4.4 Prototype Assembly / Object orientation 
MNS has the capability to measure the position and 
orientation of objects relative to any user-defined Base 
Reference System. The example illustrated in fig. 6 is the 
determination of the position and orientation of a fender 
during prototype assembly. The reference system shall be 
the Car Coordinate System. 
Three LEDs are attached to the fender. MNS is able to 
instantly measure and store the location of these LEDs 
with respect to the Fender Coordinate System which is 
defined by reference points as described in section 2.1. 
These LEDs now act as new "help" reference points for 
the assembly process. 
Turning to make measurements relative to the Car 
Coordinate System (by the use of new reference points), 
MNS is able to determine the fender subassembly's 
actual position and orientation relative to the Car Coordi- 
nate System by monitoring the LEDs. 
This measurement technique has several applications in 
aerospace industry, e.g. wing assembly, control surface 
calibrations etc. 
This feature can be used for on-site robotic training. The 
position and orientation of the robot arm can be compa- 
red to its nominal values, and thus be used to make a 
calibration table for the robot. 
4.5 Digitization of Free Form Surfaces 
MNS has the capability to rapidly digitize an entire mode 
car body through the utilization of the Laser Scannei 
(Section 2.3) as shown in fig. 7. 
The Laser Scanner steps a spot of infrared laser ligh: 
across the surface of the Car Body. The linear increment 
distance (distance between individual data points) may be 
defined by the user or MNS may adapt the increment tc 
the curvature of the object. Typical data acquisition rate 
will be slightly under 2 measurements per second, or 
approximately 5000 data points per hour. 
The user is free to locate the Laser Scanner in the opti- 
mum position depending on the size and shape of the 
object. MNS can compute the location of the scanner, 
similar to the photogrammetric initialization used for 
determining camera locations by issuing predefined 
angular commands to the scanner mirrors and measuring 
the corresponding XYZ locations of the spot on the car 
body. 
The Light Pen proves to give valuable additional informa- 
tion by digitizing feature lines and discontinuities (such as 
holes and edges). 
In wind tunnel testing a physical model is modified to 
optimize its aerodynamic design. It is important to docu- 
ment all steps in the modification process. Thus, a fast 
measurement procedure is needed. The measured 
coordinates can be applied to update the CAD model. 
A system including a laser scanner can function as a 
programmable CMM for quality control. In such an 
application the scanner movements will be programmed 
from the CAD model. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Fig. 7. Digitizing of Car Body 
     
4.6 
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