LAYOUT — Ballooning & Characteristic Management
Structured extraction of product characteristics from CAD with QIF (ISO 23952) traceability and inspection alignment
IVR.Layout transforms drawing ballooning into structured digital data connected to QIF (ISO 23952) and downstream inspection processes. Characteristics defined in CAD are identified, indexed and linked to measurement results collected automatically from IMTE — Inspection Measuring and Test Equipment — eliminating manual transcription and ensuring dimensional traceability.
What IVR.Layout Delivers
- Automatic ballooning linked to structured QIF characteristics
- Unique identification and indexing of dimensional requirements
- Direct linkage to DMIS inspection programs
- Traceable connection between drawing and measured results
- Revision control with impact visibility across quality modules
From Drawing Annotation to Structured Digital Data
Traditional ballooning processes often produce static PDFs disconnected from inspection and quality systems. IVR.Layout converts graphical annotations into structured data aligned with QIF (ISO 23952), preserving the semantic meaning of each characteristic.
Each dimensional requirement becomes a uniquely identified entity that can be referenced across inspection planning, SPC analysis and risk evaluation, ensuring that layout data is not isolated but part of a traceable digital thread.
Every ballooned item becomes a traceable and measurable characteristic in the quality system.
Integration with CAD and QIF (ISO 23952)
Characteristics extracted from CAD models are structured according to QIF (ISO 23952), maintaining association with geometric tolerances, datums and feature definitions. This ensures consistency between design intent and inspection execution.
Changes in CAD geometry or tolerances are reflected in the characteristic structure, enabling controlled updates across inspection programs and quality documentation.
- Association between GD&T definitions and inspection features
- Structured export for downstream modules
- Consistency between engineering revisions and inspection scope
Alignment with DMIS and Inspection Planning
Ballooned characteristics are directly linked to DMIS-based inspection programs, preserving feature identifiers and tolerance logic. This reduces programming ambiguity and avoids discrepancies between drawing interpretation and measured output.
Measurement results captured automatically from IMTE — Inspection Measuring and Test Equipment — are mapped back to the original characteristic identifiers, ensuring that inspection data corresponds exactly to defined requirements.
Inspection execution remains synchronized with design-defined characteristics.
Traceability Across SPC, MSA and FMEA
Once structured, characteristics can be analyzed statistically in IVR.SPC and evaluated for measurement capability in IVR.MSA. Risk implications are reflected in IVR.FMEA, maintaining alignment between design, measurement and risk control.
This integrated structure ensures that any dimensional instability or measurement limitation is visible at the characteristic level, supporting data-driven corrective actions.
- Characteristic-level statistical monitoring
- Link between measurement capability and tolerance risk
- Evidence-based feedback to engineering and production
Controlled Revisions and Digital Continuity
IVR.Layout maintains revision control for ballooned drawings and structured characteristics. When design changes occur, affected characteristics are flagged, enabling controlled updates to inspection programs and quality analyses.
This controlled digital continuity ensures that engineering, quality and production operate on synchronized and traceable dimensional definitions throughout the product lifecycle.
Layout becomes a structured and auditable foundation for dimensional governance.