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Sandvik Coromant launched a project to manufacture a new range of exchangeable-tip drills, each custom-configured to individual customer specifications. Customers simply visit the website, configure their part, place an order, and receive it quickly.
Behind this simplicity lies an enormous manufacturing challenge: an extremely high number of part references, shapes and characteristics — all with very short production lead times. Creating a dedicated inspection program for each type of reference is virtually impossible.
The ambition was to automate the entire process — from customer order to part delivery — based on a variabilised CAD model automatically generated by dedicated software. Sandvik Coromant needed a solution capable of handling unlimited product variations without any manual intervention, while maintaining dimensional quality standards across the full range.
This is where Metrologic DCS was brought in — first to help translate mechanical requirements into functional GD&T tolerances on the model, then to automate the full inspection workflow using Metrolog.
Metrolog decodes GD&T tolerances directly from the variabilised CAD model and uses scripted evaluation rules to automatically generate a unique inspection program for each customer order.
CAD enrichment — adding text attributes and measurement rules to surfaces — enables Metrolog to build the full measurement program without any manual programming. All current and future part variants are handled by a single universal program.
The entire inspection workflow is now driven by PMI-linked CAD models. Sandvik Coromant can carry out production and quality control directly on the machine, with no manual measurement programming required.
A single measurement program replaces the need for multiple variant-specific programs. Any new part using equivalent surfaces, planes and PMI is processed automatically — present and future.
Transferring requirements from traditional drawings into the CAD model eliminated time-consuming manual workflows. Teams can now focus their expertise on the CAD environment rather than managing per-system data extraction.
Automated program generation removes human intervention from the inspection cycle, substantially reducing the risk of error across a high-mix, high-volume production environment.
Sandvik Coromant and Metrologic DCS are both part of the global industrial engineering group Sandvik. Sandvik Coromant designs, manufactures and supplies cutting tools, machining solutions and optimisation services, while Metrologic DCS develops 3D metrology software for measuring, analysing and controlling dimensional quality throughout the manufacturing process. This shared foundation made for a close, trust-based partnership from the outset.
The project was launched at the end of 2023, with production scheduled to begin in early 2025. Metrolog was first introduced to manage geometrical tolerances only; as the collaboration progressed, its scope widened to CAD enrichment and, ultimately, full production-line automation.
Linking the model to the machine relies on PMIs — the integrated data used to measure and interpret tolerances directly on the CAD model — so that production and dimensional control can be carried out directly on the machine.
Determining which values belong in the script, in Metrolog and in the CAD model called for extensive joint work between the two teams.
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