Engineering service provider relies on Hexagon structured light scanners

Sallegger Technologies is an engineering company that builds complex machines and plants for the automotive, electronics, consumer goods, pharmaceutical, agricultural and tobacco industries, as well as for environmental and process engineering. After 27 years of innovative solutions and persistent striving for quality, Sallegger Technologies is one of the leading companies in its sector in Austria.

The company specialises in quality control in production, 3D printed parts, reverse engineering and metrology services as its main areas of application. 

In addition to contract manufacturing of prototypes and series, the company also offers 3D scanning and subsequent data processing, and because of this is Austria‘s only provider in the field of additive manufacturing. In product development, customers are accompanied throughout the entire development process, from international procurement of parts to CE assessment and documentation. 

In the search for competent partners in 3D measurement technology during at the Hexagon Scanning Day event in Spielberg – the Austrian home of Formula 1 – in autumn 2019, Sallegger Technologies found Hexagon‘s structured light scanner technology together with Duwe-3D and PolyWorks software to offer the best overall measurement system for its tasks. Since then, Hexagon and Duwe-3D AG have been supporting the engineering office in its projects and providing advice on the measurement, analysis and reconstruction of components.

"Sallegger Technologies is a partner of Hexagon – service requests they receive are passed on directly to us," explains Thomas Pfeifer, Head of Innovations at Sallegger. "The fast and highly accurate SmartScan R12 optical 3D scanner is our primary measuring instrument. It is one of the leading metrology solutions for complex surface geometries and, thanks to non-contact fringe projection scanning technology, is also optimally suited for sensitive or easily deformable parts. At the same time, the fringe projection scanning technology ensures pin-sharp imaging down to the smallest detail."

"Regardless of their size or complexity, objects can be easily digitised and are directly available as high-precision 3D data in a variety of common formats for further processing. The narrow-band blue light used by the SmartScan system allows precise measurements regardless of the ambient light conditions. Variable measuring field sizes make it possible to measure and inspect the smallest details on parts just a few centimetres in size as well as on larger components."

The PolyWorks software, including knowledgeable and attentive customer service and support from Duwe-3d AG, was and is decisive for Sallegger. "The PolyWorks software opens up the possibility for us to work flexibly with the most diverse measuring machines; the versatility of PolyWorks is of decisive importance for our field of activity," says Pfeifer.

"In addition, we can do everything here in a single software platform – scanning, measuring and implementing reverse engineering. With its simple and intuitive operation and the multitude of functional setting options, the software offers everything we need for our professional work. Combined with the SmartScan R12, it is simply the ideal measurement solution."

Reverse engineering in practice

During the assembly of a flush-mounted installation body for a shower, the connections were inadvertently connected incorrectly. This error was only discovered when the shower was put into operation. Subsequent chiseling to set the connections correctly would have been associated with high costs as well as annoyance for the customer.Reverse engineering in practice.