View Engineering Bazic 8 Non-Contact 3D CMM Coordinate Measuring Machine 8x8

View Engineering Bazic 8 Non-Contact 3D CMM Coordinate Measuring Machine 8x8

The View Engineering Bazic 8 is a non-contact, vision-based 3D coordinate measuring machine (CMM) designed for high-precision dimensional inspection without physical contact with the part. Using a CCD camera array and a 6.6x objective lens, it captures surface geometry optically and calculates precise X, Y, and Z coordinates — enabling measurement of delicate components, PCBs, and fine features that would be damaged or disturbed by a touch-probe CMM. The system is controlled via a 3-axis joystick and mounts on a precision granite stage base.

Specifications & What's Included

• Make / Model: View Engineering Bazic 8
• Measurement method: Non-contact optical / CCD vision
• Objective lens magnification: 6.6x
• CCD array size: 485 x 512 pixels
• Standard positioning resolution: 0.00004 inch
• Control type: 3-axis joystick
• X-axis travel: 8 inches
• Y-axis travel: 8 inches
• Z-axis travel: 6 inches
• X and Y axis speed: 8 inches/second
• Z-axis speed: 4 inches/second
• Maximum workable load: 50 lbs
• Internal hard drive: Seagate ST-138, 30MB capacity (visible in photos)
• Internal electronics: Multi-slot controller card cage with approximately 6 expansion cards, dual cooling fans, and Quickdraw-branded power/control module
• Stage: Precision granite XY stage with linear rail guides
• Manufacturer: View Engineering, Simi Valley, CA

Applications

Non-contact vision CMMs like the Bazic 8 were developed in the 1980s and early 1990s primarily for the semiconductor, electronics, and precision manufacturing industries, where measuring tiny or delicate components with a mechanical probe is not practical. Typical applications include dimensional inspection of PCBs, IC substrates, connectors, precision-machined parts, and optical components. Because the measurement head never touches the part, there is no risk of deflection or surface marking — critical when inspecting soft, thin, or highly polished materials. The Bazic 8's 8x8 inch XY travel makes it well suited for medium-format PCB panels and small subassemblies. Systems of this type were also used for incoming inspection, first-article inspection, and reverse engineering in R&D environments. View Engineering was an early leader in vision-based metrology and was later acquired by Optical Gaging Products (OGP); the Bazic series represents their foundational line of automated vision CMMs from that era.