Solving mould measurement accuracy issues

Looking for ways to improve the inspection of its critical components, Beatson Clark sought the help of Bowers Group, investing in a Baty Venture XT 3030 CNC to assist in its measurement of critical mould component dimensions.

One of the UK’s largest manufacturers of pharmaceutical glass containers, Beatson Clark has been designing and producing glass bottles and jars for 270 years.
As highly specified tooling is the start of the process at Beatson Clark, an improved inspection system – namely the Baty Venture XT – was the next logical step in the company’s evolution.

Used every day, primarily by quality department inspectors, the Baty Venture measures components that form the neck area of bottles and jars. These components have many critical dimensions and form the bulk of the system’s work, allowing the team to check batch parts thoroughly and ensure the use of only quality parts in production. With its user-friendly design making the machine quick and easy to learn, the XT is also utilised to qualify the work of machinists, allowing the inspection all components that make up a tooling set.

Daryl Fletcher, mould shop manager at Beatson Clark, says: “The vision system is very impressive. It’s fast, accurate and user friendly. Being able to import DXF files gives us the option of comparison, as well as direct measurement. The software is intuitive and easy to use, yet very powerful when it comes to recognising features and alignment.”

For further information
www.bowersgroup.co.uk

Fractory raises €7.5m to fund expansion

Fractory, a UK-based online metal fabrication platform, has raised €7.5m to help expand the company’s operations internationally and accelerate the development of its technology offering. This Series A round is led by OTB Ventures, a leading European investor, with support from existing investors such as Trind Ventures, Superhero Capital, United Angels VC, Startup Wise Guys and Verve Ventures. The funding will be used to set up services in new markets such as the USA, France and Italy. Fractory will also use the funds for product and platform development, including the automation of CNC machining, additive manufacturing and casting.

For further information www.fractory.com

No-compromise CMM laser scanning

Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division is releasing its HP-L-10.10, which the company describes as a genre-busting non-contact laser sensor for CMMs that offers manufacturers the ability to perform dimensional measurements at comparable accuracy to tactile probing, and inspect almost any surface in a fraction of the time.

Manufacturers using CMMs for critical part measurements have become accustomed to trading speed for accuracy. The HP-L-10.10 sensor utilises Hexagon’s latest cross-platform laser line scanning technology to offer similar repeatability and performance compared with tactile measurements executed on the same CMM. Furthermore, it can measure 600,000 individual points per second with a probing form error of just 8 μm, rapidly capturing a complete high-resolution digital representation of a part that is valid for both surface and detailed feature inspection. While laser scanning has been possible on CMMs, the HP-L-10.10 is seven times faster than its predecessor and introduces high-precision scanning.

The new sensor employs Hexagon’s proprietary SHINE (Systematic High-Intelligence Noise Elimination) technology, making it possible to scan almost any part surface or finish at maximum speed and accuracy without user intervention.

“We believe this laser-line scanner is game-changing because it offers speed, flexibility and accuracy without sacrificing one crucial inspection need for another,” says Patryk Wroclawski, product manager non-contact & laser triangulation. “The HP-L-10.10 redefines what can be achieved with a single piece of equipment, so that our customers can utilise comprehensive measurement data for actions beyond final part quality, whether that be within new product development or continuous improvement initiatives.”

The HP-L-10.10 complements Hexagon’s extensive offering of sensor solutions for CMMs, providing manufacturers with greater flexibility in projects and the confidence that their CMM investment can take on the broadest range of measurement applications from larger sheet-metal parts to intricate electric vehicle components. Hexagon’s HP-L-10.10 is available for the Global S and Global Advantage CMMs.

For further information
www.hexagonmi.com

New UK headquarters for Ecoclean

Ecoclean UK, a supplier of machinery and services for parts cleaning, deburring and surface treatment, has taken new premises in Alcester, Warwickshire. On an area of 2000 sq ft, the new facility houses a showroom, service department and test facilities. The test centre with associated technical support is available for cleaning trials using different wet-chemical cleaning technologies at no cost, using authentic contaminated parts off the customer’s production line. Potential customers can also undertake tests using water-based media with neutral, alkaline or acidic formulations.

For further information www.ecoclean-group.net

3D PRINTERS BOOST LARGE SPACE PROJECT

Lockheed Martin has extended its use of MakerBot 3D printers to produce parts and designs for its upcoming space projects. MakerBot 3D printers have been in use for about five years, providing easily accessible 3D printing for Lockheed Martin’s team of engineers in a host of projects.

