Enhanced sensing, automation integration, and expanded compatibility support improved measurement reliability in production environments
Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division today announced an upgraded version of PULSE, its real-time environmental monitoring solution for coordinate measuring machine (CMM) environments, designed to improve measurement quality and reliability in shop-floor conditions.
The enhanced PULSE system extends monitoring beyond the CMM itself, providing continuous visibility into environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, vibration, shock, and probe deflection that can directly influence measurement outcomes. This expanded insight is intended to help manufacturers reduce rework, avoid inaccurate results, and maintain confidence in inspection processes, particularly in dynamic production-adjacent environments.
As metrology operations increasingly move closer to production, variability in shop-floor conditions—such as temperature fluctuations and mechanical disturbances—can make it difficult to determine whether measurement deviations are environmentally driven or require corrective action. The upgraded PULSE system is designed to address this challenge by enabling real-time detection and analysis of these influencing factors.
The latest release introduces several hardware and platform enhancements aligned with modern manufacturing and automation requirements. These include native integration with factory systems through Hexagon’s Metrology Communication Interface (MCI), allowing PULSE data to be shared with programmable logic controllers (PLCs), manufacturing execution systems (MES), dashboards, and automation software without additional IT integration.
Additional updates include enhanced probe deflection monitoring, enabling operators to distinguish between environmental disturbances and probe collisions that may require recalibration, as well as expanded interoperability through a modular architecture designed to support future sensors and capabilities. The system also offers broader compatibility, supporting deployment across all Hexagon CMMs and mixed-fleet environments, allowing manufacturers to standardize monitoring across multiple machines and sites.
Together, these enhancements are intended to improve machine availability, support automated and unattended inspection workflows, and increase confidence in measurement results in real-world production settings.
