Father and son team Andy and Owen Phillips, both of whom are pilots and aviation engineering enthusiasts, started a subcontract machining business in Havant in 1994. After four years, they applied their extensive knowledge acquired over many years of building and flying aircraft to transition their firm, Andair, into a manufacturer of fuel system components for light aircraft in the sport, amateur-build and commercial aviation sectors.

The QAS International and ISO9001-certified business is now a global producer of such equipment, with 90% of its fuel selectors, filters, check valves, gascolators and fuel pumps going to export markets. Regular customers include Cessna, Cirrus, Czech Sport Aircraft, Diamond, Grob, Grumman-Northrop, Rotax/Bombardier, Scaled Composites, Technam and Vans.

Miyano fixed-head, twin-spindle CNC lathes from Citizen Machinery UK have underpinned the production of Andair’s turned and milled parts since January 2005, when the first turning centre with sub spindle arrived at the Havant factory: a five-axis BND-42S. The machine proved so efficient that a second, identical model took its place on the shop floor six weeks later. Fast-forward 16 years and the company has bought a total of seven Miyanos, the latest being the first 80 mm bar capacity ABX lathe to be installed in the UK. The ABX arrived in June 2020, equipped with an Iemca KID 80 short bar magazine.

Andair had been waiting eagerly for the launch of the 80 mm version of this twin-spindle machine with two Y-axis turrets, having since 2015 been producing 3-inch and 2.75-inch diameter components from billet held in a Hainbuch chuck in the main spindle of a smaller ABX-64SYY, of which there are two at the Havant factory. The high requirement for components of this size meant that the lathes were performing chuck work 60% of the time.

Says Owen Phillips: “The production efficiency of our larger parts used to be lower because we could only manufacture a limited number of components from a billet, say five or perhaps seven. In the case of the aluminium body for an oil-air separator we are currently machining, we could only produce one per billet. Now we can machine all these parts from bar using the 80 mm capacity lathe, saving a lot of time. It runs continuously throughout the day and, although we are not set up for 24/7 operation at present, with this machine and our other Miyano bar autos it is feasible in the future.”

The other lathes in the factory all have twin turrets and Phillips had ordered a similar specification for the 80 mm model. Due to the cancellation of the MACH 2020 machine tool exhibition, however, Citizen Machinery had in stock a triple-turret ABX-80THY 12-axis model with a Fanuc control system that it had intended to launch at the show. Owen was initially hesitant, having never used a lathe of that configuration before, but decided to buy it anyway as it was available immediately. The machine turned out to be a complete revelation.

“I would not buy another twin-turret machine in future, because having three turrets is so much more productive,” states Phillips. “I would like a four-turret version if Miyano made one.”

He adds: “It’s no problem to transfer work to the more complex lathe, as a new program can be checked easily using the manual retrace function in the control, avoiding any possibility of interference between tool and workpiece.”

Phillips explains that the two turrets positioned above the spindle centreline, each with 12 live stations, work at the main and counter spindles respectively. The third turret is located below and has unrestricted travel to operate at either spindle, thus providing flexibility for balancing front and reverse-end machining. Three tools can be in cut simultaneously to achieve very high levels of machining efficiency.

So far, the company has produced around 60 different parts on its new lathe, all from 3-inch diameter bar. In fact, in one instance where a customer required a large valve machined from a 4.5-inch diameter billet, Owen turned the end of it down to 80 mm to allow machining in the collet.

In the case of the oil-air separator body, it is now possible to machine five from bar in 30 minutes whereas before, with an operator loading billets manually into the chuck of an ABX-64SYY, it took at least 45 minutes to achieve the same output. In other words, productivity is up by more than 50%. A further benefit to Andair is that the two 64 mm bar lathes can now be devoted to collet work, as per the original intention.

Another example of where the 80 mm bar machine has introduced benefits is when machining one of the few Andair components that the pilot actually sees, a fuel selector fascia plate. This aluminium part requires a very high level of surface finish, necessitating the use of a diamond-tipped tool. Engraving is also necessary to indicate tank selection. Previously, after turning the part from a billet, a second operation was required on a machining centre to mill material from the reverse and drill four holes.

Today, however, milling and drilling – as well as turning – are carried out from bar on the Miyano, leaving only a small operation to clean the bore on a separate machine. Cycle time is now at least two minutes less, while one operation has been eliminated.

