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The 803-MCP is designed as a metric calibration reference or scaling kit for three-dimensional measuring systems such as laser scanners or photogrammetric systems.  They can also be used in the construction of monuments or artifacts for "leapfrogging", providing stable transfer points and retroreflective targets.  Included are four retroreflective targets made specifically for this scale kit.

Invar tubing is great for metrology because it has such a very low coefficient of thermal expansion, which effectively eliminates changes in length due to handling or environmental changes.

The Invar tubing in the 803-MCP is manufactured to its stated length within ±0.003mm.  In addition, the Invar tubing components are hand-picked for each kit so that the total stackup error does not exceed 0.013mm.  This means that you can connect all of the tubes found in a given kit together end-to-end, and the stack will maintain the total length within the stackup error.  (Table below summarizes this information.)  We often recommend the 803-MCP when people ask for a metric calibration or scaling-quality system.

Individual components may be assembled to produce reference lengths from  221mm to about 2.84m, in 125mm increments.  The table below specifies all included components.