Applications by industry

Aerospace

• Airfoil blades – watch video on airfoil measurement
• Blades and blisks – compressor blades, stators, airfoils, bladed disks (blisks), IBRs (integrally bladed rotors), NGVs(nozzle guide vanes), diffusers, cooling holes
• Blade edge inspection (leading and trailing edges, fir-tree base metrology, etc.). Downloadable application note: Inspection Edge Breaks / Edge Radius [PDF, 0.7 MB]
• Blade and blisk inspection (blades, cooling holes, integrally bladed rotors, or IBRs, turbines)
• Chatter measurement inside shafts – watch related video on chatter measurement
• Cooling holes inspection on turbine blades and on other combustion engine components.  Downloadable application note: Cooling Holes Inspection [PDF, 0.9 MB]
• 3D metrology in hard-to-reach spaces – narrow tubes, aerospace valves (actuated, pneumatic, etc.), bores, cylinder interiors
• 3D inspection of surfaces with high-aspect-ratio features such as steps, grooves, channels, blades, etc.
• Fuel level measurement; liquid gas levels in cryogenic chambers – see metrology in hostile environments
• Inside diameters of large cylinders – valve inspection
• Precision component machining
• Rivet holes and rivet flushness inspection. Downloadable application note:  Rivet Hole and Rivet Flushness Inspection [PDF, 0.6 MB]
• Turbine blades – see video on turbine blade inspection

Automotive

• Chatter measurement inside automotive turbo shafts – watch video on chatter measurement
• Engine valve bodies and engine blocks – see  3D bore ID inspection and imaging
• Flatness of sealing surfaces – watch video on surface flatness measurement
• Fuel injector nozzle and fuel injector nozzle needle measurement and imaging – see tube ID measurement
• 3D surface inspection and imaging of  hard-to-reach spaces (tubes, bores, cylinder interiors)
• 3D metrology of high-aspect-ratio features such as blades, steps, grooves, splines, channels, O-ring grooves
• 3D valve inspection – inside diameter and surface
• Inspection of component mold interiors
• Detection of casting defects
• Spline and thread measurement – see bore hole inspection

Bio-medical (see also Medical devices)

• Tissue thickness and quality inspection
• Coatings which protect medical tools from corrosion or patients from complications – see thickness measurement

Defence

• Inside and outside diameters of small, medium, and large caliber barrels; bore machining tools (reamers, mandrels, etc.) – see Automated barrel inspection and 3D measurement or download application note Automated Barrel Inspection and 3D Measurement [16 pages, PDF, 2.8 MB]
• Unique capabilities for Measuring Barrel Straightness [PDF, 2 pages, 0.2 MB]
• Also: measurement of reamers, mandrels, ammunition die blocks, rifle chambers and chokes, rifle receivers, fluting, muzzle threads

Dental

• 3D inspection of dental implants

Electronics and microelectronics

• Inline dimensional measurement of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) pads, including the bottoms of CMP pad grooves (see measurement of high-aspect-ratio features
• Thick film photoresist coating on electronic wafers – see thickness measurement
• Epoxy/mask thickness measurement – see thickness measurement
• BGA inspection
• Flatness, coplanarity, and warpage measurement

Energy

• Turbine blades and blisks
• Cooling holes inspection on turbine blades and on other combustion engine components
• Solar cell coating – see thickness measurement
• Fuel cell bipolar plates – see roughness and high-aspect-ratio features
• Vibration measurements – vibration frequency and intensity, shaft eccentricity
• Commutator surface wear inspection

Extrusion

• Extruder barrels and cylinders, injection barrels, twin barrels – measurement of ID 3D geometry, roughness (axial roughness and/or circumferential roughness) and defects
• Syringe barrels – measurements of 3D geometry, thickness, roughness

Fiber optics

• Industrial optical fiber production and coating thickness inspection  –  see thickness measurement page

Firearms / Forensic

• IDs and ODs of small, medium, and large caliber barrels; bore machining tools (reamers, mandrels, etc.) – see Automated barrel inspection and 3D measurement or download application note Automated Barrel Inspection and 3D Measurement [16 pages, PDF, 2.8 MB]
• Bullet shape, cartridges, chambers, chokes, rifle receivers, ammunition die blocks inspection – see 3D metrology in hard-to-reach spaces

Glass industry

• Glass edges
• Molten glass

Hostile (harsh) environment measurements across industries

• 3D surface inspection in radioactive environments, extreme heat, extreme cold (cryogenic), evaporation chambers, vacuum chambers

Machining (precision machining and mechanics, tool machining)

• Chatter measurement inside small-diameter metal shafts – watch related video on chatter measurement
• Cooling holes inspection on turbine blades and on other combustion engine components.  Downloadable application note: Cooling Holes Inspection [PDF, 0.9 MB]
• Edge inspection (precision tools, etc.).  Watch Novacam edge radius measurement video or download application note Inspecting Edge Breaks / Edge Radius [PDF, 0.7 MB]
• EDM and laser-machined features
• High-aspect-ratio features (steps, sharp edges, grooves, channels, blades)
• Protective tool coating – see thickness measurement

Medical devices

• Biopsy needle dimensional inspection
• Edge inspection on cutting tools – see edge inspection. Downloadable application note: Inspection Edge Breaks / Edge Radius [PDF, 0.7 MB]
• Medical catheter tubing dimensional inspection – see thickness measurement
• Epoxy or other medical coating thickness and uniformity – see thickness measurement
• Stent coating inspection

MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems)

• 3D inspection

Metals

• Precision metal casting – see roughness, high-aspect-ratio features and 3D metrology in hard-to-reach spaces
• Plasma coating on metal – see thickness and metrology in hostile environments

Military and defence

• 3D tube ID/OD inspection of gun barrels, scopes – see tube inspection
• Inspection of cylinder interiors – see 3D metrology in hard-to-reach spaces

Nuclear

• Pitting damage in particle accelerators and explosives labs
• Inspection inside radiation chambers – see metrology in hostile environments

Ophthalmology

• Shape, curvature, and thickness of regular or intraocular contact lenses – see thickness

Optical

• High grade glass thickness
• Optical component 3D characterization – see thickness and roughness measurement

Packaging

• BoPET film – see thickness measurement
• Multi-layer lid stock: OPET films, adhesive layers, heat-seal films
• Multi-layer label stock

Photovoltaic

• Wafer, cell and panel characterization

Plastics

• Multi-layer plastics and films – see thickness measurement
• Rheometry measurements

Printed circuit boards

• Layout and connection inspection

Radiography

• Deposition of photoconductor coating on X-ray image detector plates in evaporation chambers – see thickness measurement and metrology in hostile environments

Semiconductors

• Semiconductor coating – see thickness measurement
• CMP pad measurements – Inline dimensional measurement of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) pads, including the bottoms of CMP pad grooves
• Wafer warp/bow
• Wafer edge inspection (GD&T and defects)
• Wafer coating (>20 µm)

Tubing

• Characterization of high grade polymer tubing – see thickness measurement

Turbines

• 3D edge measurements – see high-aspect-ratio features (steps, sharp edges, grooves, channels, blades)
• Edge inspections of turbine blades. Downloadable application note: Inspecting Edge Breaks / Edge Radius [PDF, 0.7 MB].

Welding

• Weld inspection
• Weld gap inspection