Making parts is half the battle; inspecting them is its own challenge entirely. Especially with the high-precision components we produce here at Reata, accurate measurement is essential to protect quality and keep production moving. To stay ahead of growing customer requirements, Reata recently invested in a next-generation CMM inspection solution: the KEYENCE VL-800 3D Scanner CMM.
This technology is already transforming how we’re inspecting components. Additionally, it has mitigated one of our most common bottlenecks, accelerating and streamlining our inspection process significantly.
The Importance of CMM Inspection in Our Precision Machine Shop
As parts continue to become more complex, traditional inspection methods can slow production. Particularly in critical industries like aerospace and medical machining, tolerances are extremely tight, and documentation processes are more stringent than ever. Just as essential, inspection times directly impact lead times. For contract manufacturing partners, inspection often becomes a bottleneck that limits throughput.
With all these reasons compounded, it’s evident that present-day CMM inspection is about more than just accuracy; it’s about speed and scalability.
Why the KEYENCE VL-800?
This cutting-edge CMM inspection system offers built-in AI functionality. While the AI is intentionally straightforward, it delivers meaningful gains by automating time-consuming inspection steps. The system automatically:
- Recognizes features
- Stitches multiple scans together
- Generates a complete 3D model with minimal setup
Unlike traditional CMMs, this system requires no fixturing, streamlining inspection processes and saving valuable time.
Faster first article inspection and CAD comparison
One of the major benefits of this CMM inspection system is CAD comparison. Parts can be scanned and instantly compared to the nominal CAD model, producing a colorized heat map that highlights material deviation. This allows us to accelerate first article inspections and move confidently into production without exhaustive manual checks.
As more customers rely on profile tolerancing, this type of CMM inspection becomes essential. The VL-800 excels at profile measurement, delivering accurate results in seconds rather than hours.
Reverse engineering and STEP file creation
Beyond inspection, the 3D scanner strengthens our engineering services. We can convert scanned models directly into STEP files, enabling reverse engineering when prints or CAD data don’t exist.
This capability is especially valuable for legacy parts and design updates where documentation is incomplete.
Non-contact inspection capabilities
With the ability to perform non-contact inspection, the VL-800 is ideal for delicate or sensitive materials that shouldn’t be physically touched. This is common for certain medical components and specialized finishes, where surface integrity is just as critical as dimensional accuracy.
Supporting advanced design trends
Manufacturing is evolving toward CAD-embedded tolerances, topology-optimized geometries, and increasingly organic shapes. Traditional inspection processes often struggle with these designs, but 3D scanners thrive on them.
Many of our prime customers are already moving in this direction, and this CMM inspection technology ensures we’re aligned with these emerging trends.
How This CMM Inspection Technology Supports Our Customers
For our customers, this investment delivers clear benefits:
- Faster inspection turnaround
- Higher accuracy and consistency
- Improved support for complex geometries
- Streamlined workflows in a process that often presents a bottleneck
The Reata team began using this system at the end of 2025 and immediately started experiencing faster inspections and immediate productivity gains. It’s one small step in our continuous improvement journey that has made a world of difference in enhancing the speed and accuracy of our quality inspection processes.
Have a project coming up that requires in-depth CMM inspection? Request a quote to get started!