In the case of another component, in fact the first that Andair made on the ABX-80THY, all three turrets had almost an identical amount of work to perform. Cycle time is 2 minutes 15 seconds, including parting-off and the component comes off finished, whereas previously the cycle was 4 minutes. Plus there was the need for a second operation, requiring extra time for both metal cutting and inter-machine handling.

Aluminium accounts for three quarters of throughput at the Havant factory, with a wide range of other materials also machined, including brass, bronze, plastics, tool steel and stainless steel. Batch sizes are relatively low, normally between 100- and 500-off, so there is a lot of machine preparation.

The Miyanos are quick to set up however, as they have built-in tool setters and program preparation takes place offline using an Esprit CAM system. Typical tolerances are in the realm of ±0.02 mm. Phillips reveals that any occasional out-of-tolerance parts are always the fault of the tool, as the machines do not move.

For further information
www.citizenmachinery.co.uk

GF Machining Solutions has recently supplied Luzzo Bespoke, a designer and manufacturer of customised products, with a new Mikron MILL E 700U five-axis machining centre. The machine, which features an integrated seven-station automatic pallet changer (APC), is now operational at the company’s 10,000 sq ft facility in Brackley, where it is being used to machine, in low volumes, a range of high-precision components that go into bespoke products for high-end automotive, motorsport and lifestyle customers.

Luzzo Bespoke machines these parts from materials that include aluminium, brass, stainless steel, carbon fibre, wood and plastic. Tolerances are typically ±0.1 mm.

The MILL E 700U is also being used to machine work-holding and fixtures, as well as numerous prototypes and pre-production parts – integral to the company’s ‘design for manufacturing’ services.

Luzzo’s new machine joins, and has been installed adjacent to, another Mikron five-axis machining centre, a HEM 500U, acquired by the company in 2016. Together, these two five-axis machining centres provide the company with fast, efficient and reliable milling capabilities.

Like many other manufacturers, Luzzo Bespoke felt the impact and effects of the pandemic. Staff were furloughed and several orders and contracts were postponed, while some were cancelled altogether. However, during the summer of 2020, business began to pick-up and has been on an upward trajectory ever since.

Says Brian Challenger, Luzzo Bespoke’s managing director: “Since the beginning of 2021 things have improved considerably, so much so that if we didn’t strengthen our existing milling capacity and capabilities – sooner rather than later – production pinch points would occur which could detrimentally affect our operational efficiencies and productivity. As a result of these deliberations we decided to invest in a new machining centre.”

To address its potential milling capacity shortcomings, the company spent time identifying the ‘need to have’ specifications and capabilities of the new machine. Luzzo Bespoke is a keen advocate of five-axis machining, and of automation.

“Over the past 12 years our machine shop has changed and improved dramatically from having no CNC machine tools to one that boasts high-performance CNC multi-tasking lathes and three- and five-axis machining centres,” states Challenger. “We believe that five-axis machining is the way to go. The technology makes our company more flexible and enables us to machine parts in fewer set ups, often in one hit. This makes us more efficient and productive.”

He continues: “Machines with integrated automation have the ability to run lights-out overnight and at the weekends. A machine with integrated pallet change capabilities can give us up to 14 hours additional machining time per day: a massive boost to our productivity.”

Further machine requirements included: a high-speed, high-torque spindle; full simultaneous five-axis machining capability; good sized working envelope with easy part loading/unloading; generous sized ATC; efficient and effective swarf management; and the latest Heidenhain control.

The decision to invest in a Mikron five-axis machine from GF Machining Solutions was not a foregone conclusion, although the company’s “existing relationship with GF Machining Solutions put them in the box seat”.

Luzzo Bespoke has invested in a number of Mikron three- and five-axis machining centres over the years and, prior to the arrival of the new MILL E 500U, had two three-axis machining centres (VCE 800 Pro) and one five-axis machine (HEM 500U) at its disposal.

“We approached GF Machining Solutions and other companies with our requirements,” recalls Challenger. “Taking the machine cost, its availability and its technical specifications into account, as well as the applications and service back up of GF Machining Solutions, we invested in the Mikron MILL E 700U.”

The MILL E 700U five-axis machining centre has a rigid C-frame construction, large-sized guideways, a double-supported (trunnion-type) direct-drive rotary tilting table and an integrated seven-station APC. Further features include a Heidenain TNC640 control and a 36 kW/20,000 rpm OptiCool spindle with oil-air lubrication.

