Russia’s First “Mikrometron” to Inspect Micro-Implants and Precision Parts
The system eliminates human error and integrates into robotic production lines.
ITMO University has unveiled Russia’s first hardware-software system designed to monitor the quality of implants and other miniature metal products. The development, named Mikrometron, removes human error from the process and integrates into robotic production lines, the university’s press service told IT-Russia.
Automatic and Fast
Traditionally, specialists inspect microscopic components manually using micrometers, calipers, and optical microscopes. The new hardware-software system, developed at ITMO’s International Research Laboratory for Intelligent Optical Systems, performs these checks automatically and at high speed, reducing subjective influence to near zero.
Mikrometron consists of a precision optical inspection and measurement machine paired with specialized software, both developed at ITMO. The system can be used in a range of industries — from manufacturing dental and orthopedic implants to producing precision components for engines, turbines, fuel systems, instruments, and machinery.
Scan, Compare, and Generate a Visual Report
The technological cycle begins with the creation of a digital inspection plan. An operator defines the sequence of operations, the parameters to be measured, and acceptable tolerances. The part is then placed in the working area of the inspection machine. Once the system receives a start signal, it begins a detailed review: scanning the product, comparing measurements against the digital inspection plan and the virtual reference model, and generating a visualized report. The inspection cycle runs in real time, and the technology can be integrated into robotic production lines.
European, Japanese, and Chinese analogues of Mikrometron typically focus either on dimensional inspection or surface analysis. ITMO’s system performs both. The complex was also designed from the outset for seamless integration into robotic lines and digital twins of products, allowing inspection to take place even before full-scale production begins.
The project was initiated by Lenmiriot, Russia’s largest domestic manufacturer of proprietary dental implants and a long-time ITMO partner. At the company’s request, university researchers conducted R&D, designed and built two experimental prototypes of the automated system, and developed the data processing algorithms and software.
Laboratory staff are now working on technical solutions for serial production of the system.
Earlier reports noted that researchers at Moscow State University’s Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics developed a stochastic model for analyzing the time complexity of database-driven algorithms.
