MusashiAI, a joint venture between SixAI Ltd of Israel and Musashi Seimitsu of Japan (a Honda Motor Corporation affiliate company), has launched its autonomous visual quality-control inspector, autonomous forklift driver and mobile robots fleet-management system.

Live trials of the technology were first announced in December 2019 at Musashi Seimitsu’s factory: a visual quality-control inspector for surface defects and an autonomous forklift driver robot coupled with an autonomous fleet-management system. The results of the trials have exceeded expectations and overcome technological barriers documented to date in the autonomous industrial robot market.

In addition to its initial commitment with an advance payment of $10m, Musashi Seimitsu is willing to expand the deployment of MusashiAI’s autonomous quality-control inspectors and autonomous forklift drivers in its factories globally, subject to the company meeting certain milestones in the development process.

In a further boost, MusashiAI has also secured a POC for its autonomous quality-control inspector with one of the world’s largest bearing manufacturers.

Human workers have traditionally been the mainstay of visual quality-control inspection when it comes to industrial products. This situation has prevailed because robots have not been able to surpass or even match the ability of humans to detect and identify surface defects quickly and accurately. MusashiAI’s team can customise the robots to suit the needs of individual customers The completion of live trials has confirmed that MusashiAI’s autonomous robotic visual inspector exceeds the speed, accuracy and stamina of human workers, reports the company.

For further information www.musashiai.com

Wenzel has released a new CT scanner, the exaCT M, which is designed for measuring and testing small to medium-sized components.

The exaCT M was built around a workstation-concept. Its compact design with well thought-out ergonomics make it possible for this new CT scanner to combine more power and flexibility with less space requirements, says the company. In addition, the machine has an integrated evaluation unit that allows for easy loading and makes it suitable for automating measuring and testing processes.

With a measuring volume of 300 mm in height and 200 mm in diameter, the exaCT is particularly suited to use in the dimensional inspection and non-destructive testing (NDT) of components, assemblies and materials. The machine’s flexibility makes it applicable to a variety of other fields: dimensional control; wall thickness analysis; actual-to-nominal comparisons; tool and component optimisation; development and rapid prototyping; reverse engineering; material defect analysis; structural analyses; assembly tests; and joining technology testing.

Manchester Metrology Ltd is an official reseller of the Wenzel exaCT M. The company is a specialist metrology business offering subcontract engineering work and metrology equipment for hire or purchase. Typical sectors served include automotive, aerospace, power generation and medical.

For further information www.manchester-metrology.co.uk

Mantech Geometrics has helped Rowan Precision, a member of Made in the Midlands, to increase its capability with an Aberlink machine that has enabled the company to carry out critical work for the medical sector. Mantech provides measuring solutions that include CMMs by Aberlink.

Rowan Precision has been manufacturing high-quality, precision-machined components and turned parts for over 30 years. During this time the company has built a strong reputation for quality and service, supplying national and international customers in diverse industries that include aerospace, medical, safety, defence, lighting, automotive, electronics and telecommunications.
The firm has purchased an Aberlink Xtreme 500 measuring machine from Mantech that enables it to carry out ventilator work for the COVID-19 relief efforts. Mantech is the official distributor of Aberlink products in the West Midlands and has supplied numerous machines to other Made in the Midlands members, such as Currie & Warner and Parker Precision.
Matt Lowe, technical director at Rowan Precision, says: “After looking around for a new measuring machine, we couldn’t ignore the value for money we would receive with Mantech Geometrics. We now have a fully automated and programmable CNC operation, which we didn’t have before, improving both our capabilities and productivity.
“We received impeccable service from Mantech, including offsite training and aftersales care,” he adds. “The machine has especially helped us during these difficult times as we wouldn’t have been able to produce components for ventilators without it.”
For further information www.aberlink.com

Ashford-based precision turned-parts manufacturer AES Precision Engineering has invested in a Trimos V5 height gauge from Bowers Group to ensure the quality of components it supplies to the medical, defence, aerospace, automotive and electronics industries.

Mark Wilson, director at AES Precision, says: “We have strict quality control procedures and must meet tight tolerances, so accuracy is incredibly important. The Trimos height gauge is a great solution for our general inspection requirements.”
AES typically uses a CMM for the measurement of complex components. However, for basic parts requiring quick and accurate measurements, a simple solution was needed that would be fast and easy to use. The business previously used a basic digital height gauge, but decided it was time to upgrade to a more sophisticated model with a few more features.
The Trimos V5 height gauge can be manually operated or motor driven, and has a clear display and user-friendly functions. Ease of use is a notable feature; so easy that all shop-floor operatives and inspectors at AES use the height gauge on a daily basis.
“We find the height gauge very accurate, and it has a great range of functions to suit our needs,” says Wilson. “Training was very straightforward and everyone here was confidently using the height gauge very quickly.”
Having the option of both manual and motor-driven operation means the height gauge can accommodate multiple users and achieve consistently accurate measurements, regardless of which mode is used. The side probe holders enable measuring with long, robust probes, which guarantee repeatability. AES calibrates the height gauge in-house at recommended intervals to ensure consistency.
For further information www.bowersgroup.co.uk

The UK Astronomy Technology Centre is working on two separate instruments that will teach astronomers far more about the universe than is known at present. Some of the parts are manufactured using tool paths created by Edgecam CADCAM software, and then measured to high accuracy using a Hexagon Global CMM.

The instruments will be fitted into the VLT (Very Large Telescope) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile – one of the most productive ground-based telescopes in the world.
One instrument is known as MOONS – Multi-Object Optical Near-infrared Spectrograph – which looks at many astronomical objects simultaneously, while gathering information from them all. The 75 mm square components for the precise calibration system which forms an essential part of the instrument, took a couple of hours to program with Edgecam. With the parts being used for holding optics, calibration was vital to ensure the incoming light source goes to the correct place. This outcome was achieved with the ATC’s Hexagon Global CMM, which checked the bores and positional tolerances of the components in the assembly.
The other instrument is ERIS – Enhanced Resolution Imager and Spectrograph – which will use the VLT’s adaptive optics to remove distortion from the atmosphere as the team hunts for planets outside the solar system.
The mechanisms for ERIS had to be within 10 µm for everything to line up, and the ATC used the CMM to guarantee that accuracy. Each individual mechanism was placed on shims attached to the optical bench. Measurements were taken to determine the centre of the mechanism and to make sure it was square and parallel. Shims were machined to bring the mechanism into the correct position, before the mechanism was rechecked. When the team was completely happy with each one, all components were placed together and a final optical check was performed.
For further information www.hexagonmi.com