Says Challenger: “The machine’s advanced spindle technology with oil-air lubrication enables us to maintain part accuracies and keep within tolerances during long machining runs, while its direct-drove rotary table technology, in combination with the StepTec spindle, means we can achieve super-fine surface finishes on machined parts. All in all, the MILL E 700U is a versatile, high-productivity machine – and is a real asset to the company. The future is five-axis machining and over the next few months, we intend to make further investments in this technology.”

Luzzo Bespoke designs and manufactures a range of high-quality customised products for a diverse range of markets and industries. One of the most important of these is the luxury car market, for which the company produces high-end products that include drinks cabinets, picnic hampers, under-seat fridges, humidors, bespoke clocks, dials and instrumentation panels. Among the prestigious car makers to benefit from these products include Rolls-Royce, Bentley, McLaren, Bugatti and Jaguar Land Rover.

The company also manufactures a range of motorsport and classic car parts and, to lessen a potential over-reliance on the automotive sector, has diversified its operations by designing and manufacturing products for the marine and furniture markets.

Many products manufactured by Luzzo Bespoke, especially for its luxury car customers, are supplied as ‘finished’ products with all manufacturing and assembly taking place at its Brackley facility.

“We are a ‘one-stop shop’ design and manufacturing solutions provider,” states Challenger. “In addition to our comprehensive machining capabilities, we provide a range of other manufacturing and finishing services and specialisms in-house, which include wood veneering, laser engraving/marking, spray painting and polishing.”

Bringing all these services and specialisms under one roof helps the company maintain its high-quality standards, and keep control of its operational costs and customer delivery schedules.

“We made a conscious decision some years ago to avoid outsourcing,” he says. “This move has helped us become more competitive and provided positive market differentiation.”

A good example that helps highlight the range of Luzzo Bespoke’s in-house capabilities is the Rolls-Royce Champagne Chest. Part of Rolls-Royce’s accessories portfolio, the chest, made from machined aluminium and carbon fibre, comes wrapped in natural grain black leather and oak. The chest opens at the touch of a button, with the illuminated central bay exhibiting four hand-blown crystal champagne flutes, which Rolls-Royce says are “arranged to evoke memories of a V12 engine”, and the owner’s choice of Champagne – kept at the ideal temperature thanks to black anodised aluminium and carbon-fibre coolers.

For further information
www.gfms.com

Founded over 100 years ago, Blackburn-based Dobson & Beaumont is a subcontractor with a distinct niche: thread rolling. This established process relies on cold forming to create the threads, while simultaneously providing advantages such as work hardening, strengthened grain flow and overall strength that is some 25% more than that of threads produced by cutting operations. Before rolling its threads, Dobson & Beaumont has to machine some of the most challenging materials known to the industry, which is one of the many reasons the company has just purchased a Nakamura-Tome AS200 twin-spindle turning centre from the Engineering Technology Group (ETG).

Appointed managing director of the family business last year following the unfortunate passing of Phil Dobson, who had served the company with distinction for 50 years, Richard Guest comments on the firm’s position during the pandemic: “Like all subcontract manufacturers, we were impacted by Covid-19. Luckily for us, our niche offering sees our business work across the fastener, pump/flow control, automotive, motorsport, oil and gas, petrochemical, marine, defence, subsea, wind energy, and aerospace markets, which means that we were not too heavily impacted by one particular industry segment.”

The pandemic allowed the company to review its processes and ageing plant list, and instigate a plan for investing in new technology.

“We machine a lot of parts in batches that can vary from 4 or 5-off through to 50, 100 and beyond, and our turning centres were all single-spindle machines,” explains Guest. “This meant that most of our turned parts required secondary operations. We knew we needed a twin-spindle turning centre to reduce secondary operations and, following a comprehensive review of the market, the Nakamura-Tome AS200 twin-spindle turning centre from ETG was the perfect choice.”

The company machines ‘normal’ materials but increasingly processes more challenging metals such as titanium, Inconel, stainless steel and super duplex to tolerances in the region of ±0.0125 mm. Thread rolled parts are often critical components in their respective assemblies.

“We run six Hardinge lathes and have been using Hardinge for over 20 years, so we understand the build quality, rigidity and stability they offer,” says Guest. “Out of the available machines, the Nakamura-Tome from ETG was sensibly priced. In addition, it had the same FANUC programming language as existing machines and was supplied as a long-bed version for our 400-500 mm parts with a bar feed, part catcher, twin spindles for one-hit machining and a reputation for build quality, stability and precision.”

