InnovMetric, the independent software development company that empowers manufacturers of every size to digitally transform their 3D measurement processes, is announcing the launch of PolyWorks 2023. This new release expands the PolyWorks universal 3D metrology platform to offer a digital ecosystem integrated into the four phases of a manufacturing organization’s global dimensional management process: product design, process design, validation, and production. ​
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In addition to optimizing the performance of 3D measurement teams through universal platform enhancements, PolyWorks 2023 further reduces the cost of measuring in 3D in three different ways:​

• PolyWorks offers improved Model-Based Definition (MBD) and Measurement System Analysis (MSA) digital workflows that help manufacturing organizations minimize the number of software used within their global dimensional management process. ​
• The PolyWorks data management solution can now be deployed in less than 15 minutes in the cloud and be interconnected with a corporate identity server.​
• Finally, PolyWorks integrates new root cause analysis tools into its data management solution that can automatically identify the factors that impact production quality.​

“For 10 years, we have invested heavily in digital technologies, which today allows us to help our customers increase their use of 3D measurement data while reducing their operating costs. What is our secret? We digitally interconnect our customers’ platforms, such as CAD and PLM, PolyWorks, and Microsoft solutions. As a result, we can now easily provide business processes that previously required three or four different software and react in real time to problems on the production line while our decisions are based on factual 3D measurement data. Moreover, our customers can now deploy our data management solution in less than 15 minutes, which is a major breakthrough for small- and medium-sized enterprises,” says Marc Soucy, President of InnovMetric. He concludes, “For manufacturing organizations that are still questioning the relevance of their digital transformation, the question to ask is no longer why, but when.”​

Product and process design phases

The PolyWorks|Inspector solution helps reduce time-to-market by measuring, controlling, and analyzing 3D dimensions at every stage of the product and process design phases. With PolyWorks|Inspector 2023, 3D measurement specialists can now set up measurement templates and perform 3D measurement tasks more efficiently. They can:​

• Analyze and edit large measurement sequences quickly by finding steps using keyword searches or navigating through step types, such as errors and warnings; ​
• Replace the source objects of a dependent feature and preserve all related objects, data alignments, and reports created from this feature;​
• Create curve-based features in a single click over a polygonal model of a measured piece to rapidly inspect a piece without CAD data.​

Mixed reality display technologies provide localized visual guidance, measurement feedback, and access to inspection functionalities, without encumbering the hands of operators. The PolyWorks|AR 2023 mixed reality app offers new powerful tools to guide laser scanning, review inspection results, and collaborate with colleagues. Users can now:

• Position the hologram of the PolyWorks|Inspector 3D Scene window within the operator’s field of view to see scanning progression, perform additional scanning in areas of poor data
  quality, and pinpoint exactly where to scan features;​
• Review feature deviations and color maps directly over the measured piece;​
• Call colleagues through Microsoft Teams to review inspection results collaboratively and discuss manufacturing issues efficiently.

The PolyWorks|PMI+Loop Model-Based Definition solution allows manufacturing organizations to manage all the dimensional controls defined by the design and manufacturing teams within their native CAD platform. By associating dimensional controls to CAD geometries within CAD software, PolyWorks|PMI+Loop can automatically update these controls when the CAD model is modified and provide the digital traceability needed to accelerate the integration of a CAD design change within an inspection project. With version 2023, InnovMetric has improved the speed of its MBD solution by an order of magnitude and significantly reduced CAD file size. PolyWorks|PMI+Loop is available for the Siemens NX, PTC Creo, and DS SolidWorks CAD platforms.​

Validation phase
Measurement System Analysis tools are essential to guarantee the capability of 3D measurement processes prior to certifying production tools. Since version 2021, users could launch a repeatability or gauge R&R study directly from PolyWorks|Inspector, be guided to capture the required probe,  scan, or gauge data, and review the results within an updateable Excel spreadsheet linked to the inspection project. With PolyWorks 2023, InnovMetric has improved the speed of data transfer to Excel while removing previous limitations in terms of the number of dimensional controls, iterations, measured pieces, and operators.​

Production phase
PolyWorks 2023 offers major evolutions to manage data from production lines and resolve manufacturing issues faster:

• Customers can now store up to one million pieces sampled from a production line within a single inspection project;​
• Operators can monitor the production’s dimensional trends at a glance by displaying hundreds of charts at once within the PolyWorks|DataLoop Web Interface;​
• PolyWorks|DataLoop users can now automatically find the root causes of issues by performing statistical analyses of association, identifying the factors that impact production quality, and reviewing results presented in plain language with clear graphical aids.

