Maintenance and repair is an industry segment where ongoing investment in the latest metrology solutions is paramount.

A case in point can be seen at the Glasgow facility of Aerotron Avotec, which specialises in the repair and overhaul of rotary and fixed wing aircraft components for civil and military customers. The company has to work with everything from tiny bearings to shafts, gears, brake components, wheels and large outer casings for aircraft undercarriages. Engineers at the company are tasked with inspecting parts to extremely tight tolerances, which can often mean taking key measurements from difficult-to-access areas.
Having scanned the market for the most suitable solutions to these challenges, Aerotron Avotec invested in an IM-7500 optical imaging measurement system from Keyence, which has enabled measurements to be acquired using just one instrument, and in a fraction of the time previously required. Simultaneously, using the Keyence system has increased the accuracy of measurements, mainly through being able to reduce the amount of human interface involved. Once the information gathered is programmed into the memory of the machine, parts of the same specification can be measured quickly and simply with one or two button clicks.
This functionality greatly reduces the number of man hours that would traditionally be spent on such a task.
A spokesperson for Aerotron Avotec says: “The Keyence solution was recommended to us by a manufacturer whose equipment we overhaul and repair. This was a new departure for us because we hadn´t owned or used any Keyence equipment before. However, having looked at other solutions, the Keyence IM-7500 is the optical image measurement system that we believe most closely matches our requirements.”
For further information www.keyence.co.uk

Insphere, a specialist in metrology, has become a member of the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, primarily to support the ongoing development of its on-machine measurement and verification technology.

The Bristol-based company been working with the Nuclear AMRC, part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, since early 2018, on the development of its Baseline system.
Able to provide full verification of a large machine tool in less than one hour, Baseline facilitates regular checks and delivers confidence in performance prior to cutting metal. The Nuclear AMRC hosted the product’s launch in March 2019, after Insphere engineers worked with the centre’s metrology and machining team to test and develop Baseline on its largest machine-tool platforms.
“Becoming a member of the Nuclear AMRC confirms our ongoing commitment to develop innovative methods of improving machine-tool performance through the use of metrology data,” says Ben Adeline, Insphere chief executive. “This will form a critical part of our company’s strategy to develop state-of-the-art products for the advanced manufacturing community.”
As a tier-two member of the Nuclear AMRC, Insphere is able to work closely with the centre’s researchers, tap into other machining and metrology research projects, and build links with manufacturers in the supply chain for nuclear and other quality-critical industries.
Engineers from Insphere are now installing the Baseline system on the Nuclear AMRC’s Soraluce FX12000 horizontal boring machine, and will provide ongoing technical support as part of the company’s membership. Capable of working on parts up to 12 m in length and 5 m in diameter, the Soraluce is the largest machining platform available for collaborative R&D in the UK.
For further information https://namrc.co.uk/

A manufacturer of static CMMs, LK Metrology, has for the first time diversified into the supply of 3D articulating arm metrology systems, otherwise known as portable arms, with the launch of a range of 24 machines called Freedom arm.

Within the range there is a six-axis model for touch probing and a seven-axis version for multi-sensor metrology, including laser scanning. Both are available in two accuracy levels, and the four products come in six sizes with a reach of up to 5 m. International sales and support is through the company’s offices in the UK, North America, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and China, as well as via a worldwide distributor network.
“The solutions we can offer customers are greatly expanded by the range of arms,” says marketing manager Dave Robinson, who is based at the firm’s CMM factory near Derby. “Their portability makes them suited to line-side measuring and inspection in factories, while their compactness makes them ideal for use on machine tools, for in-process quality control.
“This new product platform is also particularly appropriate for reverse engineering applications, virtual assembly design environments and 3D modelling,” he adds. “Moreover, if very high precision tolerances do not have to be measured, a portable arm is a cost-effective way to progress from manual to CNC metrology.”
The two six-axis arms for tactile inspection are named Freedom Classic and Freedom Select, the former being the entry-level model and the latter the enhanced accuracy version, which is supplied with a calibration bar.
The addition of an extra degree of freedom provides infinite movement and enables laser scanning with a Nikon Metrology ModelMaker H120, MMDx100 or MMDx200. These seven-axis arms, again in two accuracy versions, are called Freedom Classic Scan and Freedom Select Scan.
For further information www.lkmetrology.com

Measurement and inspection equipment specialist Mitutoyo has integrated three QuadMatic and seven QuadSlimLine rotary tables from RPI into CMMs at its Japanese and UK operations.

RPI engineers travelled to Japan to support Mitutoyo with training and maintenance, and were also on hand to help integrate a two-axis rotary table at Mitutoyo in Halifax, UK.
RPI’s rotary tables are designed as a fourth axis, and are accurate to ±0.5 arc-seconds, which is equivalent to hitting a golf ball at a hole more than 22 km away and scoring a hole in one every time.
“It’s great news that Mitutoyo has chosen to invest in 10 of our Quadrant range rotary tables,” says Jim Palmer, RPI’s sales manager. “As well as significantly improving overall measurement accuracy and reducing uncertainty, our rotary tables greatly increase measuring volume, thereby improving the flexibility, productivity and efficiency of our customers’ CMMs.”
Adding Mitutoyo to its customer base means RPI now supplies all the major CMM manufacturers which use rotary tables, including Hexagon, LK and Wenzel. RPI has been supplying the CMM market since 1977 and can boast more than 750 successful installations worldwide.
The QuadSlimLine and QuadMatic ranges are part of RPI’s Quadrant range of CMM tables, which also includes the QuadDualPurpose, QuadProfile and the QuadUniversal. These tables come in a wide size range, from 200 to 1,500 mm diameter, and can be fully integrated to the host machine controller.
For further information www.rpiuk.com

Daventry-based Alltube Engineering, a manufacturer of flexible and rigid pipeline products, has invested in a Faro Quantum E ScanArm.

Technical director Paul Fuller says: “Achieving optimum 3D shapes is never easy as, for instance, a bend with a small angular error at one end of a long pipe can result in an inaccuracy of several millimetres at the opposite end. Hence, to satisfy the challenging briefs provided by our customers, designs often feature demanding 3D geometric forms with extremely tight dimensional and geometrical tolerances. To ensure that each hydraulic pipe adheres to the required design specification, we inspect all products before dispatch.”
As the use of physical measuring devices for inspecting rigid pipes is both cumbersome and long winded, Alltube recently investigated the latest non-contact measuring systems. A practical demonstration of a Faro Quantum E ScanArm fitted with FaroBlu Laser Line Probe SD, measuring a selection of the company’s most complex products, proved it was the answer to Alltube’s inspection problems.
“Not only was the Faro ScanArm much quicker and easier to use, it proved more accurate than our previous inspection methods,” says Fuller. “It was also able to link to our CNC pipe-bending machines, and automatically generate customer inspection reports. Last, but not least, the Quantum E FaroArm/FaroBlu LLP combination is capable of both contact and non-contact measurement. By using the ScanArm’s 3D laser-scanning capabilities, we’ve reduced our inspection times by approximately 90%, and by association, reduced our delivery times.”
For further information www.faro.com