Creaform and QFP, an Italian metrology company, have announced a strategic partnership to further deploy automated quality control solutions for the European manufacturing industry. QFP carries out its operations from facilities in Padua and Spoleto, and is able to offer its expertise to customers all over Europe.

The agreement signed between Creaform and QFP defines the latter as Creaform’s “strategic partner” for automation activities in Europe. This brings added value to the customers of both companies as it increases the offer of automated QFP systems, and makes this technology available to even more Creaform users in Europe.

Starting from Creaform solutions for automated quality control applications, the R-Series 3D scanning solution, QFP will be able to adapt this standard product to customised applications. The QBox Evolution meets specific customer requirements. Modification of the layout and integration with production lines, as well as the introduction of additional axes, contour elements, control cameras, and automatic loading/unloading systems, complete the proposal.

“The satisfaction of those who successfully use our systems is the most powerful engine that pushes us to invest energy and resources to perfect our skills,” says Roberto Mazzetto director of sales and marketing at QFP. “Our expertise as an integrator and solution provider is what most distinguishes us from other companies in the sector, and sharing these pluses with a company that focuses on the same values is what we were looking for to help our customers and partners grow in a healthy and structured way.”

Stefan Hoheisel, director of global business development at Creaform, adds: “The collaboration with QFP brings the already strong proposition of Creaform’s 3D metrology tools, skills and experience to the next level.”

For further information
www.creaform3d.com

Stalybridge-based engineering company Park Engineering has significantly increased the size of parts it can machine and subsequently measure on a CMM. It follows the installation at the start of 2022 of two new machines, a Spanish-built Correa Fox 50 five-axis machining centre having a 5.0 x 3.25 x 1.6 m working envelope, nearly 16% larger than the company’s previous largest machine, and an Altera M 30.20.15 CMM with 3.0 x 2.0 x 1.5 m axis travels built by LK Metrology. Compared with the largest of three LK machines previously operated by Park Engineering, it offers twice the measuring volume.

Quality manager Will Reeves says: “The increase in speed and accuracy of the Altera M, which is around six times faster and 216% more accurate than the oldest of our previous CMMs, was a great selling point, but we were also delighted to have a larger capacity CMM with a smaller overall footprint. It’s down to the top-class LK machine design, incorporating the best of modern materials and technology. “

In day-to-day operation, the Altera M CMM supports the inspection of large parts with drawing tolerances of typically ±50 µm, but is sufficiently accurate to measure smaller parts down in the 10 µm region. Irrespective of tolerances, LK’s software application CAMIO with its user-friendly operator interface allows the generation of CNC programs either online or offline for the inspection of batch quantities, further reducing inspection time and cost, especially when CAD models are available.

“Across the broad spectrum of work packages, we have access to CAD models approximately 50-60% of the time, with the remainder being work to print,” says Reeves. “However, the provision of CAD models is something we are always encouraging our customers to provide, as it minimises the risk of incorrect data being entered due to human error during the programming process.”

For further information
www.lkmetrology.com

HydraForce, the world’s largest supplier of high-performance hydraulic cartridge valves, electro-hydraulic valves, custom manifolds and electro-hydraulic controls, has invested in an Accretech RondCom NEX roundness and form measuring instrument.

European quality/warranty manager at HydraForce Birmingham, Ali Mohammed, says: “We manufacture a comprehensive line of high-quality hydraulic valves and manifold systems to quality standards that include ISO9001 and QS9000. The bores in our hydraulic manifolds have extremely challenging geometrical tolerances. Parameters checked include roundness, roughness, cylinder form, perpendicularity, parallelism, straightness, flatness, coaxiality and concentricity. All of these attributes need inspection to an extremely high degree of accuracy.”

HydraForce recently increased its number of European suppliers and reduced the amount components it imports from its US plant. As all of the parts previously sent from the company’s North American operation arrived in a fully inspected condition, to enable all brought-in European components to be 100% inspected HydraForce needed to increase its quality control capacity in the critical area of highly precise bore geometry measurement.

“This situation was further compounded as we have recently considerably increased our bore honing capacity,” says Mohammed. “To help overcome these potential difficulties I searched for a suitably accurate and efficient profile measuring instrument. Having studied the available models from three leading metrology manufacturers I came to the decision that Accretech’s RondCom NEX CNC instrument was the most capable option.

“As the RondCom NEX is relatively easy to operate, following operator training our new Accretech profile measuring instrument soon proved its high-precision capabilities across all bore parameters,” he continues. “Since we are now able to recall pre-written programs and start fast, highly-accurate bore inspection routines, our RondCom NEX is making a significant contribution to the efficient operation of our quality department.”

For further information
www.accretech.eu