METAV pushed back from March to June

METAV 2022 (Düsseldorf, Germany), an international exhibition for metalworking technologies, is postponed from March to its new date of 21-24 June 2022. Dr Wilfried Schäfer, executive director of METAV organiser VDW (German Machine Tool Builders’ Association), says: “Unfortunately, the Covid pandemic continues to be highly dynamic with significantly increasing numbers of cases due to the omicron variant. The associated difficult and uncertain planning situation has led us to postpone METAV 2022 until June.” The early decision intends to help avoid further costs and deliver planning security for exhibitors.

For further information
www.metav.com

Qualiturn projects a quality image

Hertford-based subcontract machining services provider Qualiturn Products is an enthusiastic early user of Mitutoyo’s new PJ-Plus profile projectors.

Says managing director Nick Groom: “Although we were happy with our existing relatively modern profile projectors, after seeing a Mitutoyo PJ-Plus profile projector inspecting a range of fairly complex, precise components, I was amazed to see the difference that the inclusion of LED lighting made to the crispness of the images on the screen. Also, as the regular replacement of halogen lights following lamp burnout has always been a downside of using previous-generation profile projectors, I was happy to discover that the use of LED illumination delivered extended service life and reduced running costs.”

Now in regular use, Qualiturn’s two new PJ-Plus models are proving very popular with the company’s quality personnel.

“LED lighting not only reduces eye fatigue, but improved screen images enable easier and more precise component inspection,” says Groom. “In addition to helping ensure the continuing quality of our output, the ease and speed of use of our new Mitutoyo profile projectors has further improved our levels of inspection efficiency. So impressed have we been with the performance of the two profile projectors that I’ve placed an order with Mitutoyo UK for an additional three PJ-Plus models.”

With a resolution of 0.001 mm, Mitutoyo says that PJ-Plus profile projectors are heavy-duty, bench-top units that provide accurate, reliable measurements within manufacturing environments and other areas where conventional profile projectors struggle to cope. Suitable for use by experienced quality personnel or by production staff, PJ-Plus projectors feature an intuitive operation system that facilitates precise dimensional and angular measurements.

For further information
www.mitutoyo.co.uk

Rocol boosts customer support with new face

International lubricants manufacturer Rocol is reinforcing its support for UK customers with the appointment of a new metalworking fluid chemist. Daniel Moulson studied chemistry at Sheffield Hallam University before starting his career in the cosmetics industry. Working first in quality control, he continued his career there as a microbiologist. Moulson joins the technical department at Rocol where his primary role is working with the service engineers to offer advice and recommendations for the efficient running of metalworking equipment.

For further information
www.rocol.com

Penta enhances inspection capabilities

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Fareham-based CNC machining company, Penta Precision, has increased its measurement capabilities by investing in a Baty R400 shadowgraph profile projector supplied by Bowers Group.

In 2021, Penta Precision devoted significant investment into new, larger premises, as well as boosting its workforce and its capital equipment to include five-axis machine tools and the Baty R400 profile projector.

The R400 is used daily by the quality department for first-off checks and final batch inspections of CNC milled and turned parts, and by machinists to carry out in-process checks. Notably, the projector enables the company to measure a much wider range of parts due to the increased measuring range available when compared with the previous projector.

Penta Precision’s Baty R400 bench-mounted profile projector is suitable for both the shop floor and the standards room, combining high accuracy non-contact measurement with inspection with a large 300 x 150 mm measuring range. Offering a choice of digital readouts and optional automatic profile edge detection, the R400 ensures a projector that fits a wide range of requirements.

Mike Steppens, lead quality inspector at Penta Precision says: “We have a high mix of work, and so there are high demands on inspection. The R400 has helped to free up our CMM and prevent delays in first-off inspection. For the majority of the parts which can now be measured on the R400, we were having to use the CMM as the previous projector had too small a working window.”

The team at Penta are highly impressed with the Fusion software and its ease of use, with the ability to create a pictorial image of the part being measured.

For further information
www.bowersgroup.co.uk

Machine shop boosts production by 80%

Some years ago, ebbing oilfield business conditions spurred LeanWerks, based in Ogden, Utah, to pursue work in other industries (including aerospace and high-speed automation) to establish a more balanced customer base and steadier work flow.

Reid Leland, company president and co-founder, points to one example: an aluminium investment casting for a jet engine fuel filter housing. LeanWerks considered how it might take advantage of the milling capability of its Mazak Integrex i200S turn-mill to minimise the number of times the part is touched during machining. However, the part with its complex datum structure requires tight tolerances, including true-position tolerance of 0.25 mm on some widely separated features, and size tolerances of 0.01 mm and true position tolerances of 0.05 mm for other, less separated features.

To enable the effective machining of five faces of the investment casting in a single set-up, one of the measures adopted by LeanWerks was the integration of a touch-trigger probing system. As the turn-mill featured only one probing channel, LeanWerks retrofitted the machine with a Renishaw RMI-Q radio receiver and installed a PLC card in the main machine control panel to handle a second probe signal. The short probe uses a 25 mm long stylus, while the long probe uses a 50 mm long stylus mounted on a 200 mm extension. Both use a Renishaw RMP60 probe body.
The probing routines were programmed using Renishaw’s Inspection Plus software, and the resulting code was added to the machine program at the appropriate locations.

Alongside other measures, the process LeanWerks developed to machine this investment casting job on its turn-mill machine improved the production rate from 10 hours per part to less than two hours.

For further information
www.renishaw.com