CMM ARM SCANNERS

Note – we are not distributors of these products. They are listed for information only.

Portable CMM (coordinate measurement machine) arms fitted with a laser probe are a great choice for scanning small-to-medium sized parts with high accuracy. The arm is mounted to a fixed base and has six or seven joints with encoders in them that keep track of its exact position. The laser probe that emits a laser line that is projected onto the surface of the object. A camera sensor on the laser probe captures the 3D point cloud data from the laser passes without actually touching the object. When scanning with a CMM arm, it is critical that the part(s) remain perfectly still. Any movement during scanning will cause scanning inaccuracies such as doubling or noise. While CMM arms require some training to learn how to operate well, in the right hands CMM arms yield accurate and reliable 3D scans. They also have one advantage that other type of scanners don’t have; they can be used with a touch probe which can be advantageous for capturing regular features such as planes and cylinders. Arms often come in different lengths, ranging from 6 ft to 12 ft indicating the diameter of its work area.

We do not sell these articulating arm scanners, but are listing ones here that are available on the market for purchase elsewhere:

fARO Quantum

The FARO Quantum with a blue light laser and an 8th axis turntable is what Arrival 3D uses for CMM arm scanning and is just about as good as it gets. It has a color probe option, a hot swappable battery and is incredibly accurate.

fARO eDGE

The FARO Edge is a portable measurement arm that allows manufacturers to easily verify their product quality by performing inspections, tool certifications, CAD-to-part analysis, and reverse engineering.

Romer Absolute

The Romer Absolute laser scanner arm from Hexagon is an advanced, high-end scanning system. It can scan multiple surface types in a single pass. It has the ability to vary point density and laser line width so that you can optimize the scanning process.

Nikon MCAX

The MCAx Manual Coordinate measuring Arm, is a precise, reliable and easy-to-use portable 7-axis measuring system. It is the perfect partner for digital handheld laser scanners and scanning software. This arm’s accuracy, capability and portability makes it feel perfectly at home in the metrology lab, on the shop floor and in the field.

Kreon 3D scanner

An alternative to the Faro and Romer offerings is the Kreon CMM 3D scan arm to consider for your 3D scanning and reverse engineering applications. Here and here are a couple videos showing the Kreon 3D scanner in action. It looks great to us and can be purchased here.

There are others not listed including additonal models of the Kreon 3D scanner. There are a number of different articulated arm scanners on the market today. Despite the increasingly expanding world of 3D scanning technologies, we expect the arm to continue to be a suitable choice for many applications.