Geomagic Qualify 8 adds Measurement Systems Support, Provides Major New Features for Automated Inspection; Special Features Speed Processes, Reduce Costs for Automotive Inspection.

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Geomagic announces Geomagic Qualify 8, the latest version of the company's computer-aided inspection (CAI) software. Geomagic Qualify 8 offers increased plug-in support for optical measurement systems and arm-mounted scan heads, unique integration with the FARO Laser Tracker, and major new features to speed inspection analysis.

Geomagic Qualify is used by automotive, aerospace, electrical and other industries worldwide to automatically process scan data into accurate 3D models for inspection analysis and reporting.

Optical measurement system support

Geomagic Qualify 8 provides plug-ins and extended support for the Perceptron Contour Probe with both Cimcore and non-Cimcore arms, FARO ScanArm and Laser Tracker, Konica-Minolta Vivid, and Kreon Zephyr optical measurement systems.

FARO Laser Tracker support in Geomagic Qualify 8 provides new capabilities for offline and real-time inspection. The real-time capability enables users to instantly compare a CAD model to the scan of a physical part being displayed on the screen as it is captured.

The FARO Laser Tracker plug-in offers advanced capabilities in performing alignments and sophisticated analysis for sectioning, 2D and 3D dimensioning, GD&T, wall thickness, and reporting for point cloud and surface model applications that are not easily handled by FARO's CAM2 software.

"Geomagic Qualify 8 complements the Laser Tracker's precision, speed and ease of use," says Chuck Pfeffer, FARO Laser Tracker product manager. "It simplifies the process and shortens the time from measuring to digital reconstruction and inspection."

New automation features

In addition to extended measurement systems support, Geomagic Qualify 8 contains new features that automate manual tasks and reduce workflow steps, saving time and money. These include:

--Automatic wall thickness calculation to quickly identify critical areas that might cause breakage. This capability can reduce otherwise time-consuming analysis down to a couple of minutes for plastic, sheet-metal and other parts.

--Improved sectioning tools for creating faster 2D dimensioning views and automatically generating easy-to-analyze graphical reports.

--3D comparisons according to user-defined direction, enabling users to study stress caused by a one-directional load, such as a crash or stamping.

--Options to control the number of loaded triangles, memory usage, and decimation, saving time in analyzing large data sets.

--Manual creation and editing of correspondence, providing more flexibility in selecting scanned areas and eliminating unwanted areas.

Breakthrough automotive functionality

Geomagic Qualify 8 provides specific automotive functionality that has undergone extensive testing by Perceptron and a major U.S. automotive manufacturer as part of an AutoScan project. New features include:

--Gap & flush comparison that adapts easily to any type of gap configuration and speeds analysis by automatically creating sections and dimensions.

--Ring gauge inspection within software, providing greater accuracy by analyzing many more data elements, and eliminating the need to build physical ring gauges - generating major savings per gauge.

--Edge (or hem) calculation that enables users to automatically compare scanned data to CAD data to evaluate spring-back, saving the manual work of creating sections and dimensions.

Certified to highest standards

Geomagic Qualify has received the highest accuracy certification from Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Germany's technical authority for metrology and physical safety engineering; undergone successful gauge R&R testing by Honeywell and other major turbine manufacturers; and been certified by Fiat as part of a digital inspection process that exceeds standards set by ANFIA, the trade association that defines manufacturing methods for the Italian automotive industry.

"The (Geomagic Qualify) digital inspection process passed every test and exceeded all expectations," says Domenico Bongiovanni, Fiat's quality manufacturing engineer. "We believe it will enable us to inspect more part features in equal or less time than with CMM processes, and automate other areas such as incoming inspection."

Available now

Geomagic Qualify 8 is available in English, German, Chinese, Japanese and French languages from Geomagic and its worldwide distributors.

About Geomagic - the DSSP leader

Geomagic (www.geomagic.com) simplifies digital shape sampling and processing (DSSP), enabling customers to accelerate their design-build cycles and ensure quality at every step. More than 4,000 professionals in industries such as automotive, aerospace, medical devices and consumer products use Geomagic software and services. They benefit from unprecedented time savings, fast learning curves, increased productivity, and high levels of user satisfaction. Geomagic has headquarters in Research Triangle Park, N.C., subsidiaries in Europe and Asia, and distributors worldwide.