DIGILOG: One Technology – many Possibilities

By Niraj M Wanikar, Chief Editor, CNCTimes.com, 2015-10-19 14:51:28

Blum-Novotest, the leading manufacturer of innovative and high-quality measuring and testing technology, presented at EMO 2015 the modular surface roughness gauge TC63-RG along with new software solutions for machine-integrated roughness measurement and the use of scanning, Digilog measurement in machine tools.

"Our latest technologies – roughness measurement and DIGILOG technology – have generated considerable resonance at past trade events," explained Mr Winfried Weiland, Head of Marketing at Blum-Novotest. "The machine-integrated testing of workpiece surfaces was a particular visitor magnet. This has driven us to pick up the pace of development of both technologies, and we are proud to be able to present the latest addition to the BLUM DIGILOG family at the coming EMO – the TC63-RG roughness measuring gauge. The TC63-RG has been specially developed for high-precision roughness measurement on standard plane surfaces, such as connecting rod holes and cylinder bores, sealing surfaces or bearing seats. This currently makes us the only measuring equipment manufacturer in the world to offer roughness measurement solutions that are fully suitable for use with machine tools."

In principle, the TC63-RG surface roughness gauge is a combination of an analogue roughness sensor, standard accessories such as extensions and angle attachments, and a base device with integrated BRC radio transmission. The modular construction enables the user to adapt the system very easily to their measurement requirements, which can be very useful with large workpieces or difficult-to-access surfaces, for instance.

Measured values are generated using a newly-developed measuring sensor, a similar form of which has been in use for decades in BLUM bore gauges. Thanks to the application of a very low measuring force, it is possible to employ a coned roughness measurement element that is similar to standard specifications and has a very small tip radius, enabling very precise measurements to be performed. The measurement resolution of the system is an impressive 70 nanometres, enabling typical surfaces created in milling, turning and grinding processes to be tested down to the last ?m in just a few seconds and to be analysed in terms of the roughness parameters Ra, Rq, Rt, Rz and Rmax.

BLUM won't just be presenting new hardware at EMO – there will also be enhanced software on show for roughness measurement along with DIGILOG technology. Amongst the innovations are the enhanced analysis and presentation options. The software RG 2.0 now also allows parameters such as waviness, skew or contact area ratio to be presented for the measured surface in addition to the calculated roughness values. The DIGILOG software, on the other hand, now enables customer-specific signal analyses to be performed for route-based measurement, which allows not only form and surface defects to be logged but also lengths and angles of the measured surface, for example.

BLUM's specialists have also made great progress in integrating the DIGILOG and RG systems into machining centre control systems. In addition to the option of operating the analysis software using the new BLUM touch panel TP48-21, which is ideally suited to retrofits, the machine's control screen can now also provide direct display and operation tools. In this case, the operator simply uses a softkey to switch between the machining program and the BLUM user interfaces enabling them for example to conveniently define warning and tolerance limits or analyse current measurements. The new software versions run on the BLUM IPC48-20 installed in the control cabinet, which are powered by Windows 7 Embedded, and output to the controller via a remote connection. When using a Siemens 840Dsl controller, the powerful CPU can even eliminate the need to use an additional IPC when using DIGILOG applications.

"In recent years, the importance of design and user-friendliness has grown massively in the development of new machine tools. Additional display and control units that impair the visual quality of a machine or complicate its use are simply outmoded. We are therefore pleased to be able to offer integrated solutions for many controllers to meet this expectation," concluded Weiland.

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