Northern Italy has been one of Europe's most economically dynamic regions for decades. The mechanical engineering, automotive, and railway industries are constantly evolving high-tech ecosystems that define Lombardy's industrial profile. But the real driving force behind this innovative capacity is not only found in industry or R&D centers: it also originates in a place where the future of engineering takes shape - the Politecnico di Milano.
Italy's most renowned technical university is a research hub, a talent incubator, and a strategic partner for industry. Companies rely on its researchers, their models, laboratory-validated processes, and the precision of the technologies used to make innovation truly measurable.
It is precisely at this intersection between academia and industry that this success story begins.
When traditional metrology is no longer enough
In the laboratories of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Professor Massimiliano Annoni's team develops advanced manufacturing concepts: digitization in machining, digital twins, artificial intelligence applied to mechanical processing, precision milling, water jet cutting, and hybrid processing chains.
The components that are created or analyzed here are extremely complex: complex free surfaces, delicate microstructures, thin-walled geometries, and extremely variable textures typical of additive manufacturing.
This complexity has created a significant obstacle: many components could not be measured with traditional instruments. Some features were too delicate for tactile inspection, others too small, deep, or intricate. Prof. Annoni sums it up clearly: modern production requires measurement data that is as complete and accurate as the processes we intend to model. Without this data, progress remains theoretical and research loses its industrial effectiveness.
The introduction of the µCMM: a strategic turning point for the Politecnico
When the Politecnico di Milano decided to install Bruker Alicona's µCMM, the choice was not simply technical, but strategic. The Department decided to access a system that combines non-contact optical precision with the accuracy of a coordinate measuring machine.
The µCMM measures not only isolated surfaces, but entire 3D geometries: shape tolerances, roughness profiles, and microstructures. All this in a single stable configuration, made possible by the system's 5-axis kinematics.
Annoni describes the decision as follows: "We didn't need another microscope. We needed an optical CMM capable of measuring real components in 3D, comprehensively and repeatably."
A university component that demonstrates an industrial need
The most emblematic case does not come from an industrial project, but from the Dynamis student team, the racing department of the Politecnico di Milano, which develops its own Formula SAE racing car prototype every year. The front suspension, milled in five axes, features complex geometries, micro-chamfers, and critical tolerances.
Metrologist Antonio Costetti remembers well how problematic these parts were in the past. Without a 5-axis optical system, it was impossible to measure the entire geometry. The µCMM has radically changed the situation.
"For the first time, we were able to measure the entire suspension with a single workpiece setup," says Costetti. "The data was complete and reliable. It was a real step forward."
New fields of research become measurable and therefore achievable
µCMM has quickly become a key tool because it has unlocked previously inaccessible areas of research. Now, for example, it is possible to accurately analyze the microchannels required for electromagnetic filters and waveguides, where performance depends directly on geometry.
In the field of fuel cells, optical metrology has also made it possible to visualize microscopic deviations that affect gas flows. Tool characterization has taken a quantum leap forward: milling cutters as small as 100 micrometers can now be characterized in their entirety.
Finally, additive manufacturing benefits enormously from the measurement of local roughness, peaks, and micro-irregularities that affect process quality.
MetMaX: the digital twin that makes laboratories more productive
The MetMaX software platform allows entire measurement routines to be programmed and simulated offline using a digital twin of the system.
While the µCMM measures a complex component, the team can prepare programs for the next part. The machine hardly ever stops. For Annoni, who also develops digital twins and s for machine tools, the advantage is clear: simulating before executing means being faster and more accurate.
Training talent to strengthen the local industry
The µCMM is also an integral part of teaching activities. Students learn the entire digital production chain: from CAD modeling to CAM programming to 3D optical metrology.
Annoni emphasizes how strategic this is for the region: "Our students work with technologies that they will later encounter in the workplace. They truly understand how modern production works and how to reliably demonstrate quality."
Partnerships that strengthen an entire region
The collaboration between the Politecnico di Milano and Bruker Alicona has been going on for over ten years, starting with the first Alicona G4 and growing to the current situation, where high-precision 3D optical metrology is a flagship of the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Conclusion: precision as the foundation of scientific and industrial progress
The history of the Politecnico di Milano demonstrates how scientific excellence and industrial competitiveness are intertwined. 3D optical metrology is not an accessory to production, but a central element that defines what is possible.
It accelerates research, increases process reliability, improves training, and strengthens the competitiveness of the entire region.
Bruker Alicona's µCMM is not simply a measuring tool, it is a catalyst for innovation.
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