A white light source is used to illuminate the surface of a part. The light travels via fiber from the CHRocodile control unit to an optical probe which then spreads the focal length over a discrete number of points creating a full spectrum of light as shown in the graph. Based on the wavelength of the reflected light, a very precise distance measurement can be taken up to 66,000 times per second. The optical probe determines the measuring range, or focal depth of the spectrum. Because of the high numerical aperture of the probes and dynamic range of the sensor, it is possible to measure on nearly all materials.