LK's Partnership Program Gathers Pace With Q-DAS Alliance

Co-ordinate measuring machine manufacturer, LK, which also develops metrology software in-house, announces a major enhancement to the solutions it can provide to customers wanting more user friendly analysis of inspection results, suitable for reading by non experts. The company's partnership program now includes integration to the products of statistical analysis and reporting software company, Q-DAS.

Although previous versions of LK's DMIS-based CAMIO software included statistical process control (SPC) capability, the latest developments greatly enhance the support available and enable further expansion in SPC functionality in the future.

The initial phase related to the development of the Q-DAS ASCII-transfer format that enables data transmission between metrology software applications and the SPC analysis environment, providing an industry-wide standard for transfer of process control data. It resulted in the output protocol of LK's CAMIO Studio-Inspect V4.1 software being accredited by Q-DAS as compliant with its standards.

The functionality has now been enhanced in the latest CAMIO Studio 4.2 release, with a new graphical user interface, the Q-DAS LaunchPad, created to simplify the process of preparing the metrology system to configure and output data for SPC purposes. It is a direct result of building on the knowledge and expertise of Q-DAS, gained from customer experience and feedback.

Said Chris Marriott, LK's Software Product Manager, "This is a good example of Q-DAS and LK working together to improve the effectiveness of the user's interaction, with the ultimate aim of maximising process efficiency through statistical process control analysis and resultant corrective actions.

"As part of the partnership agreement, Q-DAS has created LK-branded Q-DAS SPC software versions to allow us to promote and fully support SPC capability with a proven analysis application."

Commented Tom Stewart, President of Q-DAS Inc in the US, "Compliance with the Q-DAS SPC data transfer format is another example of LK's commitment, through its CAMIO software product, to promote and utilise industry-accepted standards. There is now another link from an industry-leading inspection software suite to the SPC analysis world".

Further developments will see LK embed fundamental Q-DAS SPC capability into its core CAMIO applications to replace and enhance the current functionality. The companies will continue to develop the partnership with the aim of offering customer-focused and differentiated software, service and consultancy solutions to the metrology industry.

The partnership work with Q-DAS is one of several key relationships that LK has entered into in order to offer strengthened and well tailored systems for customers, building on the company's reputation for applying its metrology expertise to provide the best solution for customers.

Another strategic alliance in the recent past, for non-contact scanning solutions, was struck between LK and Metris, the market leader in providing total solutions for 3D digitisation, inspection and reverse engineering for the automotive and aerospace industries in particular.

The decision to partner with Metris stems from the recognition, by both companies, that the technical potential of the new Metris XC50 cross scanner and the LC15/50 line scanner, when married to an LK metrology system, provides unparalleled integration for customers.

LK and Metris decided to invest in each other's technology to allow their respective sales staff to be able to demonstrate fully the capabilities of the latest scanning solutions. As a result, an LK CMM has been installed at Metris headquarters in Leuven, Belgium, with another CMM heading to the Metris US office in the near future, significantly facilitating further integration of Metris technology into the LK inspection environment.

Other partnerships are ongoing between LK and, for example, Spatial Technology, whose ACIS CAD modelling kernel was incorporated into CAMIO during the 90s to allow native CAD data to be used to develop and prove 3D inspection programs, both on-line and off-line.

Spatial is a partner of Tech Soft America, whose HOOPS 3D graphical display engine, which is tightly integrated with ACIS, has been used by LK to enhance significantly the visual presentation and performance of CAMIO. It allows faster loading of CAD data, so the user can view and manipulate models more quickly.

There is also an interoperability agreement between LK and Carl Zeiss Industrial Measuring Technology for providing access on their machines to each other's programming software, based on each company's proprietary controller protocols. Further interoperability is also available in CAMIO Studio using the I++ DME communications interfacing standard, which will allow integration of any I++ compliant CMM or controller system, including Renishaw's UCC controller range using the same interface. Proprietary protocol integrations within the Camio suite also give support for a range of articulated-arm CMMs from Faro and Romer CimCore.

Concluded Mr Marriott, "The benefits that customers are seeing as a result of LK's partnerships and alliances with these major names in the industry are more interoperability between different metrology equipment, and higher levels of inspection accuracy and functionality through the development of targeted, application-specific solutions."

SOURCE: LK Group