Bruker Alicona to showcase FocusX optical measurement technology at Control 2024

Austrian measurement technology manufacturer Bruker Alicona will exhibit at this year's Control 2024 with the objective of showcasing how its optical 3D measurement solutions portfolio caters for every budget. 

After two years of research and development, Bruker Alicona's FoxusX optical measurement system - launched in January - will be tested live for the first time at Control 2024.

The system was launched in January in Graz, Austria, but the leading trade fair for quality assurance will provide FocusX with its first major international stage. According to Bruker Alicona, the special feature of the new system is its price-performance ratio. FocusX is equipped with technologies that currently represent the measure of all things on the market but in a more compact format. Combining the functionalities of a roughness measuring machine and a coordinate measuring machine, Bruker Alicona describes the FocusX as 'one device for all metrology tasks.'

Components with steep flanks, different re-flection properties, and structured roughness can be displayed and measured in high resolution, while the 'Vertical Focus Probing' technology increases the maximum measurable flank angle to over 90°.

In addition to the price issue, Bruker Alicona will also focus on the user-friendliness of optical measurement systems at this year's Control. Experience over the last few decades has shown that roughness measurement in particular is perceived by users as complicated and restrictive. Bruker Alicona has therefore developed a "One Click Roughness" capability to delivers ISO-compliant profile roughness values on the FocusX with a single click. The minimum measurable rough-ness being 0.06 μm. 

Another innovation that Bruker Alicona will be presenting at Control 2024 is the Round Tool Alignment capability. With this software feature, the operator plans the interesting measuring positions for the roundness of the edge directly on the CAD of the milling cutter or drill. The next step is to clamp the tool and go for the measurement. An automated routine of the sensor recognises the orientation of the tool and aligns it with the CAD data.

"We use a unique combination of the optical sensor, the automatic nosepiece, and software intelligence to deter-mine the cutting edge of the tool and thus the orientation," commented Reinhard Danzl, Head of Software at Bruker Alicona. The 3D measurements and the evaluation of the edge preparation are then carried out fully automatically at the positions defined on the CAD. 

Both One Click Roughness and Round Tool Alignment are components of Bruker Alicona's MetMaX software - Version 4.0 of which will be presented for the first time at Control. Particularly noteworthy is the combination of hardware and software that makes Bruker Alicona's measurement technology so easy to understand and, above all, independent of other products. Obtaining the entire quality assurance for dimension, position, shape, and roughness from a single source not only has advantages for the metrologist but also for transparency in purchasing and in the budget. 

In addition to FocusX, Bruker Alicona will also be exhibiting the μCMM with a pick and place, InfiniteFocus G6 and SL systems and the Edgemaster.

Bruker Alicona's measurement technology can be found in Hall 10 / Stand 1203.