Non-Contact 3D Digitizer KONICA MINOLTA RANGE7 achieves the industry’s top level for dark-subject measurement.

Measures subjects with reflectances as low as around 2.5%*1 without the need for a darkroom.

December 18, 2008

Konica Minolta Sensing, Inc. (Sakai City, Osaka, Japan; President: Toshihiko Karasaki; hereinafter referred to as "Konica Minolta"), is proud to announce the addition of a "Dark surface mode" to non-contact 3D digitizer KONICA MINOLTA RANGE7 products shipped from around the middle of January 2009. This "dark surface mode" function enables the measurement of subjects with reflectances as low as around 2.5%^*1 without requiring the use of a special darkroom, and achieves the industry's top level of low-reflectance performance.

The KONICA MINOLTA RANGE7, the product which will include this new function, is an instrument for fast 3D digitization of a wide range of industrial parts and products, from pressed parts and mechanical components to molds, prototypes, castings, and extrusions to enable the contour of a product to be converted to digital data at high accuracy. Since its introduction in March 2008, the KONICA MINOLTA RANGE7 has received high praise from customers involved in the development and manufacture of various parts and molds.

In recent years, the non-contact 3D digitizer market has grown rapidly in diverse industries centered on the automotive industry, with increasing demands for higher accuracy and better handling, along with requests for simpler measurement of difficult-to-measure subjects such as dark subjects or metallic gloss surfaces. In response, at the time of its introduction the KONICA MINOLTA RANGE7 was equipped with a function utilizing proprietary data processing technology to enable the measurement of metallic gloss surfaces without the need for spraying the surface with a diffusing powder, and this function has been highly praised.

This time, in addition to measurement of metallic glossy surfaces, Konica Minolta has developed a dark surface mode measurement function^*2 that enables the measurement of ultra-low-reflectance surfaces (dark subjects) with reflectances as low as 2.5%^*1 without the need for special sprays, the industry's highest level of low-reflectance performance.

With the addition of this function, since ultra-low reflectance surfaces (dark subjects) can be measured without being sprayed, measurement inaccuracies caused by uneven thickness of the sprayed layer can be eliminated. Plus, the work involved in pre-measurement surface preparation (spraying) and post-measurement surface cleaning is also no longer necessary, leading to drastic improvements in work efficiency as well as reduced environmental loads since spray and cleaning liquids are not used.

Furthermore, measurements can be taken in a normal office environment^*3, so work can be performed without darkeing the room.

A retrofit service add this function to previously purchased KONICA MINOLTA RANGE7 units is also available.

Konica Minolta continues to develop precise sensing technology and applications in order to offer solutions matching customer needs and to maintain our status as "essential" for customers.

 *1: Reflectance at 660 nm excluding specular reflectance. Based on Konica Minolta standard measurement conditions.

*2: Although it has been greatly improved compare to our previous instruments, there is no guarantee that the RANGE7 can measure all dark surfaces or metallic gloss surfaces without spraying. Whether or not treatment of the surface prior to measurement is necessary depends on actual use conditions.

*3: 500 lx or less

Specifications and Features of Non-Contact 3D Digitizer KONICA MINOLTA RANGE7

Main Product Features

1 Provides high accuracy of ±40μm*

Utilizing a new 1.31 megapixel CMOS sensor that can detect finely detailed shapes as well as newly designed optics, the RANGE7 achieves the highest level of guaranteed accuracy for a non-contact camera type 3D measurement instrument, with an accuracy of ±40μm^A according to ball bar accuracy testing based on VDI/VDE 2634 guidelines.

2 High-speed scanning of approximately 2 seconds per shot and various other new functions provide improved operating characteristics.

Proprietary high-speed processing circuits enable high-speed scanning of approximately 2 seconds per shot. TELE and WIDE lenses can be interchanged according to the size of the measurement subject to provide a broad scan range.

3 Compact, lightweight (approx. 6.7kg) design is less than 1/2 the size and weight of previous models.

The newly developed 3D data-processing software RANGE VIEWER controls RANGE7 scanning and provides editing functions from measurement data alignment to merging. RANGE VIEWER employs a new GUI that provides seamless operation between scanning work and scan data editing work.

The size and weight of the RANGE7 are both less than 1/2 those of previous models, and the compact, lightweight design enables the camera and controller to be integrated in a single body weighing approximately 6.7kg to provide high mobility in measurement environments.

4 Newly developed scanning software can handle large volumes of data and provides improved operating characteristics.

A and high reliability unaffected by the environment where it is used

Specifications of KONICA MINOLTA RANGE7 (click here)