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Sonaca Group’s metrology department in Charleroi, Belgium, inspected up to 62,000 aerospace parts a year across nearly 1,000 references using a conventional CMM with contact sensors, taking around 15 minutes for a partial evaluation of each part. When the plant took on a new production line for machined wing parts for
To gain in throughput, Sonaca Group opted for a batch system able to measure a load of 8 different parts set up on 2 quick-mounting pallets. The solution needed to complete full geometrical and free-form measurement of a part in a 5-minute cycle, evaluate features under a 15-micron tolerance, recognize part barcodes to automatically load the right program, and connect to Sonaca Group’s SAP system — all through a simple set-up any production operator could run.
Airbus, Bombardier and Embraer, it needed to qualify the line and move to 100% automated part measurement without slowing down production.
Metrolog runs the secured part programs on the shop floor, combining point cloud analysis, advanced GD&T evaluation and the MTI automation module to fully automate part measurement and reporting.
Silma simulates and optimizes measurement paths offline, delivering secured, ready-to-run part programs and freeing up CMM time for inspection instead of programming.
The Nikon Altera coordinate measuring machine, equipped with the LC60DX optical scanner, captures dense point clouds to measure the complete free-form geometry of each wing part.
The Renishaw SP25 probe performs continuous contact scanning to evaluate geometric features under a 15-micron tolerance and measure part thickness.
The Metrologic ME 5011 DCC Controller drives both the optical scanner and the contact probe on the same machine, enabling a single automated cell to combine several sensor technologies.
Complete part inspection dropped from 15 minutes to 4 minutes 30 seconds thanks to the fully automated measuring cell.
Optical scanning combined with continuous contact probing raised measurement precision by a factor of 10 compared to the previous process.
Sonaca Group moved from partial, selective sampling to complete geometrical and free-form inspection of every part produced.
Inspection programs and analysis results are automatically linked to part barcodes and fed directly into Sonaca Group's SAP system.
The automated measuring cell is ready to run around the clock, supporting Sonaca Group's ramp-up for Airbus, Bombardier and Embraer wing part production.
Sonaca Group wanted a measuring unit running safely 24/7. The Group selected offline programming and simulation with Silma to optimize measurement paths and free up machine time. The software delivers secured part programs ready for execution with Metrolog, and the CMM is linked directly to the SAP system.
Thanks to its automated measurement cell, Sonaca Group adopted serial 3D measurement while keeping a simple, user-friendly interface that any operator can run. Precision improved tenfold — a result the team describes as impressive, with quality and reliability now far ahead of the previous process.
The solution lets production teams carry out quality checks themselves, bringing quality control directly onto the production line. Sonaca Group also set up an automated anomaly detection and alarm system, shortening the correction loop and improving overall quality.
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