Data management
The PolyWorks|DataLoop data management solution stores 3D measurement data on central servers and digitally interconnects all the people that capture or need access to 3D measurement information. With version 2023, InnovMetric has simplified the deployment of PolyWorks|DataLoop:

• InnovMetric now offers templates to install, configure, and start its data management solution on the Microsoft Azure or Amazon AWS cloud infrastructure in less than 15 minutes;​
• PolyWorks|DataLoop now supports Azure AD and the SAML 2.0 authentication protocol to interconnect with corporate identity servers.
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Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division today announced the launch of a new software plugin that will allow full operation of Hexagon structured light scanning systems from within the powerful third-party inspection software platform PolyWorks, developed by InnovMetric Software Inc. This represents the first implementation of a new SDK released by Hexagon that allows a third-party software environment to take full hardware control of any of the company’s range of structured light scanners.

The SLS-PW Plugin and any subsequently developed plugins will let users streamline their scanning and inspection workflow into a single software environment, with clear productivity benefits. The increased efficiency of a single platform workflow will reduce inspection times by eliminating the need to export and import measurement data between separate programs, as well as by minimising training needs.

“The need to use proprietary standalone software solutions to operate structured light scanning systems is an issue faced by users across the industry, whether they are using scanners from Hexagon or other manufacturers,” says Dirk Rieke-Zapp, Commercial Product Manager Structured Light Scanners at Hexagon. “With the development of this new SDK for our range of structured light scanners, we’re making it possible for users to deeply integrate this type of high-detail scanning within their existing metrology workflows by completely removing the need to insert proprietary software at the measurement step of the inspection process.”

When added to the existing versatility of the PolyWorks platform, the SLS-PW Plugin delivers a flexible solution for companies that run a range of metrology hardware and wish to simplify their workflows. As well as avoiding the need to transfer structured light scanning data between programs, the plugin means that a single program can now be used to perform measurement and inspection tasks with devices as varied as structured light scanners, trackers, portable measuring arms and CMMs.

“PolyWorks is one of the most important and widely used metrology software packages on the market,” explains Rieke-Zapp. “The development of the SLS-PW Plugin will allow the many users of PolyWorks around the world to integrate our scanning technology on a deeper and more intuitive level than is possible with any other optical 3D scanning system. And we hope that we’ll soon be able to announce the release of plugins for other leading metrology software platforms.”

“This joint collaborative project, for which we significantly extended the capabilities of the PolyWorks|Inspector’s SDK, reflects a vision shared by InnovMetric and Hexagon that the 3D metrology market needs more open and interoperable solutions, as industrial manufacturing organisations transition to digital processes,” adds Marc Soucy, Co-Founder and President of InnovMetric,
Hexagon’s range of structured light scanners remain fully compatible with and supported by the dedicated OptoCat structured light scanning software solution, which until now has been required for operating these systems. The SLS-PW Plugin is aimed at users already invested in the popular PolyWorks environment and who would see significant productivity improvements through being able to switch to a single software solution. Hexagon foresees the development of equivalent plugins for other leading metrology software platforms, including Hexagon’s own Inspire and VISI Reverse platforms, or Geomagic Design X from 3D Systems.

Hexagon’s SLS-PW Plugin is available immediately and compatible with StereoScan neo, SmartScan and PrimeScan structured light scanner models from Hexagon. It will be available with all new scanners, and as an update for use with already purchased scanners. Contact a local Hexagon representative for more information.

PolyWorks|Inspector is a universal 3D dimensional analysis and quality control software solution to control tool and part dimensions, diagnose and prevent manufacturing and assembly issues, guide assembly building through real-time measurements, and oversee the quality of assembled products by using portable metrology devices and co-ordinate measuring machines (CMMs). PolyWorks|Modeler is a reverse engineering solution that allows the extracting of optimal CAD entities from polygonal models of digitized parts to serve as the starting point in the CAD modelling solution.

