Hexagon announces ‘revolutionary breakthrough’ in measurement with MAESTRO

Hexagon's Manufacturing Intelligence division announces that it is transforming quality inspection with high-speed, connected measurement workflows, with its announcement of the launch of MAESTRO, a new state-of-the-art coordinate measuring machine (CMM). This new development has been designed from the ground up to meet the increasing productivity demands of modern manufacturing. Designed to combat the global skills shortage and increasing quality requirements, MAESTRO sets a new standard for speed, simplicity and digital integration in metrology, say company sources.

Extending Hexagon's legacy of metrology excellence, MAESTRO is based on four principles: speed, ease of use, connectivity and scalability. Its digital-centric architecture offers the industry fast 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 particularly suited to 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 extensive global metrology expertise, MAESTRO features a newly developed digital architecture, incorporating digital sensors, a single-wire system and a completely new controller with completely new firmware. Combined, these new capabilities increase throughput, streamline the entire measurement operation and ensure future-proof connectivity for modern production environments, say Hexagon sources.

New levels of accuracy

MAESTRO's redesigned mechanical structure, single-wire digital platform and advanced sensors enable fast measurement with sub-micron tolerances that meet stringent industry standards. Customers gain the confidence of repeatable, certified measurements for critical quality control. This enables reliable results, even for complex shapes and the most demanding applications, the company says.

Hexagon says MAESTRO delivers industry-leading performance through high-speed motion while maintaining exceptional accuracy. The synchronised movements of the axes, rapid calibration and cloud-connected software significantly accelerate setup, programming, execution and reporting. MAESTRO remasters quality inspection by simplifying CMM programming and streamlining workflows. An intuitive user interface, combined with state-of-the-art cloud-native metrology applications powered by Hexagon's Nexus platform, enables both expert metrologists and less specialised personnel to generate repeatable, standards-compliant measurements effortlessly and without the need for coding.

The machine is born as a native Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) measurement device. MAESTRO integrates into Hexagon's Nexus ecosystem, sharing real-time data between design, production and quality teams, driving data-driven decision making and improving overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). Integration close to the line or in-line with automation systems is seamless.

With a modular design and a robust roadmap for future upgrades, MAESTRO is built for scalability. Manufacturers can easily upgrade software, sensors and additional capabilities over time, ensuring their investment remains future-proof and continuously supports evolving production needs.

Quality and skills shortages demands

"Manufacturers told us they needed a state-of-the-art system that would address the growing quality demands and skills shortages," explains Jörg Deller, general manager of devices at stationary metrology at Hexagon. "By rethinking our hardware and software from the ground up, rather than iterating on existing systems, we've had the freedom to create a high-precision inspection solution that is so intuitive that anyone from experts to new employees becomes significantly more productive. By meeting industry needs, MAESTRO's digital backbone also makes it easy to integrate into modern connected factories, so stakeholders can improve quality quickly and definitively."

Pilot users, including automotive companies, as AutoRevista representatives from Hexagon commented, report dramatic increases in productivity and reduced inspection times, helping to avoid production bottlenecks and keep up with rapidly changing customer requirements. Customers have tested various sensors, ranging from high-speed laser scanning to tactile sensors, with consistently strong results in both R&D and production applications.
 

Hexagon's software tools and services such as PC-DMIS and the Metrology Mentor, Metrology Asset Manager and Metrology Reporting Nexus applications were developed in conjunction with MAESTRO to create an integrated system that significantly boosts productivity from part loading to analysis, compared to stand-alone component solutions. The ultimate goal is to provide ease of use and fast workflows, from programming, execution and usage, to reporting and collaboration with design and manufacturing partners.

MAESTRO will initially be offered in multiple sizes and configurations, each designed for automated multi-sensor workflows using touch sensors and laser scanning sensors from a new ‘digital rack’ that tracks occupancy status, sensor supply status and status that can be accessed on the device and across native desktop and cloud applications. Other future-ready models and enhancements will follow, all based on a single consistent platform. MAESTRO will be available for order from 30 June 2025.

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