Hexagon’s Portable Metrology Division unveiled an update to its Inspire software that will help determine if the part to be shipped is compliant or not. The update brings three main changes: traceable scan data, targetless scanning with the Leica ATS800 laser tracker, and fewer manual inspection steps.
Inspire works with Hexagon’s portable devices, whether a probe that touches specific points on a part or a scanner that sweeps it with laser light. The software guides the operator from measuring the part to aligning it with its digital design (the CAD file) and showing where the two differ.
Point cloud editing: the original scan is never lost
When a 3D scanner produces a “point cloud”, millions of measured dots that together describe the part’s surface are formed, a little like a pointillist painting. Operators usually clean it, for example by deleting points captured on the table.
In Inspire 2026.1, each edit is stored as a separate step while the raw scan stays untouched, much like applying filters to a photo without altering the original. Edits can be switched off, reordered or deleted at any time. This means that quality teams can therefore always prove how a result was obtained, which matters in audited sectors such as aerospace.
Hexagon says the new point cloud architecture also opens large files up to 50% faster and stores them in up to 50% less space. As with any “up to” figure, real gains will depend on the data.
Targetless laser tracker scanning with the Leica ATS800
Inspire can now directly control the Leica Absolute Tracker ATS800. Laser trackers measure large objects, such as aircraft structures, usually by following a small reflective target that an operator moves across the part. The ATS800 can scan the surface directly, without a target, from up to 40 meters away, according to Hexagon. ATS800 users can now run these scans without leaving Inspire.
Fewer manual steps in 3D inspection
When a feature fails inspection, a new “Remeasure Out of Tolerance” function automatically guides the operator back to it for a new measurement before the process continues. Inspire also reads the latest versions of major design software, such as SolidWorks, NX and AutoCAD, without file conversion.
“This release is about giving quality teams a foundation they can trust and then making them faster on top of it,” said Zach Rogers, Product Manager for Inspire at Hexagon. He adds that the update “lets customers build 3D metrology directly into their manufacturing processes, not just perform it alongside them.”
Comparing a 3D printed part with its CAD model is a routine way to detect warping or shrinkage, and the complex shapes AM produces are often easier to scan than to probe. For part qualification, it is important to be able to trace every inspection result back to the original scan to prove the measurements are accurate and reliable.
That said, measurement is also moving from a final checkpoint to a step built into production, a direction Hexagon was already taking with its first handheld 3D scanners and a non-contact sensor for delicate 3D printed parts.
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