Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM)
This is such a tool that one may use it in two ways if not more:
1)as a measuring tool or
2)as a 3D scanner.
Depending on your probe type, you can either measure or scan in contact or non-contact modes. Its application really depends on the material or surface you want to use. More information about CMMs can be found at www.hexagonmi.com.
Following works are the core of my interest towards CMM.
Training
To train or to be trained to gain more skills and knowledge is my passion not only as training work but also facing with extra-ordinary events on customer side while dealing with new challenges. Hence, to approach a problem, from different perspective.
My curiosity to this work is that unlike to academia students, you face with real engineers or professionals who understands the meaning of the job and pays really close attention to every word you pronounce. Moreover, facing their problems allows me also to develop myself for new frontiers of the job.
Quality control
Quality control or assurance is another field of my professional interest. here, you deal with process itself in terms of control and then with the final test to assure the quality of the product.
In other words, in this branch of production, you deal with the life cycle of the product.
I am keen on this area not only because of the CMM, but also due to CAx, product life management (PLM), and production itself. Cause using the CMM, besides design, you can define and understand the accuracy, preciseness like features of computer numerical control (CNC) machines too which are vital to prevent copying their uncertainties onto the final product.
Reverse engineering
Sometimes producing a 3D model might be extremely time consuming or maybe even almost impossible. CMM is the right tool to generate that. Especially today, when even 3D printers are available and can be widely used not only by engineering, but and in other fields such as in medicine to replicate, say a cracked bone and not only.
Therefore, generation of the 3D model could be obtained with help of this tool. However, my scientific interest is to decrease the time necessary to spend on this task. For example, doing it without point cloud generation via XOR Rapidform like software.