Hexagon’s latest advancement in handheld metrology for accessible high-fidelity 3D capture

The rapid evolution of handheld 3D scanning technology is reshaping the landscape of industrial metrology, reverse engineering, and digital manufacturing

Once dominated by high-end laser trackers and fixed CMMs capable of sub-micron precision but often limited in flexibility, the portable scanning market has now emerged as a credible counterpart, capable of delivering dense point clouds, high repeatability, and workflow integration once considered the exclusive territory of laboratory-grade systems.

Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence has been at the forefront of high-precision measurement for decades, with its flagship Leica Absolute Tracker and AS1 scanner widely used in elite motorsport, aerospace assembly and quality-critical production environments. As Robin Wolstenholme, global media relations and analyst relations manager of Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division puts it, “we’re really, really well known for the high-end stuff, such as the high-precision laser trackers Red Bull use day in, day out to measure a single line of paint.”

But as demand for accessible metrology grows - particularly for reverse engineering, large-volume inspection and real-world, in-situ measurements - Hexagon has broadened its portfolio. The company has moved decisively into robust, affordable handheld scanning tools designed for engineering teams who “still need something trustworthy and metrology grade, but don’t necessarily need 12-micron precision or want to measure everything from 15 metres away.”

This strategy has culminated in the launch of the Atlascan Pro, a new handheld scanner that bridges the gap between consumer-grade 3D scanning and high-end industrial metrology, while maintaining the reliability and data quality expected from a metrology company.

PORTABLE METROLOGY

Hexagon’s shift toward handheld scanners began with the MarvelScan, a wireless, highly portable scanner designed for heavy engineering, MRO and hard-to-reach inspection environments. “A lot of customers in the UK are making submarines, big gearboxes, things with inspection hatches,” Wolstenholme explains. “Things that require someone having to crawl inside, and that are hard to measure.”

The ability to bring the scanner to the part – not the part to the measurement system – has made handhelds indispensable for a wide range of applications, from truck, bus and heavy equipment manufacturing to oil and gas inspection and reverse engineering legacy parts. Handheld systems also eliminate much of the infrastructure required for large-volume measurement. “You don’t necessarily need a laser tracker for everything,” Wolstenholme says. “These are devices that can just go in and scan stuff – incredibly powerful, super portable, with a lot of on-device control.”

DYNAMIC TRACKING AT SCALE

To cover even larger components, Hexagon introduced HyperScan, a dynamically tracked scanning system using external optical cameras. Instead of relying solely on stickers and onboard cameras, HyperScan separates the tracking and scanning functions, enabling metrology-grade tracking over volumes up to six metres.

“We take the cameras out of the scanner, put them on a camera bar, and the scanner gets tracked dynamically,” Wolstenholme explains. “It’s a cost-effective way of going around and measuring things like cars, cabs of trucks, oil and gas equipment – anything large.”

For automation, these scanners integrate into Hexagon’s PRESTO robotic inspection platform. A PRESTO cell built from HyperScan components can achieve large-volume automated inspection at dramatically lower cost than a laser-tracker-based cell. This is critical for automotive suppliers, MRO centres and mid-tier manufacturers seeking to adopt near-OEM-level inspection capability.

“You start to be able to take truly automated inspection down the supply chain,” he adds.

INTRODUCING THE ATLASCAN PRO

The latest addition to the portfolio, the Atlascan Pro, represents a significant strategic shift. While Hexagon’s previous handhelds were metrology-grade systems designed with inspection accuracy as the priority, the Atlascan Pro is specifically optimised for reverse engineering, featuring high-resolution surface capture, rapid point cloud generation and integration with CAD and design software.

“What we’ve done is create a product that is still incredibly robust, with very high point density and resolution – up to eight million points per second – but also very cost-effective,” says Wolstenholme. “So literally any machine shop or engineering department could buy one.”

Key technical features include:

• Dual-mode laser line arrays for fast coverage and fine feature capture
• Up to 8 million points per second
• High-density point clouds suitable for reverse engineering and CAD reconstruction
• Ergonomic, portable design for field use
• Optimised workflow for handheld scanning

Although Hexagon does not classify the scanner as “metrology grade” due to its strict internal standards, Wolstenholme is clear: “It’s low precision only relative to the very highest-precision systems. Of course you can use it for quality control. The data is incredibly clean.”

CLOSING THE LOOP

One of the most significant elements of the Atlascan Pro offering is software integration. Hexagon now owns Geomagic Design X, the world’s leading reverse engineering platform.

As Wolstenholme puts it, “we are effectively giving away Design X with the scanner – the best reverse engineering software on the planet. You can scan straight into Design X, hit a button, and reverse engineer directly into CAD.”

This creates an end-to-end workflow where the user captures the part with the Atlascan Pro, point cloud data is streamed directly into Design X, and CAD surfaces are generated semi-automatically. Models can then be exported to Creo, SolidWorks, NX and other platforms via dedicated plugins.

For engineering teams working with legacy components, discontinued parts or prototype development, this is transformative. “Whether you’re reverse-engineering a plastic toy, a bumper, a metal widget or a legacy aerospace component,” Wolstenholme explains, “you want a high-quality point cloud so you don’t miss data, and so you spend as little time as possible turning it back into CAD.”

A MORE DEMOCRATIC FUTURE

What emerges from Hexagon’s handheld scanning strategy is a deliberate attempt to democratise high-quality measurement tools. Rather than confining advanced scanning to OEM-level facilities, Hexagon is pushing capabilities down to smaller engineering teams, independent machine shops, MRO providers and even aftermarket specialists.

“It’s the people who matter,” Wolstenholme emphasises. “There’s no enterprise here – it’s users. If you’re an engineer who knows CAD, you’ll find Design X and these scanners very easy to pick up.”

By maintaining core metrology principles – data integrity, repeatability, calibration, traceability – while lowering the cost and skill barriers to adoption, Hexagon is enabling a broader engineering base to participate in digital manufacturing workflows long dominated by major OEMs.

THE CONTINUED RISE OF PORTABLE SCANNING

Portable 3D scanning has matured from convenience tool to core engineering instrument. High-density point clouds, CAD-native workflows and robust, field-ready hardware now make handheld scanners viable for everything from reverse engineering and prototyping to inspection and large-volume production support. And with Hexagon’s strategy of accessibility and reliability, handheld scanning appears poised for widespread adoption across engineering disciplines.

As Wolstenholme concludes, “We’ve built something incredibly dependable, very easy to use, and affordable. You just pick it up, scan, and go straight into CAD. It’s exactly what a lot of our customers have been asking for.”

APPLICATIONS

The flexibility of handheld scanners makes them suitable for a wide range of unconventional environments. As application engineers note, these systems have been used on:

• Bridges
• Fireplaces
• Car seats and interiors
• Boats, trains and aircraft
• Drainage infrastructure
• Pelton wheels in hydroelectric stations

Wolstenholme highlights one notable example:

“There was a Pelton wheel in the French Alps – a big hydroelectric installation. The wheel was broken, and we reverse-engineered it. The scanner matters – the data has to be trustworthy.”

In shipbuilding and defence, engineers frequently work in constrained, vibration-prone environments. “You could be up inside a submarine measuring structures with millimetre tolerances,” he says. “The ability to pick up the scanner and just get a clean, accurate scan – that’s critical.”

Target-based tracking allows handheld scanners to compensate for movement, vibration, or unstable mounting surfaces. This makes them uniquely suited to on-site, full-scale industrial measurement.