Installed at Dobson & Beaumont in April, the new Nakamura-Tome AS200 twin-spindle turning centre immediately replaced two ageing machines to release shop floor space, free-up machine capacity, cut power consumption, and reduce set-ups and the subsequent labour requirement. In the few months since the machine has been installed, it has reduced the cycle time for a number of parts, including connecting rods from 2 minutes 10 seconds to just under 1 minute. The company has also reduced the cycle time of double-ended bolts from 1 minute 30 seconds to less than 45 seconds. The ease of use of the Nakamura-Tome AS200 and its FANUC CNC control have immediately impacted the 14 staff at Dobson & Beaumont.

The most dramatic saving has arrived on hexagonal head bolts, where the cycle time has fallen from 8 minutes to 1minute 30 seconds.

Says Guest: “We produce a lot of bolts where we have to machine the hexagonal heads, and this is a perfect example of the savings that we can achieve with the Nakamura-Tome machine. The combination of twin-spindle machining, powerful and robust milling capability, and automated production through the bar feed and part catcher has made a significant difference on this component – as it will on future parts. This machine is a step-change in technology for our business and, as we move forward, we will be aiming to transition legacy work from existing machines to the new Nakamura.”

The robust Nakamura-Tome AS200 has a spacious work envelope offering a maximum turning diameter of 340 mm and a turning length of 570 mm with a bar capacity of up to 65 mm diameter. A 15-station tooling turret provides machining flexibility, supported by a 5.5/3.7 kW driven tooling motor that achieves a speed of 6000 rpm. Motors rated at 15 and 11 kW drive the main and sub-spindles. These high-torque units are capable of reaching a maximum speed of 4500 rpm.

Concluding on the acquisition, Guest says: “We are still in the early days of this installation, but, so far, it is clear we’ve bought the right machine for our business. We have drastically cut cycle times on many parts and we’re eliminating secondary operations across the shop floor. ETG has been extremely helpful in getting us up and running, and we’re still enlisting their help on more complicated components. We have one part that currently requires five operations, but ETG’s engineers will help bring that to one-hit machining on the Nakamura. It’s a perfect example of why we have moved to twin-spindle turning with Y-axis milling.”

He adds: “The next step for Dobson & Beaumont is processing more new and legacy work through the Nakamura to reduce the burden on other turning centres, as well as in the milling department. With the bar feed and parts catcher, we also have the opportunity to automate the production of complex work, meaning unmanned and lights-out running. The investment in the new Nakamura, as well as a new thread-rolling machine, has created enthusiasm on the shop floor and who knows – we may be looking at more Nakamura machines from ETG in the future.”

For further information
www.engtechgroup.com

Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland, has supplied Eurotubes UK, a global wire guide and stator/rotor winding needle design and manufacturing specialist, with four new high-performance machines. The machines – three Doosan DNM 4500 machining centres and a Doosan Lynx 2100LSY – are now operational at the company’s modern 18,000 sq ft facility in Portland, Dorset.

All four Doosan machines are machining high-precision wire guide tubes/nozzles used in the coil winding industry. The tubes/nozzles form part of automatic CNC-controlled machines that wind enamelled copper wire around a core to create electromagnetic coils.
In addition to machining its range of standard wire guide tubes/nozzles, Eurotubes also uses its new Doosan lathe and machining centres to produce customised work holding for the accurate and secure machining of its high precision tubes, nozzles and needles, as well as prototypes for OEMs and end-user customers seeking new and/or optimised tube or needle designs.

Says Greg Bedford, Eurotubes’ managing director: “The recent acquisition of four Doosan machines has helped strengthen our position in key markets and with specific customers.
“By improving our machining capacity and capabilities we’ve been able to achieve higher part accuracy and repeatability, reduce part cycle times and win contracts to machine ‘other’ complementary components used in the manufacture of electric motors and copper wound coils generally.”

The new Doosan machines have replaced several older machines at Eurotubes. These machines, although still performing adequately, could not be relied upon to deliver the consistently high and repeatable accuracies – or the superior surface finishes – required by Eurotubes and expected by its domestic and international customers.

“Consistency and repeatability are critical,” says Bedford. “When a customer purchases our wire guide tubes, nozzles and needles they have to be identical, not just in terms of their physical dimensions, but of the performance they deliver.”

The tubes and nozzles machined by Eurotubes on its Doosan machines are made from BS1407 British ‘silver’ steel, a versatile high-carbon, low-alloy tool steel that is generally supplied in 1 m bar lengths in a range of different diameters which are then cut to down to size by Eurotubes using its in-house bandsaws. Small batches are the norm (50-off maximum).

