G3F 2.0 – New generation of portable laser line triangulation profilometers for Gap & Flush measurement

G3F is a smart, portable, pocket-sized, non-contact laser triangulation IoT sensor for measuring gap and flush. Its unique features are enabled by the implementation of artificial intelligence fully incorporated into the system platform, to support the operator in performing his measurement tasks and to improve the metrological performance of laser scanners on the wide range of surfaces present in assemblies today’s automotive industry, many of which are optically uncooperative.

The existing problem within the car production line is the lack of sensors that can be used by production line operators to measure the gap and flush, capable of guaranteeing measurements with acceptable uncertainty on different materials and colors, which have ergonomic acceptable by the operators and could be interfaced with the factory network. Gap and flush measurements are necessary during the vehicle assembly phases to guarantee both the functionality of the car and its aesthetics and must be done several times, both on the assembly line and on the finished vehicle. To date, in OEM systems, the operator checks the gap using a simple feeler gauge, while the flush is checked by the operator manually, by touching the parts, and sometimes measured with a manual dial gauge.

Following the trends dictated by Industry 4.0 and fueled by the need to objectify the conformity assessment of these two quantities and make the measured data available digitally, the request arose to develop a portable instrument, easily adaptable to the manual operations carried out by the operator and which guaranteed operation on different types of materials and working conditions. The G3F instrument developed during the European project H2020 GOODMAN (contract n. 723764 , GO0D MAN-project.eu), exploiting the expertise available in the Thermal and Mechanical Measurements group of the DIISM of the Polytechnic University of Marche, has satisfied the specifications of a large OEM, ensuring the achievement of the pre-set production parameters.

The main applications of this technology are:

• Non-contact gap and flush measurement in the automotive industry
• Gap and flush measurement in the appliance sector
• Profile measurement in various industries

In the perspective of a digital factory, the lack of immediately available information and a digital copy of the measured data compromises any possible analysis of the process which is instead seen as a priority for a Zero Defect production strategy. In this production and market context, various advantages are therefore recognized in the use of the proposed gap and flush measurement instrument, such as:

• reduction of production costs which, on the basis of the tests carried out, can be quantified in a 15% reduction of the cars that must undergo realignment operations;
• reduction of inspection times. An average time taken by the operator to carry out n. 93 measurements (gap + flush) in as many inspection points, for an activity time of 10 minutes for each car. Since the G3F instrument allows simultaneous measurement of GAP and Flush values, this can be said to reduce the inspection time by approximately 50%.
• reduction of defects on the line. Indeed, it has been calculated that, considering the actual values ​​for non-compliant cars, an average of 1.55% of cars need to be realigned. Based on our testing, a 10% decrease in realignment needs is expected.

All these considerations highlight how the G3F tool brings real and measurable benefits to the automotive manufacturing sector, with an immediate ROI.