Hexagon and WorldSBK renew partnership, fast-tracking superbike compliance checks for 2023

Hexagon continue their close cooperation with WorldSBK through technical measurement with time-saving laser scanning and metrology processes.

Dorna WSBK Organisation (DWO) has announced the renewal of their partnership agreement with Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division. The agreement confirms the continued use of Hexagon measurement equipment for technical homologation and compliance operations within the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship and other motorsports competitions organised by DWO.

The competition’s team of scrutineers now rely on Hexagon’s Absolute Arm 7-Axis system to take measurements of various vehicle dimensions that are tightly controlled and determine race eligibility. The portable measuring arm can be easily moved and quickly set up for pre-season visits to team manufacturing centres or for checks at various sites during a race weekend, from the official technical bay to the trackside garages.

“Homologation checks within our competition are very different now to even just 10 years ago, and that improvement can mostly be put down to the introduction of the Absolute Arm to the process,” says Gregorio Lavilla, WorldSBK Executive Director. “The Absolute Arm very quickly became a vital part of the compliance checks that are vital in a competition like this, with strict limits and guidelines for adaptation from the production bikes on which the race bikes are based. Without the arm, laser scanner and PC-DMIS software, ensuring our teams are on the right side of these limits would be almost impossible.”

The Absolute Arm being used by the WorldSBK examiners is fitted with an Absolute Scanner AS1 laser scanner, which allows for the quick creation of complete point cloud models of parts and components. In conjunction with Hexagon’s PC-DMIS metrology software platform, this real-world data can be quickly and easily checked against manufacturer- provided CAD data to ensure the level playing field for all competitors that is a defining part of the WorldSBK motorsports concept.

While the bulk of testing is done away from the racetrack early on in the season, the team’s Absolute Arm will travel to every one of the 12 rounds of the 2023 season, where it will be available to make any necessary spot checks on a variety of components, from small engine parts to full frames and chassis.