It takes an enormous bandwidth of know-how and a special production environment to develop and manufacture precise optical measurement instruments. WILD has acquired both over decades.

Optical measurement technology is considered the shooting star among the measurement methods of the fourth industrial revolution. Increasing Automation demands one thing in particular: valuable data providing insight into current production. Be it quality errors or process derogations, visual measurement technology will deliver the necessary information quickly without physical contact and with ever increasing precision. Moreover, it does so directly within the manufacturing process.

Technologies in this sector has undergone majordevelopment leaps in recent years. Today, optical measurement systems and sensors can capture millions of surface points in under one second. They are becoming more and more powerful while also shrinking in size. Special assembly skills and a huge bandwidth of optics know-how are required to develop and produce such systems. WILD has acquired both over decades.

Bespoke cleanliness requirements

As regards the production environment itself, the Systems partner meets the highest standards of precision and cleanliness. WILD offers customised levels for the latter depending on the project – ranging from assembly in special flow boxes, in which the lasers are adjusted in the μ range, to precision cleaning and cleanroom manufacturing. A separate laser protection area has been integrated into the cleanroom.

„It is also important to test optical measurement Systems according to the intended application and to develop corresponding final tests that can be documented in a traceable manner. This requires highly diversified test equipment and customer-specific solutions“, stresses Stefan Werkl, Head of Optical Technologies at WILD GmbH. At the Völkermarkt site, for instance, a 15-meter-long test track has been integrated into the assembly hall in recent years. It guarantees laser safety and is equipped with a fully-automated measurement system with digital data collection. A 360° calibration room has also been installed on the site, in which the targets are periodically measured to perform a 3D calibration of camera systems. In addition, a specially adapted site is located outside the factory building which is used, among other things, to test the UltraCam Panther, a high-end rucksack for mobile measurements.

The WILD optics laboratory is not only equipped with state-of-the-art measurement devices but also with various optics simulation tools, imaging systems and a modular set for cinematic systems. „Therefore, we are also ideally positioned from a development point of view and can support our customers from the very beginning“, Werkl explains.