Manchester Metrology helps Kent for cyclist Matthew Robertson. #engineering #engineering

Who is Matthew Robertson?

Robertson from Kent, who has cerebral palsy, initially struggled with cycling in his younger years, mastering the art as a 13-year-old.

After completing the program for the development of the British cycling team, Robertson made his world debut at the 2019 World Championships in Apeldoorn. There he performed well, finishing fifth in the weight class and 12th in the individual pursuit in an event in which he also broke the C2 world record in the 200-meter dash. Since then, he has continued this progress on the track and set new personal best times both in weight and in the individual pursuit of UCI Manchester Para-cycling International 2019.

As Robertson was determined to continue his cycling, Manchester Metrology was approached to perform various scans to allow the design of a support that would provide more comfort for Matthew Robertson as well as increase his safety.

The situation

In fact, Matthew Robertson had found a preferred riding position in which his right side was the safest, most stable, and most comfortable to ride. Robertson sought to capture data on his preferred position to build a personalized support that could hold his arm in place – now it’s actually a support pad in his upper forearm, one for his wrist and a grip for his arm. Overall, this was not very practical, and Robertson wanted to design something much more sophisticated so that it could be made from carbon fiber. As a result, it should maximize the comfort of his position, as well as keep him safe and stable.

The solution for metrology in Manchester

Using a Hexagon AS1 scanner on a Hexagon Absolute Arm 85 and a Peel 2 scanner, Charlie Ward, a scanning engineer at Manchester Metrology, was able to scan Matt’s engine for position. This provided a basic reference to potential alignment when combining future scan data. Matthew Robertson then took up his riding position, and Charlie Ward then went on to do two scans of Robertson’s arm from the shoulder down, with part of the bike turned on again. In addition, Charlie Ward then began processing the data, which, due to the high specification of the equipment and software used, took only a few days. This process basically involves getting a good alignment of the data (which is more difficult with a flexible / non-rigid scanning object), followed by cleaning the network to make it smooth and removing errors or overlapping data.

Robertson’s hard work and hunger for success are truly inspiring. Charlie Ward, a scanning engineer at Manchester Metrology, said: “It was a pleasure working with Matthew Robertson!

The AS1 Absolute Scanner is the cutting edge technology for 3D scanners for portable measuring arms and laser trackers. It is the best universal portable solution for measuring components of any size. The future of 3D scanning is AS1. Compatible with AS1 are the 85 Series arms, the 85 Series arms are the perfect balance between price-quality and accurate measurement, providing the required accuracy for a wide range of applications.

In addition, Peel 2 Scanner is a professional handheld 3D scanner in its purest form. It simply allows you to do high-quality 3D scans of small or large objects, while maintaining a budget for each project. The Peel 2 scanner can scan most items directly without any preparation, as it automatically recognizes the shape of objects.