The Dudley factory of The Timken Company supplies the engineered bearings it manufactures into a multitude of industries, including mining, food and beverage, pulp and paper, cement, marine, and wastewater. However, recently there has been a significant increase in demand for larger bearings up to 1200 mm diameter for use in the construction of wind turbines, which promises exponential growth in the coming years as countries across the globe work towards meeting their green energy targets.

In May 2021, to enable the inspection of these larger bearings, Timken purchased an LK AlteraM 15.12.10 ceramic bridge CMM with axis travels of 1500 x 1200 x 1000 mm. Assisting further in the company’s quality control department is a Mitutoyo CMM capable of measuring ball and roller bearings with bores up to 800 mm in diameter. At the same time, LK upgraded this machine with a new controller and identical CAMIO 2021 software for measurement, programming, analysis and reporting so that inspectors are able to swap programs conveniently between both machines.

It is necessary to check dozens of high-precision geometrical features on each bearing to ensure that flatness, circularity, radial run-out and track width meet specified tolerances, some of which are within ±6 µm. Timken achieves this quickly, repeatably and automatically on the CMMs in computer-controlled cycle times of around 10 minutes.

William Hayes, quality improvement engineer at the Dudley factory, says: “We selected LK Metrology to provide the new inspection facility as it was the only potential supplier to offer us a new, well-priced, high-accuracy machine of the right capacity. The company was also proactive in offering to retrofit our Mitutoyo BN710 CMM with new control software, as we need two measuring machines to cope with our increasing production throughput.

For further information
www.lkmetrology.com

Metrology specialist Wenzel presented its new GT series gear measuring machine live in public for the first time at last month’s EMO 2021 exhibition in Milan. The GT series is based on the company’s successful tradition in the development and production of specialised gear measuring equipment.

During the development process Wenzel says it improved many decisive details. For instance, the new GT series works with the company’s standard WPC control and comes with a completely new gear measuring software – WM Gear, which was developed by Wenzel and includes the universal WM Quartis measuring software. With the GT series, Wenzel says it is setting standards as gear measuring technology grows together with universal measuring technology: tactile and optical.

The GT series provides solutions for a wide range of measuring tasks involving small-modulus gears and rotationally symmetrical components. It can measure parts that extend from toothed workpieces and shafts used, for example, in commercial vehicles, railway transmissions, or construction and agricultural machinery, through to the measurement of marine gears.

For the easy clamping of shafts, the gear measuring device can be optionally equipped with a counter holder. Using the counter holder, it is possible to measure diameters of up to 1200 mm. For components where measurement does not require a counter holder, users of the machine can measure diameters of up to 1600 mm.

With the new GT series of gear measuring machines, Wenzel is thus supporting a wide variety of industries, providing solutions for the automotive and energy sectors, as well as materials handling, agriculture, the aerospace industry, and mechanical and plant engineering.

For further information
www.wenzel-group.com

New in-machine measurement technologies released by Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division increase the variety of probing and tool-setting options for manufacturers seeking efficiency gains in a various production environments. Hexagon’s multi-sensor machine tool measurement capabilities now include compact tactile radio probes and a flexible tool-setter that can be used interchangeably to identify and correct production problems early in the manufacturing process.

Hexagon’s new m&h R-400 multi-sensor radio probe system can be used to fulfil both in-machine workpiece measurement and tool-setting requirements. Operators can deploy the system for a variety of purposes in a range of environments, including machining set-ups, measurement of complex free-form geometries with tight tolerances, and the checking of machine kinematics.

The company says that the dual-purpose m&h R-400 probe system is the first tactile probe on the market to include a built-in display. The display provides status data at a glance, enables users to save or load settings, and makes it easy to switch between tactile-sensor and tool-setting functions.

Designed for shop-floor flexibility, the system can serve as a radio probe by equipping it with a probe shank, or as a radio tool setter by mounting it on a tool-setter base. In addition to offering flexible in-machine measurement functions, the probe can help cut costs by eliminating storage of replacement sensors, as only one device needs to be stored.

The system also features an illuminated ring that completely surrounds the probe body and lights up to indicate current performance conditions and activities, so that operators can easily see the status of the system. Providing notifications such as ‘system ready’, ‘battery low’, and ‘probing’, the indicator ring makes shop-floor activity more efficient by offering immediate access to information that benefits work flow.

For further information
www.HexagonMI.com/MTM

The quality team at DKW Engineering is using Bowers’ pistol grip bore gauges to ensure the quality of its machined components. As a subcontractor, DKW Engineering receives a constant influx of new jobs in addition to its more regular work. This demand means that the team faces new inspection challenges daily, depending on the type of work and the diversity of components that it manufactures.

Instead of buying new plug gauges to suit the demands of individual jobs, DKW Engineering decided to invest in a more flexible and cost-effective measurement solution in the bore gauges from Bowers Group. Used several times a day, the bore gauges are an integral part of the inspection process. Operatives on the shop floor also use the bore gauges to measure parts with particularly tight tolerances during the production process.

Vitalij Cernomorec, quality inspector at DKW Engineering, says: “We find the Bowers bore gauges much better than standard plug gauges; they’re far more versatile. As a subcontractor, the type and size of components vary, so it helps that we’re able to use the bore gauge to check a range of measurements, including series of step bores, all in one go. They’re quick and easy to use on the shop floor for in-process checks and we always trust the bore gauges; the accuracy is excellent.”

The digital pistol grip bore gauges offer an ergonomic design with a large, clear LCD display, IP67 electronics protection and proximity output featuring built-in Bluetooth, allowing bi-directional communication for flexible data acquisition and storage.

For further information
www.bowersgroup.co.uk

To ensure the consistent supply of first-class steel strip, the Port Talbot facility of Tata Steel performs regular quality control checks. In accordance with the plant’s quality policy and its pursuit of further efficiencies, a search was recently made for an automated surface finish testing system. The answer arrived in the form of a bespoke machine designed and installed by Mitutoyo Gauging Technology.

Tata Steel Port Talbot section manager metallurgical testing, John Lovegrove, says: “Although our previously used manual surface-finish testing method delivered accurate results, it was extremely laborious and, at times, we struggled to keep pace with the amount of tests required.

“Having decided that we needed to source a highly efficient, automated testing system, we approached three companies with a list of requirements,” he continues. “Not only did the staff of Mitutoyo Gauging Technology quickly understand our needs, they also suggested several other improvements to our wish list that would bring additional benefits. Furthermore, as the project evolved and we realised the potential of the new custom-built tester, we asked for a couple of extra design tweaks that the Mitutoyo staff incorporated.

“Now installed and fully operational, our bespoke Mitutoyo machine performs rapid, very accurate surface finish tests on both sides of our strip samples in a single-pass, slashing our inspection times.”

As surface finish testing is now a fully automated process, after loading a large batch of samples into the machine, the operator concerned is able to perform other duties while the new tester operates unattended.

“In addition to drastically reducing our surface finish testing times, as all relevant inspection data is now downloaded automatically, our new Mitutoyo system has removed the potential for errors when inputting inspection data,” says Lovegrove.

For further information
www.mitutoyo.co.uk