO Laser Tracker to lay out port hole locations and provide setup points for the machine shop to establish the part coordinate system so the machinist could machine the part. All of this was done with very little part transportation which helps Major Tool maintain its LEAN effort. The FARO Laser Tracker allows Major Tool to easily evaluate parts with unusual geometries as well as cut the waste of large-part transportation. Everyone at Major Tool has embraced the technology and use the FARO Tracker’s capabilities as a strong marketing tool. Major Tool & Machine, Inc. is a contract manufacturing shop located in Indianapolis, Indiana. They provide world-class engineering, fabrication and machining services for industries such as aerospace, defense, launch vehicle, power generation and transportation. Making products that meet the demands of their customers is the foundation for everything Major Tool does. To facilitate these efforts, they needed to find a better and more efficient way to evaluate large parts. Major Tool was using three large fixed-base CMMs, various hand gages and numerous build fixtures. One of the biggest obstacles they faced was that many of the parts were too large to fit their stationary CMMs. Major Tool also needed to evaluate parts with unusual geometries that were best described using a 3D model.
“We have had several jobs that were possible only because we were able to demonstrate to our customers that we could weld, machine and verify the desired product using the FARO Laser Tracker.” - Rob Durham, Major Tool’s Laser Tracker Quality Engineer
Customers were also demanding greater assurance of part conformance, especially with irregularly shaped parts. Major Tool looked at several products to help them meet their customers’ needs and measure the large and/or complex parts that their fixed CMMs could not. After researching their options, they chose the FARO Laser Tracker X due to its high accuracy (up to .0004”) coupled with its reasonable cost.
FARO Named in Forbes’ List of American’s Fastest Growing Tech Companies
FARO CEO Earns Entrepreneur of the Year Award 438 employees to 825 worldwide. All the while, the Company has maintained strong double-digit sales growth year over year.
FARO has been named in Forbes Magazine’s list of America’s 25 Fastest-Growing Tech Companies.
“There are moments in life when the coach receives undue credit for the performance by a team of all stars,” Freeland said during his acceptance speech at the gala event. “Certainly this is one of those moments. I’m honoured by the recognition, and grateful to everyone at FARO who shares in this company-wide achievement.”
In order to make the Forbes list, companies must have:
s
At least 10% annualised sales gains over the past five years
s
Profitability over the past 12 months
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At least $25 million in sales over the past four quarters
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Thomson IBES consensus earnings forecasts of at least 10% annualised earnings growth over the next three to five years
s
Companies with significant legal problems, or with possible accounting or corporate governance issues, based upon guidance provided by Audit Integrity of Los Angeles, are disqualified.
Our President and CEO, Jay Freeland, earned Ernst & Young’s 2008 Florida Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in the Technology category. Freeland came to FARO in October 2004 as President and COO, became co-CEO in February of 2006 and was confirmed as the CEO in December of that same year. Since then FARO has released nine new products, 12 new software versions, established an AsiaPacific headquarters in Singapore, expanded its operations to Mexico, and grown from
Award recipients were selected by an independent panel of judges recognising entrepreneurs who “demonstrate extraordinary success in the areas of innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.” Freeland is now eligible for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur Of The Year 2008 national program, which will be announced in November.