ZEISS has introduced the VersaXRM 5 Insight, a hybrid 3D X-ray microscope that combines X-ray microscopy (XRM) and microCT in a single platform. The company says the system lets users inspect large samples, zoom into a region of interest, and capture high-resolution 3D detail without swapping hardware configurations or interrupting an experiment. ZEISS describes the system as "engineered for value," aiming to close a common gap: microCT offers throughput, X-ray microscopy offers resolution, and users have typically had to pick one.
The system's key addition is Resolution at a Distance, or RaaD, a capability ZEISS pairs with a flat-panel detector to resolve small features and internal defects inside larger samples. That combination removes a familiar prep step: cutting, trimming, or refixturing a sample to fit it under a high-resolution lens. For quality assurance teams, that matters. Refixturing introduces its own measurement uncertainty, and a system that can zoom to defect-level detail on an intact part shortens the path from scan to root-cause finding, whether the target is a void in a battery cell or a crack in a cast part.
Software handles the workflow side. ZEN navx, the system's guidance environment, walks operators through setup and sample-specific imaging choices, which ZEISS says cuts variability between operators. A companion FAST Mode adds rapid feedback for three-dimensional navigation, whole-part inspection, and intermediate-resolution scans, aimed at speeding up screening and in-situ experiments.
Dr. Keith Duncan, research scientist and director of X-ray imaging at the Danforth Plant Science Center in Missouri, beta-tested the system ahead of launch. "The improved detector architecture, which combines a flat-panel detector with Resolution at a Distance, delivers impressive image quality," Duncan said. "It helps users move from overview to detail quickly while keeping samples intact and workflows streamlined."
The company positions VersaXRM 5 Insight across three markets. In materials research, it targets failure analysis and in situ or 4D microstructural studies. In industrial inspection, it's aimed at root-cause analysis on semiconductor and electronic packages. In life sciences, researchers can map biological structures across scales before committing a sample to further study.
