PC-DMIS 2014.1 Measurement Software

Hexagon Metrology launched PC-DMIS 2014.1, a significant update of measurement software used for the collection, evaluation, management and presentation of manufacturing data. The new mid-term software release introduces tools and technologies to help laser and optical measurement devices perform better than ever. PC-DMIS 2014.1 delivers overall performance improvements and major enhancements for point cloud inspection and reverse engineering tasks. PC-DMIS is the flagship software package for Hexagon Metrology measurement devices and a range of other measurement equipment in the marketplace, according to the company.

Laser scanning and optical measurement systems benefit the most from this release with new functionality to manipulate and manage point cloud data. Laser scanner users will find a New Mesh Command that allows users to create a single mesh from any number of point clouds. New Alignment and Filtering tools refine and enhance the usability of laser scanning systems. A new Blade toolkit module for point clouds dramatically improves blade inspection efficiency.

"PC-DMIS 2014.1 is an ideal balance of usability advancements and innovative features to improve the user experience and the overall operational efficiency of the software," said Ken Woodbine, president of Hexagon Metrology Software Division. "Our software development team implemented user requests, honed our existing tools, and put fresh new ideas into practice."

PC-DMIS 2014.1 is compatible with the recently launched Leica Absolute AT960 and AT930 laser trackers, and provides a common metrology software platform for shops using laser tracker technology. The software is also integrated with Teamcenter, anmmS (Metrology Management System) database package developed by Siemens, which allows users to open measurement routines and load NX models directly from Teamcenter.

PC-DMIS 2014.1 also introduces a QuickFeature selection for simple one-click feature creation from point cloud data, no dialog box required. The new Color Scale allows users to configure colormap properties for both Surface and Point Colormaps for finer customization and the ability to save custom layouts.

Optical measurement systems receive a new distance-based Outlier Filter for the automatic-hit-target measuring method to reduce noise and increase accuracy. QuickFeature functionality was also implemented for Optical Sensors to easily create auto features from a single click on the CAD model without using any menu options or dialog boxes.

Other major improvements include the ability to create section curves from Clip Planes for easy feature creation on complex geometry. An updated method for 2D Angle Dimensions removes confusion and ensures the intended angle dimension is applied to the inspection report. Improved accuracy for Dual Arm CMMs is included with newly refined calibration algorithms. A new Laser Wrist Map algorithm that is nearly 10 times faster than previous versions has been developed for multiple arm CMMs.