Hexagon’s MAESTRO reinvents CMM systems through digitization

A new generation of coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) is needed to meet the demand for high-speed connected systems which can quickly adapt to different production line and component configurations.

In response, Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division developed MAESTRO, an all-new, next-generation CMM engineered from the ground up to meet the rising productivity demands of modern manufacturing.

Designed to combat global skills shortages and increasing quality requirements, MAESTRO sets a new standard for speed, simplicity, and digital integration in metrology, according to Hexagon.

The company says MAESTRO is built upon four principles: to be fast, easy to use, connected and scalable. Its digital-first architecture offers the industry rapid measurement routines, an intuitive user experience and seamless data integration.

With modular software and hardware, it is designed to scale with evolving production needs, making it ideal for aerospace, automotive, and high-precision manufacturing environments where there is a high demand for accuracy to deliver safety, compliance, and performance.

Building on Hexagon’s global metrology expertise, MAESTRO features a new digital architecture incorporating digital sensors, a new controller with new firmware, all connected via a single cable.

Automotive Industries (AI) asked Jörg Deller, General Manager Stationary Metrology devices at Hexagon, and leader of the MAESTRO project, how it will change the approach to CMM technology.

Deller: We have used claims such as “revolution in metrology” and “quality remastered”. These are not just marketing buzzwords. It is the first time that the development of the software and hardware has been combined. I like to look at it not as a CMM, but as a digital IoT measuring device. It is much more than a CMM thanks to five years of work by a team from all over the world.

We are looking at the fastest, easiest to use and most connected machine I have seen in my 20 years in the industry.

AI: Is there a global skills shortage.

Deller: Our customer base around the world is telling us that we need to democratize our measurement devices, because, simply, the skills to use the existing generation of CMM equipment are becoming increasingly scarce.

In the past, we had a lot of people who knew CMMS equipment inside out. They knew exactly what they were doing and could dive deep into the data. More and more of these engineers are retiring and the new generation of engineers do not have the same level of knowledge and capability.

It really is a worldwide problem. Wherever I talk to customers, they tell me they are not able to find the people they need who deeply understand how to measure, how measuring machine works, and what makes a difference to the quality output.

AI: Is the nature of manufacturing also changing?

Deller: It is not like in the past where companies were able to produce the same product for 10 or 20 years without having to make any changes to the process.

Today, you are expected to produce variants and adaptations. The customers want to have additional information, or they want to have better quality.

The manufacturing process is evolving and at the same time the products are changing. Adaptability was, therefore, another feature we built into MAESTRO. Few companies will be producing the same item for 20 plus years any longer.

This leads to the third feature, which is speed and throughput. This was the result of one of our customers telling us that his CNC machines and lathes could produce 30% more but were constrained by the fact that he needed 100% inspection because the components went into the human body.

The existing measurement equipment was not fast enough to meet his production needs. Our solution is to make the measuring equipment autonomous and to get the user out of the equation. Humans make mistakes, and humans slow things down.

We started by trying to meet these requirements with our existing systems. About five years ago we came to the point where we had to say to ourselves, “what if CMM had never been invented? If we developed a CMM system today, what would it look like?”

AI: How did you get your team to approach CMM differently?

Deller: That was really a challenge. We brought in a lot of new people, creating a balance between experience and different skills. For example, for the software, we hired product managers out of the gaming industry, because gaming has a different approach to usability. All this happened in the middle of Covid, so for two years the teams did not meet physically.

AI: Is MAESTRO compatible with your CMM legacy systems?

Deller: Yes and no. We had to sacrifice some legacy features. But we ensured that we retained one big treasure, which is the part inspection programs developed by our customers – all the knowledge they have developed into being able to measure a part, which could run into thousands of hours.

So, one of the key principles for the design of MAESTRO was that we needed to protect the investment made by our customers in part measurement, so MAESTRO is fully compatible with their systems. Of course, if you want to get the best out of the system, you will want to reprogram your part measurement system, or use artificial intelligence to do it for you.

Hexagon’s software tools and services such as PC-DMIS, Metrology Mentor, Metrology Asset Manager, and Metrology Reporting were developed in tandem with MAESTRO to create an integrated system that significantly boosts productivity from part loading to analysis, compared to isolated component solutions.

AI: What imaging system or systems is the hardware using?

Deller: Initially MAESTRO will have three sensors, and this will scale up over time. The first is the classic touch trigger, which gives the exact point position of the part and points on it. Next is tactile scanning, which works on the same principle, but it remains in constant contact with the part, providing 2,000 points per second, which measures all the contours on the part. The third is the most advanced, which is laser scanning that digitizes the complete surface of the work piece.

It comes down to the application and the accuracy needed. You can use all three on the same CMM.

AI: What advantages does digitization of the data offer?

Deller: MAESTRO is the first all-digital MMS, which means know everything there is to know about it and have a digital twin which mirrors every component. We know what in what state the machine is, the lifetime of the wearing parts and its capabilities.

This knowledge of the machine is combined with all the data sets collected on the production line, which makes it much quicker and easier to go back to your inspection protocols if something goes wrong in the field than having to page through piles of paperwork.

You can also prevent failures and stoppages on the line as MAESTRO immediately gives you statistics about what is happening on the line, which enables you to identify trends.

AI: Can it be scaled?

Deller: The easy answer is “yes.” MAESTRO machines will be built to order. One of the design principles behind MAESTRO was to develop software-driven hardware. The same unit forms the basis for every application. The only difference is the configuration during final assembly. If it is going onto the production line rather than in a laboratory, it will need extra covers.

The software determines the accuracy as specified by the client, while the sensors simply get plugged in.

This in-built flexibility gives the customer the option of reconfiguring the machine as their needs change. They may want higher input or additional sensors.

It goes beyond that, because we do not know what customers will need 10 years from now, or what new sensors will be developed.

MAESTRO will get better over time, as opposed to traditional CMM systems which require massive investment to upgrade or change.

AI: When will MAESTRO be commercially available?

At the end of June 2025.