Charlie Wallis, Co-Director of Industrial Metrology at Renishaw, commented, “This agreement now gives us the ability to offer this highly respected third-party software suite, which complements our own MODUS metrology software.”

He continued, “This means that more companies will have access to Renishaw’s advanced inspection technologies, including the REVO® 5-axis measuring system and the Equator flexible gauging system, whilst also benefitting from the worldwide support networks of both organisations.”

“With help from Renishaw, we have invested considerable efforts into bringing our assisted CMM sequencing and collision avoidance and analysis technologies onto Renishaw controllers,” said Marc Soucy, President of InnovMetric Software. “As we plan to keep integrating Renishaw’s innovative 3D metrology hardware, it is motivating for our troops to also bring the cooperation to a commercial level.”

InnovMetric Software Inc., the leading provider of universal 3D metrology software solutions, proudly announced today that worldwide demand for PolyWorks® in fiscal year 2016 (ending March 31, 2017) led to a 20% global sales revenue increase compared to the previous fiscal year. This growth was fueled by all-time record sales of 3300 new licenses of PolyWorks.

The PolyWorks sales growth in the three largest Asian markets, China, Japan, and India, has reached an impressive 35%. Moreover, PolyWorks support/maintenance contract sales in North America and in Western European countries have also significantly increased, by 30% and 40% respectively.

“2016 represented a defining moment in our company’s history: we achieved our 2006 vision of delivering a universal 3D metrology software platform by unifying the worlds of portable metrology and CNC CMMs. Although an impressive achievement in itself, what truly made PolyWorks 2016 a milestone in the metrology industry is the fact that it delivered a truly universal 3D metrology workflow. Portable metrology and CNC CMM operators were now able to define and execute their measurement plans, and review the measurement results, using the same tools and methods within a single software module,” said Marc Soucy, President of InnovMetric. “Commercially, it was also a transition year, as our large manufacturing OEM customers needed to assess all the cost-reduction opportunities brought by a universal platform before embracing our unique vision. The remarkable growth in license and support/maintenance sales worldwide shows that PolyWorks 2016 is gaining acceptance and is starting to take root. This is exciting news that should lead to major sales opportunities in FY2017 as we prepare to celebrate the sale of the 20,000th PolyWorks license in June.”

QUEBEC, Canada, Apr 20, 2017 – InnovMetric Software Inc., the leading provider of universal 3D metrology software solutions, today launched PolyWorks 2017, the latest release of the company’s universal 3D metrology software platform. PolyWorks 2017 delivers a new control-centric reviewing workflow – a key upgrade for all portable metrology and CNC CMM measurement specialists that need to share large metrology projects, containing hundreds of dimensional and GD&T controls, with colleagues, customers, and suppliers. It also provides a major technology upgrade for large-volume metrology applications, and a unique approach to real-time collision analysis for more efficient CNC CMM project setups.

Control-centric reviewing workflow

“Because they provide invaluable feedback on manufactured parts and on the performance of the manufacturing process, 3D measurements must be efficiently planned and executed by measurement specialists. Then, the results have to be thoroughly reviewed by manufacturing specialists to make informed engineering decisions. With 3D inspection projects designed for planning and executing measurements, time-consuming manipulations are required when sharing measurement results using standard 2D reports. For reviewers, interpreting results found in static tables and snapshots within extensive reports can be challenging, frustrating, and inefficient. Oftentimes, this traditional approach requires back-and-forth communication with measurement specialists to extract additional information from the 3D inspection project,” said Marc Soucy, president of InnovMetric. “With the new dimensional-control-centric approach in PolyWorks 2017, the PolyWorks|Inspector 3D metrology project is the report! By enabling measurement specialists to communicate results directly in 3D, considerable productivity gains are guaranteed for our customers. PolyWorks 2017 also empowers reviewers to investigate measurement results contextually in 3D with dynamic navigation tools.”

