ABB announced that it has acquired Spanish start-up company NUB3D, a leading innovator of digital, 3D inspection and quality-control solutions.

This acquisition will expand the group’s portfolio of ABB Ability solutions, which connect customers to the industrial Internet of Things. ABB Ability builds on the intelligent cloud and uses connected devices to generate actionable digital information for a broad range of customers.

NUB3D will become part of ABB’s Robotics and Motion division and the new global application centre for 3D metrology in ABB.

The two companies have made an agreement not to disclose the value of the acquisition.

A privately owned company headquartered in Barcelona, NUB3D supplies 3D white-light scanning sensor technologies using digital scans to optimise inspections and quality assurance in manufacturing. The sensors can detect defects on a manufactured part with an extremely high level of accuracy.

Combining NUBD’s proven competence in 3D vision and metrology with ABB’s brand and worldwide reach, ABB will be able to create automated turnkey inspection and quality-control systems. These systems can be used by automotive original equipment manufacturers, aerospace companies and customers in other sectors such as metals and plastics.

This technology represents the future of flexible manufacturing, facilitating a high level of automation with advanced data analysis, which can be used to optimise production processes.

“With this acquisition we are moving a step closer to the factory of the future. As our customers’ automation processes become more advanced and production cycles shorten, the ability to efficiently automate quality inspections becomes a compelling competitive advantage,” said ABB president of robotics and motion division Sami Atiya.

“Combining robotics and software is pivotal in implementing digitalization and expanding ABB Ability as a key driver of our Next Level strategy.”

NUB3D’s 3D sensor technology helps factories reduce cycle times while raising quality and reducing the risk of quality control errors. It rapidly records and compares the highly detailed geometric and surface data with digital CAD models, allowing the automation of inspection of manufactured parts and pieces.

“This is the perfect time and ABB is the perfect partner for us to accelerate our expansion into the growing 3D metrology market,” said NUB3D CEO Jorge Rodriguez.

“The ABB Ability platform perfectly complements our use of cutting-edge digital solutions, and ABB’s leading robotics portfolio and vast global footprint will ensure that we can make the most of our early-mover advantage in integrated robotic inspection solutions.”

The two companies have already successfully introduced two fully robotised state-of-the-art automatic quality inspection solutions using NUB3D’s 3D white-light sensors. They are used for off and in-line inspection and are marketed under the names FlexInspect and InspectPack.