Process control with Equator gauging system

By Niraj M Wanikar, Chief Editor, CNCTimes.com, 2016-01-29 10:19:00

The quality of the products a company produces, and their assurance of that quality, can mean all the difference to successfully acquiring contracts. Maintaining that quality also significantly increases the chances of repeat business. High-Tech Engineering, a precision engineering company based in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, UK, has always focused on the quality of the parts it produces. Now with its latest addition, a Renishaw Equator gauging system, it is reaching 100% part inspection and zero scrap whilst halving the operator requirements and reducing part production costs by 27%.
High-Tech example parts
Started in 1985 by Managing Director, Steve Tickner, High-Tech Engineering built a reputation in the motorsport industry for delivering high quality machined parts. The company has since moved into the aerospace sector and gained some key industry approvals, including becoming a preferred supplier to Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems.
Recently High-Tech won a contract to produce precision milled titanium parts for a large aerospace customer. Due to the nature of the parts, High-Tech was instructed to carry out 100% part inspection. Steve Tickner explains, “We knew from the start that we would need to find an inspection method which could not only meet the cycle time requirements for the part, but would be a cost effective solution for us as well. Relying on the CMM we already had wasn't going to be an option. We couldn't risk any bottlenecks. We knew that we would either need another CMM or something else which could give us the measuring capacity. That's what led us to the Renishaw Equator.”
Equator™ gauging system acquisition
It was through a simple internet search that Steve came to learn of the Equator gauging system. After some research and following meetings with representatives from Renishaw, High-Tech was impressed with what the Equator gauging system could offer, and was particularly pleased with the overall price of the system.
Commenting on why High-Tech bought the Renishaw Equator gauging system, Steve says: “Space on our factory floor is at a premium. Within the space we set aside for this cell we had to include faster, more efficient technology. This meant that a co-ordinate measuring machine (CMM) with a temperature controlled environment was far too big to be practical. The Equator suited the space perfectly as it's a compact machine. The added bonus is the fact it is thermally insensitive and doesn't require any air supply, meaning we didn't need to spend additional time, money and effort putting in another temperature controlled room or extra piping.”
High-Tech is currently using the Renishaw Equator gauging system to perform 100% inspection of a complex aerospace part. It works by comparing the manufactured parts against a matching master part, gauging all the features in a single operation with an immediate pass/fail decision, along with a report of the component dimensions.
Equator at High-Tech Engineering
Comprehensive measurement in half the time of the existing CMM option
Quality control room at High-Tech Engineering
The Equator gauging system is used to gauge around 150 features including a number of bores, thicknesses and form measurements on the part with typical tolerances of ±25 μm. The Equator gauging system does this within 10 minutes and well within the production requirements, far less than the machining time. This is almost a 50% reduction in cycle time compared to running the program on High-Tech's CMMs.
The story first appeared on http://www.renishaw.com/en/high-tech-engineering--37654?utm_source=Equator&utm_medium=Case%20study&utm_campaign=High-Tech%20Engineering

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