Using the new Control Reviewer in PolyWorks|Inspector or in the free PolyWorks|Viewer, measurement specialists and manufacturing specialists can now:

• Access a global list of dimensional controls sorted by characteristic index, making it the ideal tool to prepare first-article inspection reports.
• Add custom controls to the global list of controls; for example, those measured using manual gauges.
• Easily split an inspection project into small and logical groups of controls called Control Views.
• Tie individual controls to specific data alignments and coordinate systems, enabling multicontextual Control Views.
• Search, sort, and filter controls to highlight critical results.
• Display control views automatically in 3D with the right point of view.
• Generate formatted reports automatically.

Major technology upgrade for large-volume metrology applications

InnovMetric is proud to release its most significant technology enhancements for customers who need to assemble and inspect large structures such as those found in the aerospace, shipyard, and energy industries. Users can now:

• Predefine and configure a list of laser tracker devices, and connect to multiple trackers simultaneously. With PolyWorks 2017, to guide assembly building in real time, switch the active tracker instantaneously and feed measured reflector positions to digital readouts.
• Align point-to-object using a powerful technique that aligns points to different geometrical characteristics of matched objects (such as center points, axes, or surfaces) and control the alignment direction, weight, and participation to the scaling factor computation for each pair of matched geometries.
• Probe surface features before their nominal components are defined or the part is aligned to the CAD model.

Real-time collision analysis for more efficient CNC CMM project setups

Measurement specialists who define probing and laser scanning paths on CNC CMMs now have access to a collision analysis engine that detects potential tool collisions with the part or the fixtures, and provides visual feedback on problematic tool paths in the Sequence Editor and the 3D Scene.

Thanks to two major innovations, the PolyWorks collision analysis approach stands out from competing CMM software products:

• PolyWorks collision analysis is carried out in real time while the measurement sequence is created or edited, such as when new measurement objects are added to a sequence. This allows operators to immediately fix problematic tool paths and avoid accumulating issues.
• PolyWorks collision analysis is performed both offline and online, and warns users about potential collisions even when they launch a measurement operation outside of the Sequence Editor. Traditionally, this feature is offered solely as an offline functionality in other software.

InnovMetric Software Inc., the leading provider of universal 3D metrology software solutions, proudly announces the launch of PolyWorks Scandinavia, a joint venture created with a local business partner in Sweden to market the PolyWorks® Universal 3D Metrology Software Platform^TM to the manufacturing industry in the Scandinavian region.

“The automotive and aerospace industries have a strong presence in this region, with key international manufacturers generating a strong and active market. In Sweden alone, the automotive sector represents 12% of exports making it the largest export sector. InnovMetric already has a base of PolyWorks users in the manufacturing plants of the region, and the next strategic step is to reinforce our presence there to fully take advantage of these evolving sectors,” said Marc Soucy, President of InnovMetric. To achieve this goal, InnovMetric Software Inc. has decided to form a joint venture with a long-time Swedish partner, Martin Elf, whose skill set combines excellent knowledge of the local manufacturing industries with solid expertise in 3D metrology.

PolyWorks Scandinavia will provide technical support, training, and sales assistance to InnovMetric metrology hardware partners located in the Scandinavian region. In addition, PolyWorks Scandinavia will market PolyWorks to VIP accounts, in the region’s various manufacturing industries, that want to standardize their metrology operations on a single software platform. PolyWorks Scandinavia will also supply high-end services to PolyWorks customers, including metrology process consulting and software customization through macro programming.

“Industrial manufacturing customers in Scandinavia are very enthusiastic about the power, robustness, ease of use, and flexibility of the PolyWorks universal metrology platform. I am very proud to partner with InnovMetric to further develop PolyWorks business in this market,” said Martin Elf, who looks forward to a very successful first year as head of PolyWorks Scandinavia.

PolyWorks Scandinavia started its operations on March 1, 2017.

InnovMetric Software Inc., the leading provider of universal 3D metrology software solutions, today announced it will hold the 2017 edition of its annual PolyWorks Conference USA from April 19 through April 20 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan. At this conference, metrology professionals from across North America will discover new and innovative ways to work smarter with PolyWorks^® and leverage 3D metrology data to optimize engineering and manufacturing processes.

