HI-TECH Metrology was founded in 1992 and, with an ever-growing range of technologies, is a now a leader in metrology and portable scanning solutions to the mining, oil and gas sectors.
The company’s extensive range of equipment, including tactile CMM, portable arms, laser trackers and laser scanners – combined with a complete array of support services available throughout Australasia – enables tailor-made solutions incorporating hardware, software and engineering for virtually any measurement of a reverse-engineering task.
Hi-Tech Metrology general manager, Craig Leckie, said the company can assist clients whether it’s a capital equipment purchase, support of existing equipment, or the provision of contract measurement services.
“We strive to provide world-class metrology solutions and services that enable our customers to achieve enhanced business outcomes in terms of quality, productivity and innovation,” Mr Leckie said.
Reverse engineering
Mr Leckie said the company’s clients in the mining sector usually look to either reverse engineer a product or inspect a product relative to the manufacturing principle that’s been put in place.
“Quite often they’ll have a component fail in the field, so that’s when reverse engineering is useful,” Mr Leckie said.
“They scan the broken or damaged component and that scanned data is put into a CAD system, a CAD model is generated and then the component or part can be recreated.”
Not only can the cost of new equipment from the manufacturer be prohibitive, but often they may not carry the stock or be able to supply it quickly to remote areas – and that’s where reverse engineering a part can save time and money.
“The cost of downtime, per minute, per hour is significant so the speed at which a client can scan and recreate the component is vital,” Mr Leckie said.
Beyond replacing failed parts, clients can also use scanning equipment for preventative maintenance, to complete a trend analysis of how the part is wearing over time and plan to change it out prior to failure.
“We have many popular portable products for mining applications,” Mr Leckie said.
“The Creaform Handyscan 3D, Go!Scan Spark, Metrascan 3D and Hexagon Absolute Arm series are all portable metrology-grade 3D scanners that are perfect for mine sites where needs for different resolutions and volumes vary.”
Hi-Tech Metrology’s range of products from industry-leading manufacturers like Creaform, Hexagon MI and other world renowned products means the company can supply the best solution for client’s needs.
“Our equipment can cater for just about every application – even inspecting a part to ensure it will fit before shipping it to site and stopping critical equipment, only to discover that the part actually will not fit. Quality scanning equipment pays for itself time and time again by preventing unnecessary downtime,” Mr Leckie said.
“It’s not just one size fits all – we work closely with each client to determine the best equipment for each specific task.”
Contract measurement
“While we provide products to the market, not everyone chooses to purchase their own equipment – so we provide contract measurement as well as training services,” Mr Leckie said.
“Our services include both in-house and on-site measurement tasks, analysis, reporting etc, using an array of the latest metrology equipment.”
This can include textual metrology reports, graphical reports to 3D CAD, decimated and 3D surface data.
“Our clients are seeing the value of outsourcing the specialist task of dimensional measurement and collecting as-built information in order to document their facilities and existing products,” Mr Leckie said.
The skills, experience and expertise of the projects team at Hi-Tech Metrology enables customers to ascertain quickly and efficiently the key data sets for projects – allowing them the time and the resources to perform the ensuing analysis tasks, and if required, take corrective actions in order to improve their business performance.
Mr Leckie pointed to a recent example of an auto manufacturer that went from four weeks trying to develop a prototype, part to four hours with the help of Hi-Tech Metrology.
“The client can now scan the engine bay to create a digital image, so they know the exact dimensions and the exact location of all available mounting points for their aftermarket hardware – it takes the trial and error out of it,” he said.
“A new part can then be designed to fit these parameters and 3D-printed.
“When everything fits perfectly, that part can be put into production, saving weeks of prototyping work. The same technology and systems can be applied to provide higher quality parts for mining applications in far less time.
“Our equipment is perfect for complex applications when it comes down to sub-millimetre accuracy.”
Oil and gas applications
The HandyScan 3D and Go!Scan Spark are also extremely effective for non-destructive testing of pipes.
“When you’re looking for corrosion in pipelines our equipment is perfect because we can scan the pipe for preventative maintenance and condition reporting,” Mr Leckie said.
“We can measure exactly how deep the external corrosion is penetrating and even ultrasound data of the internal pipe can be entered into our software and calculate a cross section using the two data sets.
“It’s also incredibly quick when you have kilometres of pipes to inspect.”
In addition, the data collected is entered into a database in real time, with absolute data reference points. That removes the human factor and allows specific areas of the pipe to be re-checked or repaired as required.
Training and maintenance
Hi-Tech Metrology also offers a wide range of training packages and programs for new equipment installations as well as courses designed for on-going skills development and new employee training.
In addition, there are custom-tailored training packages on CMMs, vision systems, portable arms, laser trackers and scanners designed to meet specific needs.
“We can also recalibrate your measuring machines to ensure they remain accurate,” Mr Leckie said.
The company can even maintain the metrology software to provide customers with an easy and efficient maintenance system with which to access the latest versions of each software product.
“Our wide range of products and services mean we can solve your problem, not matter the size or your budget,” Mr Leckie said.
“We strive to supply the most cost-effective and efficient solution for our clients.”
More Information:
P: 03 9702 3911
E: [email protected]
W: www.hitechmetrology.com.au
