Optical and Contact Measurements in One CNC Run

CNC-guided sensor change on the PRISMO and ACCURA measuring machines from Carl Zeiss increases measuring effectiveness during the inspection of freeform surfaces, standard geometries and single features

MASS® Technology from Carl Zeiss expands the range of use, and thus clearly increases the performance of the PRISMO® und ACCURA® coordinate measuring machines. MASS (Multiple Application Sensor System) multi-sensor platform permits the fast change of contact and optical sensors during CNC operation. This enables the efficient measurement of workpieces with even the widest variety of characteristics and freeform surfaces. MASS also permits the exchange of the entire stylus system. As a result, all possibilities of dimensional measuring are available on one machine.

The PRISMO and ACCURA measuring machines with MASS technology are equipped with a range of sensors that covers the essential technologies needed to inspect geometric features. Depending on the measuring task, operators can now decide if they want to perform optical or contact measurements. Such a measuring machine can be used for a variety of tasks and can also be adapted to new measuring tasks through the addition of suitable sensors.


Sensors for MASS
The multi-sensor platform can include the VAST® gold or VAST XT gold central scanning probes and the RDS articulating probe holder. The central probes are known for their ability to accommodate high stylus weights and long stylus extensions, making the VAST active scanning probe the sensor of choice for precise measurements of the position and form of bores on a gear. If features have to be inspected in many different orientations and positions, the RDS articulating probe holder with the VAST XXT passive scanning probe further increases measuring efficiency.

RDS enables more than 20,000 stylus positions in 2.5° increments for the LineScan® optical laser triangulation sensor or the VAST XXT passive scanning sensor. RDS ensures the often necessary perpendicular orientation of the optical sensor to the surface of the workpiece. LineScan combined with RDS is particularly well-suited for the fast capture and form inspection of freeform surfaces with HOLOS® NT freeform surface software. This fast optical sensor is typically used in design, construction and mold making, as well as touch-sensitive and finely structured surfaces.


CALYPSO for everyone
CALYPSO measuring software supports all sensors on the MASS platform. CALYPSO features user interfaces to configure and calibrate the widest variety of sensors. The process for measuring geometric features can be defined in the object-oriented structure of CALYPSO regardless of the sensor. A suitable sensor is selected through the allocation of a suitable measurement strategy for the geometric element to be measured. Switching between the different sensors is largely automatic.

The optical and contact sensors determine the coordinates of spatial points. During evaluation, these are merged into geometric parameters such as the diameter of a bore hole or the shape of a freeform surface. No distinction is made between the sensors. The merger of all measuring results in CALYPSO leads to a joint measuring log.