“This conference represents a unique opportunity for all metrology professionals to learn how the new 2017 release of PolyWorks will play a key role in increasing their productivity and maximizing the benefits of their 3D measurement technologies,” said Marc Soucy, President of InnovMetric.

PolyWorks Conference USA|2017 will feature:

• The launch of PolyWorks 2017 by Marc Soucy, PhD, President of InnovMetric, and by the product management team.
• Technical sessions, presented by PolyWorks experts, on all the new features and enhancements to help metrology professionals improve their 3D measurement and inspection processes.
• The ever-popular Doctor’s Office, where conference goers book one-on-one appointments with PolyWorks experts to tackle specific measurement challenges and learn how to optimize their use of PolyWorks tools.
• Guest speakers, from major automotive and aerospace manufacturers, will share compelling case studies on how their organization has used PolyWorks to achieve impressive gains in their manufacturing processes.
• InnovMetric hardware and service partners will showcase their latest 3D metrology measurement devices, accessories, and services.
• Social activities to connect with hundreds of users and grow your professional network.

InnovMetric Software Inc., the leading provider of universal 3D metrology software solutions, proudly announces that it has launched PolyWorks Europa, a new European subsidiary, to promote the PolyWorks® Universal 3D Metrology Software Platform in the industrial manufacturing industry in France, Italy, and Spain.

PolyWorks Europa will market PolyWorks to the region’s various manufacturing VIP accounts that want to standardize their 3D metrology operations on a single software platform. It will also supply high-end services to PolyWorks customers, including technical support, training, metrology process consulting, and software customization through macro programming.

In addition, PolyWorks Europa will support the sales efforts of InnovMetric’s local 3D metrology hardware partners, and provide technical support and training services to their customers.

– InnovMetric Software Inc., the leading provider of universal 3D metrology software solutions, proudly announces the launch of PolyWorks Türkiye, a joint venture created with local business partners to market the PolyWorks® Universal 3D Metrology Software Platform to Turkey’s manufacturing industry, particularly in the automotive sector.

“The automotive industry has a strong foothold in Turkey’s economy, with the presence of thirteen global car manufacturers who export nearly $20 billion worth of motor vehicles and components yearly. InnovMetric already has a base of PolyWorks users in these production plants, and the next strategic step is to reinforce our presence in the region to fully take advantage of this growing industry,” said Marc Soucy, President of InnovMetric. To achieve this goal, InnovMetric Software Inc. has decided to form a joint venture with its Turkish partners, Dr. Ayduygu Sevinç (Ph.D.) and Gökhan Odabaşı, who combine an excellent knowledge of the local manufacturing industries with solid expertise in 3D metrology.

PolyWorks Türkiye will provide technical support, training, and sales assistance to InnovMetric’s metrology hardware partners located in Turkey. In addition, PolyWorks Türkiye will market PolyWorks to VIP accounts in the region’s various manufacturing industries that want to standardize their metrology operations on a single software platform. PolyWorks Türkiye will also supply high-end services to PolyWorks customers, including metrology process consulting and software customization through macro programming.

“Industrial manufacturing customers in Turkey are very enthusiastic about the power, robustness, ease of use, and flexibility of the PolyWorks universal metrology platform. We are very proud to partner with InnovMetric to further develop PolyWorks business in this market,” said Mr. Sevinç and Mr. Odabaşı, who look forward to a very successful first year at the head of PolyWorks Türkiye.

“Portable metrology and CNC CMM metrology devices used to be operated in very different ways. Offline CMM programming and online CNC measurements were traditionally performed in different modules using different tool sets. This time is now over,” said Marc Soucy, President of InnovMetric.

More than ten years ago, InnovMetric embarked on an ambitious journey to deliver a universal hardware-independent 3D metrology software platform to our customers. With PolyWorks 2016, the definition of what constitutes a universal platform takes on an entirely new meaning: a universal hub that interfaces with any type of 3D metrology measurement device, and offers a universal workflow for performing all inspection tasks.

This innovative end-to-end approach will significantly lower the total cost of software ownership for industrial manufacturers as it eliminates metrology workflow silos, decreases the cost of training, facilitates broader collaboration between teams, ensures consistency in measurement results, and increases workforce mobility.