SolidCAM UK becomes BTMA member

To underpin its supply of integrated CAM software to the UK market with support for turn-mill and sliding-head technology, SolidCAM UK has become a technical member of the British Turned Parts Manufacturers’ Association (BTMA). As well as employing sliding-head technical experts at its technology centre, SolidCAM UK has recently installed a new Star SR-38 Type B sliding-head turning centre, which is now an integral asset in delivering support to BTMA members. SolidCAM runs directly inside SolidWorks and Autodesk Inventor, with seamless integration and full tool-path associativity.

For further information
www.solidcamuk.com

LVD obtains Gold Label standard

LVD is among Belgium’s ‘Best Managed Companies’ for the fourth consecutive year, achieving the programme’s Gold Label. The Best Managed Companies designation is granted annually by Deloitte Private, Econopolis and KU Leuven to private Belgian companies with leading management processes, attention to sustainable management and strong financial results. Following the unique challenges of 2020, resilience, leadership and agility received particular acknowledgement in the selection of this year’s winners. LVD Group has representation in 47 countries along with manufacturing facilities across Europe and the US.

For further information
www.lvdgroup.com

New autonomous machine vision

Inspekto has launched the Inspekto S70 Gen.2 autonomous machine vision (AMV) system, a new and improved version of its established solution for industrial quality inspection. Powered by AMV-AI, S70 Gen.2 supports an even higher number of use cases and facilitates reliable quality inspection in challenging applications, such as highly reflective materials, moving parts and vibrating platforms.

Unlike traditional machine vision solutions, the S70 Gen.2 is an off-the-shelf edge device that users can install in as little as 45 minutes, without any expertise in machine vision or AI. The simple set-up procedure only requires an average of 20 to 30 OK (good) sample items and no NOK (defective) ones, meaning that no training, data labelling or annotation is required to create immediate proof of concept.

While retaining its user-friendly characteristics, the latest version of Inspekto’s flagship edge device offers new and improved attributes. The first is the possibility to deploy the system in an even higher number of use cases. As opposed to traditional machine-vision solutions, which are set to inspect only a specific use case, AMV systems are universal, which means they include both the required hardware and software, and can inspect a wide variety of parts. This feature now extends to the reliable inspection of highly reflective materials like metals and plastics.

The built-in 5000K LEDs of the S70 Gen.2, controlled by pulse-width modularisation and arranged in several distinct regions, allow the system to control the direction of illumination autonomously and take several images with varying light direction and intensity. S70 Gen.2 then fuses these images to create a single HDR image without any reflection.

For further information
www.inspekto.com

Automated CMM stylus cleaning

After detailed research into the effects of stylus-tip contamination when using a CMM, Dr Simon Lawes, Manufacturing Metrology Team at the University of Nottingham, said: “A stylus tip contaminated with tiny particles can lead to measurement errors 10 times greater than expected.” The problem in inspection rooms and on the shop floor is that stylus cleaning is a tedious and time-consuming job that reduces the amount of time the CMM is available for measuring.

To alleviate the problem, UK-based CMM manufacturer LK Metrology has introduced an automated stylus-tip cleaning system, LK StyliCleaner. It takes just 30 seconds to remove debris from a stylus tip, eliminating the tendency to delay cleaning and reducing the risk of taking inaccurate measurements.

LK says that the cleaning system is an inexpensive solution and works with all brands of CMM and software. No software integration is needed, just a simple part program for controlling the cycle. For LK CAMIO customers, the StyliCleaner is bundled with free-of-charge part programs for automated stylus-tip cleaning.

Controlled by the CMM’s axis movements, the automated cleansing cycle activates when a dirty stylus is programmed to move in front of the StyliCleaner motion sensor.

LK’s compact StyliCleaner, which has a 70 x 100 mm footprint, is available in two sizes, StyliCleaner8 and StyliCleaner16, to decontaminate styli from 0 to 8 mm, and from 6 to 16 mm in diameter. The separate control unit may sit on the CMM table or, if space is limited, can attach to the CMM stand via an optional mounting plate.

For further information
www.lkmetrology.com

GM CNC expands team

Unprecedented growth at GM CNC has seen the machine-tool specialist expand its team with two new recruits. The latest marketing appointments will see the company further build brand awareness, social media interaction, and provide support to the sales and service teams. Jake Riley and Reece Mundy will work across GM CNC and sister company GM Machinery, building communication platforms with existing and potential customers to inform the manufacturing industry about products, offers, services and live machine-tool auctions and events.

GM CNC director Nicola Howard says: “Digital marketing communication is an industry within itself, and while most companies believe they are proficient because they have LinkedIn or Facebook accounts, this route to market is vitally important to communicate with existing and new customers. This is why GM CNC is convinced that digital marketing communication deserves the attention of dedicated and experienced team members.”

For further information www.gm-cnc.com