3Shape A/S, Copenhagen, Denmark, a global CAD/CAM technology developer, introduces its 3-D quality control and reverse engineering system targeted to the needs of hearing instruments manufacturers. The company says its new 3Shape Quality Control and Reverse Engineering solution will allow hearing instrument manufacturers to introduce or upgrade quality control validation procedures, thereby achieving significant improvement in savings and production workflow efficiency.
The new solution is available as a stand-alone platform or integrated with 3Shape’s 3D CAD/CAM products for hearing aid instrument design and production.
In a statement released by the company, Iain Mcleod, sales and product manager said that "hearing instrument manufacturers are caught between the need to reduce operating costs and still continue production of innovative hearing instruments." He added that "Along with other potential constraints such as tight turnaround schedules, miniaturized designs, and manufacturing and management across sites and time zones, it becomes even more important to ensure that quality is not compromised."
The Q-Series scanners use high-resolution cameras, precision optics, and engineering features controlled by the company’s software framework, together with its specialized Convince software application that targets quality control. The company says this results in a complete system, ideal for the hearing industry and ensuring that design and production of earmolds/and shells meet every high standard expected by the customer.
In addition to quality validation, the system can be used to do reverse-engineering so they can be retained as detailed 3D CAD models for use by the 3Shape Hearing Instruments System, or by other CAD applications, thereby reducing production costs and increasing innovation.
Mark Neilson, VP of operations at In’Tech Industries is quoted in the statement as saying that "QC scanning allows us the ability to qualify difficult-to-measure free form parts using conventional measuring equipment. Additionally, the capability to perform quick and accessible reverse engineering of parts allows us to implement new customer requirements faster and with greater accuracy than ever before. We have been very impressed with the functionality and ease of use of 3Shape’s Convince software."
[Source: 3Shape]
