Third Dimension announces Loop Technology as gauging system partner

Loop Technology, based in Dorchester, England, delivers advanced automation machinery for a variety of applications including robotic machining, large scale composite manufacturing, assembly and fastening for aerostructures, and robotic labelling.  

As a Vectro Integrator, they will combine their expertise in the fields of industrial automation and industrial metrology to offer simple-to-use, feature-rich robotic measurement and inspection systems for 2D profiles utilising Third Dimension’s Vectro product line. 

Third Dimension’s flagship automated product, Vectro2, is a tool for fast, accurate, and traceable measurement and inspection of 2D profiles typical of extrusions, welds, seals, adhesive beads, edge breaks and panel gap and flush applications.

Seamless to integrate with a robot by a Vectro Integrator, customer solutions can be rapidly deployed to eliminate human error from their quality control process, ensure accurate, repeatable, and traceable results every time, and free-up skilled technicians to provide significant cost-savings. 

Clive Warren, Senior Product Manager at Third Dimension, said: “Loop Technology are one of the most accomplished robot integrators in the UK, capable of tackling the most challenging and sophisticated automation projects we encounter, and ensuring the exact needs of our customers can be met.

“We are looking forward to working with the Loop Technology team to deliver state-of-the-art solutions to our prestigious customer base in automotive, aerospace, energy, and consumer goods manufacturing.” 

While Vectro2 is commonly used in traditional QC, it is also a powerful tool for process control and Industry 4.0 applications.

By gathering critical measurement data at the point of manufacture, automatic on-the-fly adjustments can be made to upstream processes in response to drift associated with variations elsewhere in the production process, helping assure high quality products and zero defects. 

Alun Reece, Managing Director at Loop Technology, said: “Industrial metrology and robotics go hand-in-hand. Although quality control measurements require specific skills and knowledge, it is essentially a repetitive task that lends itself to automation.

“Robots provide the highest level of consistency and traceability and through Third Dimension’s groundwork with robot OEM’s, such as Fanuc and Universal Robots, they’ve developed certified add-on packs to make the integration process simple and quick.”

The partnership will allow Third Dimension and Loop Technology to deploy advanced robotic metrology solutions to deliver improvements in process traceability and consistency, significant cost savings, and the ability to exploit real-time time data to make automatic process control manufacturing decisions for intelligent and efficient manufacturing.