The mainstays of Aberdeen-based L&N Scotland’s inspection regime are its three recently-purchased Faro QuantumS ScanArms, where they help maintain the quality of products that include subsea production flow spools, chemical injection lines and control systems equipment.

Quality engineer at L&N Scotland, Robert Knowles, says: “The technical advancements in Faro’s latest generation of ScanArms have enhanced our precision capabilities and accelerated inspection throughput.”

Although L&N Scotland’s new QuantumS ScanArms have delivered significant benefits to several company departments, it is in the area of subsea control system manufacturing that they have provided the biggest advantages, as QC inspector Adrian Chalmers points out: “We produce complex, pre-manufactured subsea control system kits that feature a large number of very long pipes. These pipes feature intricate compound 3D shapes with challenging dimensional tolerances. Further complicating matters, the pipes are located in close proximity to each other.”

He adds: “As it was the ideal combination for our requirements, we specified our three new ScanArms with Faro Prizm laser probes. Importantly, as the pipes in our kits can spring and flex under physical inspection, the accurate non-contact scanning capabilities of our QuantumS ScanArms have provided a major advantage. We can now precisely scan the most complex-shaped tubes and compare our findings to their CAD models. Then, if needed, we’re able to instantly send any required bending correction information back to our CNC bending machine. Also, when required, we can reverse engineer existing pipes and create precise models for use at any point in the future.”

The accuracy specifications for the Quantum ScanArm product line-up is certified according to ISO 10360-8 for non-contact CMMs. Faro says it is the first portable measurement arm manufacturer to publish its non-contact accuracy specifications according to this standard.

For further information
www.faro.com

Now in its 40th year of operation, Mitutoyo UK supports its customer base not only with the supply of precision metrology products, but with the provision of subcontract measuring services. Among the latest companies taking advantage of Mitutoyo’s inspection offer is Elland-based FeTu Ltd.

FeTu is an innovation-driven enterprise which has developed a revolutionary ‘green’ energy device that targets carbon reductions across a broad range of systems and industries. Given the demanding dimensional tolerances and the critical geometries of the device’s two moving parts, FeTu founder and CEO Jon Fenton recently searched for a source of independent, high-precision inspection. The answer to FeTu’s precision inspection needs was found in Mitutoyo’s measurement services.

Mitutoyo’s staff use one of the company’s Crysta-Apex S series CNC CMMs to perform a range of in-depth, high-accuracy measurement routines on FeTu’s components.

“The high-precision CMM inspection work undertaken by Mitutoyo and the comprehensive inspection reports supplied to us, related to the accuracy of the moving parts and other critical aspects of our designs, has been invaluable,” says Fenton. “In addition, the speed and in-depth nature of the feedback received from Mitutoyo has helped to truncate our developments times.”

Andrew Fifield, manager of Mitutoyo’s measurement services department, adds: “Our team uses a range of state-of-the-art metrology equipment that enables the most demanding of components to be measured, profiled, analysed, scanned, programmed or compared with CAD. In addition, we’re able to accommodate all QC, QA production or SPC requirements. Having liaised with Jon at FeTu, we concluded that the use of a Crysta-Apex S Series CMM was the ideal means of achieving the necessary levels of precision and the speed of feedback required.”

For further information
www.mitutoyo.co.uk