High-speed 3D surface profiling

The new MPLS180 sensor from Armstrong Optical Ltd of Northampton is now available allowing the fast, high-resolution 3D scanning of surfaces for all types of applications - ranging from wrinkles on skin to complete, populated, printed circuit boards.

By extending the well-understood principle of Chromatic Confocal Imaging from a point sensor into a line composed of several hundred points, the MPLS180 is able to offer 3D surface profiling at an unprecedented scale of speed and accuracy.

The MPLS180 can be used either as a line-scan system, where 3D profiling is achieved by the movement of the object surface (for example on a production line) or, by the addition of a “flapper” mirror and f-theta lens system, a complete 3D area scan can be performed on a stationary object.

Two versions of the MPLS180 are available – one with a scan field of ~2mm x 2mm, the other with a scan field of ~50mm x 50mm. With both versions 3D data from the complete scan field can be obtained in less than 0.2 seconds.

The MPLS180 is connected to its controller system via a fibreoptic link and the 3D data can be output in a variety of formats through a built-in high speed USB interface.

Application areas include surface measurement of complex objects either in isolation or on the production line in market sectors as diverse as healthcare/cosmetics/surgery, reverse engineering, microelectronics, general shape deformation etc.