Norcross, GA, March 14, 2003. Ford Motor Company has selected Leica's laser tracking systems for inspection and measurement operations in Ford's production plants. Ford has purchased eight Leica Laser tracking systems to form the metrology foundation for a variety of manufacturing applications from assembly to tooling processes. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The standardization decision followed a major benchmark of current metrology systems in the marketplace. The implementation of the Leica Laser Trackers and the replacement of existing systems will begin in the first quarter of 2003. Leica Geosystems has more than 1000 tracker systems installed worldwide.

Leica Geosystems is a provider of high precision coordinate measurement technologies. The firm develops both hardware and software products to meet the needs of industry. The Laser Tracking system chosen by Ford Motor Company was designed specifically for automotive applications and smaller measurement volumes. This high precision device delivers the fastest measurement cycle in the business for high point density (3000 points/ second) with a measurement distance up to 25 meters.

The laser tracker can be deployed on its own or integrated into automated inspection and measurement programs. The device is also Intranet-enabled for remote tracker operations. The Leica Laser Tracker solution is completely compatible with Leica's new-to-the-market T-Probe technology scheduled for release in mid-2003.

The T-Probe is an armless and wireless probe that can be used for on-demand inspection and measurement of virtually anything, anywhere. The device delivers a 0.1 mm length accuracy in a measurement volume of up to a full car size. The T-Probe is destined to become a critical tool for the automotive and related industries due to its six degrees of freedom and ability to measure inside deep parts and tools with unparalleled accuracy.

For more information, visit www.leica-geosystems.com /metrology .

Laser Focus World

Fri Mar 14 05:03:00 CST 2003