Artec 3D, the US-Luxembourg original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of high-resolution 3D scanners, has released two new products at the International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in Chicago (September 9-14). First off, the company launched the Artec Spider II, the follow-up to the company’s industry-leading Artec Space Spider handheld, ultra-high resolution scanner. Additionally, Artec 3D released Artec Point, the company’s first target-based laser scanner, specifically for industrial metrology customers. Attendees of IMTS can learn more about the Spider II, the Point, and all of Artec 3D’s other products at the company’s booth, #134478.
The Artec Point
In a press release, the company’s CEO and president, Art Yukhin, said, “With Spider II, we’ve made a significant breakthrough, honing our original concept to deliver faster, easier, more realistic results. Now, we are bringing an unmatched level of resolution and detail to diverse fields. Spider II is ideal for capturing anything from priceless artifacts to vital forensic clues — wherever fine detail is required.”
Regarding the Artec Point, specifically, Yukhin said, “Our scanners have been making inroads in the field of industrial metrology for years. So it only makes sense to launch a solution that caters precisely to these users’ needs. With metrology-grade accuracy, high repeatability, and long-lasting durability, Artec Point offers a purpose-built industrial solution. We are excited to broaden our offering to customers operating in the metrology space.”
The Artec Spider II
I had an opportunity to use the Artec Leo at RAPID + TCT 2024, and I was pretty blown away by how easy Artec’s technology is to use. I think that the more that the additive manufacturing (AM) industry focuses on bringing in new users, the more vital it will be for AM stakeholders to embrace the peripheral technologies that enable more seamless adoption, and 3D scanning is chief among such technologies.
Indeed, in the same way that 3D printing is an enabling technology for distributed manufacturing, 3D scanning is an enabling technology for 3D printing. This makes it all the more important that Artec is increasing its attention to the industrial metrology market, which, down-the-road, could have significant implications for the way AM quality control happens at scale.
Above all, this matters in the context of workforce development. Training personnel in the use of 3D scanners not only provides those employees with familiarity in a critical new technology: more broadly, it readies the entire organization for digitizing an increasing number of part files, making every subsequent addition to the enterprise’s digital inventory an easier task than was the preceding addition. Beyond mere pieces of equipment, then, tools like 3D scanners in fact represent the bases for genuine long-term investments in a given enterprise’s capacity for innovation.
Images courtesy of Artec 3D