Our client had a concern that new production rubber gaskets
had larger perimeters than old production parts.

This difference was creating sealing issues, but the problem was nearly impossible to quantify. These rubber gaskets are in free state positions. No two parts are remotely the same which normally creates measurement difficulties.

Non-Contact Measurement is one of the strengths and selling points of 3D Scanning. We are able to measure with ease parts made of flexible material because we never have to physically touch the part. For example, rubber and cloth that can’t be probed by a CMM or hand tools can be scanned to acquire complete part form, and measurements from that form.

This case study is a good example of the need for non-contact measurement, as well as another interesting measurement capability only made possible by scanning.

By taping these gaskets to a flat surface we are able to scan and then place virtual cross-sections through each part at the same height. From these cross sections we are able to extract total lengths.

After reviewing the data we learned two things. We confirmed and quantified the hypothesis that new production gaskets were longer than old production gaskets. We also learned that the ratio between exterior to interior lengths was larger on new production parts than old production parts. This indicates that, all around, the new gaskets are wider. This was not expected information and helped our customer in their troubleshooting analysis.