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Zip Scan and Zip Stitch

Extend NewView 6000 series measurement capabilities

zip scan and zip stitch

MetroPro™ Zip Scan and Zip Stitch capabilities extend the nominal measurement ranges of the NewView™ on parts with large steps or where the surface has recesses. Zip Scan and Zip Stitch both use the full vertical range of the head drive to provide measurements on parts with surfaces separated by up to 100 millimeters (nearly 4 inches). This range of motion and measurement greatly expands the number of different types of parts that the NewView™ can accommodate. Zip Scan enables two surfaces widely separated vertically to be included in one single measurement.

The lower surface is scanned, the head is raised, and then the second surface is scanned. The beauty of this technique is that both surfaces are included in a single field of view. In parts with a strictly vertical separation, this is the equivalent of a single long scan. This means that the scan range of the NewView™ is effectively 4-inches. Zip Stitch performs the same function for a larger, stitched data set i.e. where the area to be imaged is larger than the single field of view of the instrument.

In this case several fields of view on the surface are “stitched” together to allow measurement of a much larger area. First the lower surface is stitched, the head is raised, and then the upper surface is stitched, and both surfaces are included in the final stitched data set.

Again, the lower and upper surfacescan be separated by a sheer vertical distance of up to almost 4 inches. Zip Stitch enlarges both the horizontal and vertical ranges of the system. Unlike Extended Scan, both Zip Scan and Zip Stitch can employ bipolar scans (from the operator setting the system moves the measurement head below the nominal focal point and then begins the scans upwards) and higher FDA (Frequency Domain Analysis) resolution modes, because data is not actually collected during the vertical “zip” from the lower surface to the upper surface. Zip Scan and Zip Stitch hence expand the nominal measurement range of the system on stepped parts without sacrificing vertical resolution.

An additional benefit of Zip Scan and Zip Stitch is that they offer significant speed advantages on stepped surfaces that may be separated by a slope rather than by a discontinuous step, but on which the sloped connecting surface is of little or no interest. Whereas, both surfaces may be within the range of Extended Scan, they can be more quickly measured by zipping from one to the other rather than making a long, slower scan. Zip Scans are also a solution to measurements that require dual light levels. A unique light level can be set for both Zip locations – even if those locations are in the same plane and a mask can be used to separate the different areas the light levels are set for.