Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence announced its new laser scanning technology is available for the portable Romer Absolute Arm with Integrated Scanner (SI) series. The RS4 scanner offers new optics and electronics, delivering a major performance leap with a scan rate nearly 60 percent faster than the previous model. The fully integrated scanner is optimized for measuring objects with challenging surfaces such as carbon fiber or machined steel. The complete scanning system delivers accuracy that is fully verifiable and traceable, ensuring complete confidence in the exactness of measurement results, according to the company.The Romer Absolute Arm SI with the RS4 scanner is suitable for point-cloud inspection, product benchmarking, reverse engineering, rapid prototyping, virtual assembly and CNC milling. The solution provides tactile and noncontact dimensional measurements for numerous applications.

The new RS4 scanner introduces an ultrawide laser line nearly double the width of its predecessor, which translates to larger surface coverage and faster data collection. With a higher point resolution, Romer users can obtain greater point cloud detail in significantly less time during a scanning session. The newly designed profile of the RS4 also allows users to scan deeply into difficult-to-reach cavities, with no reduction in accuracy performance. Users of the portable measuring arm can switch seamlessly between tactile probe measurements and laser scanning to acquire 3D point data from a variety of surface types. As with every Romer Absolute Arm model, scanner warm-up and time-consuming calibrations are not required, dramatically reducing set-up time. Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence certifies volumetric performance of its arm/scanner combination.

"The RS4 laser scanner is breaking ground with its new optics, electronics and performance to secure its lead in the scanning marketplace where rapid growth has taken place over the last several years," says Anthony Vianna, product manager for the ROMER Absolute Arm range. "The main focus of product development was to give our users the ability to scan more area at a much faster rate. In order to do that, our R&D team improved the scanner's performance on all fronts, while maintaining the qualities that made the previous model stand out from the competition."