Lockheed Martin is a global aerospace and defence company, with a mission to connect, protect and explore. The company focuses on next-generation and generation-after-next technologies. In alliance with General Motors, Lockheed Martin is developing a new fully-autonomous lunar rover that could find use in NASA’s Artemis programme. This is a team that pays homage to the original Apollo rover, the development of which also involved GM.

Some early design and development elements of the rover’s autonomy system take place at Lockheed Martin’s state-of-the art R&D facility in Palo Alto, California. The Advanced Technology Center (ATC) is well-equipped with a variety of cutting-edge technologies, including a lab full of 3D printers.

The latest addition to the ATC’s lab is the MakerBot Method X 3D printing platform. With Method X, the team can print parts in materials like nylon, carbon fibre and ABS, providing the performance needed for accurate testing. Moreover, thanks to Method X’s heated chamber, Makerbot says the parts are dimensionally accurate without any variable warping that often comes with a typical desktop 3D printer.

“At ATC, we have multiple MakerBot printers that help with quick turnaround times,” says Aaron Christian, senior mechanical engineer, Lockheed Martin Space. “I will design a part, print it, and have it in my hand just hours later. This allows me to test the 3D-printed part, identify weak points, adjust the model, send it back to print overnight, and have the next iteration in the morning. 3D printing lets me do fast and iterative design, reducing wait times for a part from weeks to hours.”

Lockheed Martin engineers are testing a multitude of applications designed for the lunar rover. Christian and his teammates are using Method X to print a number of parts for prototyping and proof of concept for the rover project, including embedded systems housings, sensor mounts and other custom components.
“The MakerBot METHOD X produces dimensionally tolerant parts right out of the box – and for all sorts of projects,” says Christian. “You can print multiple parts that mate together.”

Many of these components are printed in MakerBot ABS and designed to withstand desert heat, UV exposure, moisture and other environmental conditions. In combination with Stratasys SR-30 soluble supports, parts printed using MakerBot ABS provide a smoother surface finish compared with breakaway supports. Printing with dissolvable supports also enables more organic shapes that would have been otherwise impossible to produce through traditional machining. In short, 3D printing encourages engineers to think outside of the box more than ever before.

“We’re in the very early stages of development and the rover we have at ATC is a testbed that we designed and developed in-house,” explains Christian. “This affordable, modular testbed facilitates quick changes using 3D printing to modify the design for other applications, whether it be military, search and rescue, nuclear applications, or any extreme environment autonomy needs.”

3D printing lets the team test parts affordably, iteratively and modularly. One of the components printed for the rover was a mount for a LIDAR, a sensor that can help determine the proximity of objects around it. Broadly used in self-driving vehicles, Lockheed Martin uses LIDAR in many of its autonomy projects. The mount was designed to sit on the rover, a completely modular robot system, so it was printed in ABS to handle more extreme conditions than typical PLA. The mount also allows engineers to continuously swap out the LIDAR with different sensors, such as a stereo camera, direction antenna, RGB camera or rangefinder. It has a complex organic shape that can be difficult to achieve via traditional machining. The mount also has generous access to ensure proper airflow and keep the part cool and temperature-regulated on the robots.

An embedded electronics housing is designed to go inside the rover, or in other robots at the ATC. Although the housing was printed in PLA, due to its hexagonal shape it offers robust strength. This design also lends itself well to the open airflow needed to cool the system, while still protecting the device.

In addition to printing prototypes, Lockheed Martin is using 3D printing for production parts that will go into various space-going platforms.

“A big advantage for testing and flying 3D-printed parts for space applications is that it simplifies the design,” says Christian. “You can create more complex shapes, and it reduces the number of fasteners and parts needed, which is a huge cost saving because that’s one less part that has to be tested or assembled. This also opens up for future in-situ assembly in space. You have designed, printed and tested the part on Earth. Now you know that, in the future, you can 3D-print the same part in space because you have shown that the material and part work there.”

Manufacturing in space is expensive but appealing for future applications and missions. Now, bulk materials can be flown into space to 3D-print multiple parts and structures, rather than flying each component out individually. Combining that with a digital inventory of part files, 3D printing in space reduces costs by eliminating the need for storage and multiple trips.

“The digital inventory concept helps push our digital transformation forward – you have digital designs that you can ship up, where you just print the parts and have them assembled on location,” concludes Christian.

For further information
www.makerbot.com