Big photos of little coins allow detailed measurement of small features in the tool and die market
09/07/2013
When Martin John Callanan of the Slade School of Fine Art at University C
ollege London contacted the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), he wanted to put together an exhibition featuring large images of the lowest denomination coins from around the world.Petra Mildeova, from NPL’s Advanced Engineered Materials Group, demonstrated that full-colour images could be taken using an Alicona InfiniteFocus 3D optical microscope. Five coins were imaged containing over 400 megapixels, allowing coins of less than 20 mm in diameter to be printed as 1.2 m-diameter images. The images were described by Martin John Callanan as “really stunning” and he has exhibited them in Spain and Germany.
The information is b
eing used purely for display but the data contained within the images can be used in many areas of industry for accurately measuring 3D features on small and large components. Using these models it is now possible to make detailed measurements of the features of interest. The InfiniteFocus can measure form, surface finish, surface texture, 3D contour, difference (wear or comparison to CAD) and 2D measurement, making it ideally suited to the tool and die-making industries.
The mapping of large areas at very high resolution is becoming a more regular requirement in industry, a task that is made easily available with the rapid collection time of the InfiniteFocus and other instruments from Alicona.
With measurement capability in the sub-micron range, the Alicona InfiniteFocus o
ptical measurement device is able to measure 3D form, surface finish, difference, volume and 2D data.Using this it is possible to acquire 3D datasets from large areas, which can be used to study worn surfaces on a mould or compare a moulded product against the original mould or a CAD dataset.
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