Once cut to size, blank machining takes place on the multi-tasking Lynx 2100LSY, making full use of the lathe’s integrated Y axis (±52.5 mm), 6000 rpm driven tooling capabilities and its 5” chuck sub-spindle, which enables front and back-end machining operations on the tip, neck and holder elements of the tubes in a single set up.

Tubes and nozzles designed, manufactured and supplied by Eurotubes are available in a range of sizes: the largest tubes can range from 20 up to 200 mm in length, while tube diameters/geometries vary enormously. For this reason, Eurotubes has over 7000 different designs of wire guides.

“We are involved in micro-machining and, as such, need access to technologies that can deliver tolerances to within 5 µm,” says Bedford.

A critical element of every wire guide tube is its centre hole. These can be incredibly small – down to 0.2 mm in diameter – and, as such, involve the use of small diameter drills and reamers, in conjunction with tube drawing and wire EDM technologies.

Drilling and reaming operations take place on the DNM 4500 vertical machining centres which, in addition to their rigid design and directly coupled 15,000 rpm spindles with integrated thermal compensation, feature large worktables (1000 x 450 mm) and through-spindle coolant.

The dimensions of the tables, combined with the small size of the components that require machining, enable multiple-part set up and machining in one hit using Eurotubes’ bespoke multi-vice work-holding solutions, thereby improving the company’s productivity and operational efficiencies.

Says Bedford: “Owing to the small and delicate nature of the components being machined, we design our own work holding and clamping solutions to protect the parts and ensure their integrity during machining.”

A critical feature of Eurotubes’ nozzles and tubes are the small diameter holes that run in perfect alignment from one end of each tube to the other. These holes require machining to high accuracy.

“The cylindricity, concentricity and surface finish of the internal holes are important, and affect wire feed rates and wire tension,” explains Bedford. “They also ensure protection of the enamelled copper wire and help reduce friction. Our DNM machines, combined with the skill and expertise of our staff, ensure that the wire guide tubes we manufacture are up to the job.”

Eurotubes’ three DNM 4500 vertical machining centres and the Lynx 2100LSY multi-tasking lathe are the first Doosan machine tools on site and, according to Greg Bedford, “they won’t be the last”.

He continues: “We’re committed to continuous improvement and are always ready to invest in our people, plant, equipment and processes when the time is right. When we entered the market for new vertical machining centres, we did our homework, drew up a list containing our needs and wants, and approached a number of suppliers. We needed vertical machining centres equipped with good-sized work envelopes, powerful and high-speed spindles, and the latest Siemens control.”

Eurotubes visited Mills CNC’s Campus facility in Leamington.
“We liked what we saw and recognised that the performance and reliability of Doosan machines – combined with Mills CNC’s best-in-class aftersales service and support – were difficult to beat,” says Bedford. “These strengths, plus the fact that Mills can deliver and install Siemens-controlled machines quickly from stock, all impacted on our decision-making.”

He adds: “The part accuracies, process reliability and machining flexibility we experienced from investing in the DNM 4500 machines meant that when, some months later, we were looking at acquiring a Siemens-controlled compact, multi-tasking lathe – we again approached Mills with our requirements.”

Eurotubes was created in 1987 by Rob Bedford (Greg’s father) who built the company from scratch and pioneered the use of wire guide tubes in the coil winding and motor winding industries. Fast forward to 2021 and the company now employs 21 members of staff and, in its 34-year history, has manufactured over 4.5 million tubes.

Concludes Bedford: “I am incredibly proud of what my dad achieved. His commitment to innovation and quality, and his entrepreneurial spirit are at the heart of the company.
“Through investing in the latest technologies and employing expert staff with a ‘can do’ attitude, Eurotubes is now the undisputed market leader in the design and manufacture of wire guide tubes and needles.”

For further information
www.millscnc.co.uk

Part of the Renk group, Horstman is a manufacturer and global supplier of suspension systems for heavily armoured and tracked vehicles. The company also produces safety-critical engineering components allied to its core products for the subsea and aerospace industries. A transatlantic investment has seen the company advance its quality control procedures significantly by installing identical new co-ordinate measuring machines (CMMs) at its factories in Bath, UK and Sterling Heights, US. Made in Britain by LK Metrology, the new CMMs feature compact and versatile tactile scanning probe technology to capture data on the size and shape of components more accurately and much faster than was possible previously using touch-trigger probing alone.

