Case Study: F. & G. Hachtel GmbH & Co saves time and resources with Hexagon's automated CT quality inspection

Automated CT quality inspection for tooling springs saves time and resources

F. & G. Hachtel GmbH & Co, a specialist in plastics processing and injection moulding, faced a challenge with a large batch of defective tooling springs. These springs are critical to their highly automated production process, as a single deformed spring could cause expensive machine downtime. To ensure quality and avoid production halts, they needed an efficient way to inspect hundreds of thousands of springs upon arrival, a process that was previously slow and manual. They turned to an automated CT inspection solution from vendor Hexagon, utilizing software from Volume Graphics.

The solution implemented by Hexagon used an Adaptive Measurement Template function that could automatically track the shape of distorted parts against a nominal CAD model. This eliminated the need for time-consuming manual pre-alignment and refitting of geometry elements that the classic inspection method required. As a result, Hexagon's automated process saved approximately three minutes per sample and enabled the entire inspection to run without manual intervention. This allowed Hachtel to salvage usable springs from the defective batch, preventing downtime and saving resources, while proving the system's efficiency for both routine and crisis inspection.

F. & G. Hachtel GmbH & Co

Kamil David Szepanski

Head of Technological Development and Product Development CT&AM