Development and Application of Laser Scanning Method to Automotive Component Manufacturing 2002-01-0971

The majority of current measurement methods in the manufacturing arena use coordinate measurement machines (CMM) and special gages with fixtures. The use of CMM's for offline metrology is prevalent throughout the manufacturing community, however the time required to inspect a part is sometimes prohibitive. The special low cost gages open the door to operator error and in most cases it cannot capture more than few measurements at once. Automated laser scanning equipment was selected to evaluate the possibility of reduced inspection as well as for global quality feedback. Although many laser scanning methods and applications are available in the market today, very little is understood with regards to its capabilities and its use in the automotive manufacturing arena particularly for the inspection of large parts. This paper explores the methodology one can use to apply such devices to improve upon current quality methods for both large and small automotive parts.