The factory at the company’s headquarters in Bath, which dates back to the 1920s when the original suspension bogie for military vehicles was developed, was an early adopter of CMMs in the 1960s. Horstman has had a succession of different CMM models over the years, most recently three machines of small, medium and large capacity from another supplier. The new LK Altera M 25.15.12 bridge CMM, which has a large inspection volume of nominally 2.5 x 1.5 x 1.2 m and is equipped with traditional touch-trigger probing and a tactile scanning probe, replaced the smallest of the three earlier machines.

Trevor Prynne, business development director at Horstman, says: “The contact scanning capability of the new LK CMMs acquires many hundreds of surface points every second, enabling interrogation of form as well as size and position, including of bores 400 mm deep.
“This latest investment in technology is in line with our desire to remain at the forefront of high-precision, high-integrity engineering, allowing us to continue offering customers the guaranteed service in design and production that ensures soldiers have the best combination of armour, firepower and mobility.

“At Horstman, we are proud to supply products that exceed customer expectations,” he continues. “To do this we ensure quality is not just a word that is spoken about during component inspection, but something that permeates throughout the whole group. All three of our locations, including Ontario in Canada, have a minimum of ISO9001 accreditation, with the UK site also having AS9100 Rev D.”
Stephen Ellis, quality manager at the Bath factory adds: “As we’re involved in the supply of safety-critical defence products, we decided that we needed a second large-capacity measuring machine which could inspect every size of component that we manufacture to provide redundancy in our capabilities if one of the CMMs should break down or require servicing. LK offered us the best package in terms of technology and accuracy of measurement at a mid-range price.”

He adds: “We manufacture some components for our US factory and they produce others for us, so it was expedient to duplicate the metrology facility at our Sterling Heights plant. Crucially, LK is able to comprehensively support that installation as well, as it has a subsidiary in New Hudson, Michigan, just 40 miles away.”

Ellis goes on to say that LK provided a good training and support package in both locations, so the respective inspection teams either side of the Atlantic are able to prepare and share CMM programs seamlessly. LK also supplied the two factories with the latest version of its CAMIO 2021 software for programming and reporting. It is possible to retrofit the software to other CMMs on both sites in the future, thus enabling interoperability between the different makes of CMM. CAMIO features a convenient graphical user interface, single and multi-part loading instructions, program queuing, and advanced error recovery for automated inspection.

The Horstman group is introducing new designs with increasing regularity and to ever tighter tolerances for hydro-pneumatic suspensions, electronic and electro-hydraulic active vehicle ride management systems, military thermal management systems, and aerospace and subsea products. For this reason, the metrology departments were often under pressure and wanted to move quality control technology forward regarding speed of data acquisition and the accuracy of data collected, in particular for form measurement.
Component sizes are up to 1.15 m in length by 0.75 m in diameter. Materials include steel, titanium and aluminium. In addition to measuring dimensions, the CMM rapidly captures shapes and compares results with the corresponding CAD model to ascertain fit and finish. Typical measurement cycle times are between 10 minutes and one hour. Features with a total tolerance down to ±7 µm require inspection, while some parts have reflective surfaces, which is why Horstman has not opted for the rapid, high-density point cloud acquisition of laser scanning. This process would entail surface preparation and, in any case, laser sensors do not offer the accuracy and repeatability of tactile probes, in the opinion of Ellis.

The SP25M scanning probe comprises two sensors in a single housing. Users can switch between a choice of five scanning modules with styli lengths from 20 to 400 mm, as well as modules compatible with Renishaw’s TP20 range of touch-trigger probes. This capability enables scanning and touch-trigger probing in a single probe system.

When using the scanning probe, the system can measure up to 1000 points per second to deliver a precise statement about deviations in profile and form that can affect product fit and function. Such high-speed performance is partly due to improvements incorporated into the latest LK CMM controller. These developments signify a major step forward in helping manufacturers to be competitive in today’s global market by reducing bottlenecks in the quality control department and cutting non-value-added inspection costs. Increased speed also enables metrology to keep pace with manufacturing and provide prompt feedback for adjusting production processes.

It is not only the LK controller and software that deliver superior tactile scanning capability. The stiffness of the CMM structure, with its ceramic beam and spindle, has optimal stiffness-to-weight ratio for high responsiveness and mechanical stability. Furthermore, LK’s single-orifice, grooved-face air bearings provide a smaller air gap with greater stiffness than standard air bearings to enhance rigidity. These attributes combine to suppress deflection of the machine structure during the repeated, rapidly accelerating and decelerating axis movements necessary for efficient continuous tactile scanning, especially on parts of complex geometry.

For further information
www.lkmetrology.com