Product category:
Control systems, DROs, etc, for machine tools
News Release from: ACI (UK) | Subject: Digital read-out systems
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 31 July 2006
Innovative DRO systems revamped
Measurement and control specialist ACI (UK) has revamped its innovative digital readout system portfolio with three new additions to its Acu-Rite, Anilam and Metronics Quadra-Chek ranges.
Measurement and control specialist ACI (UK) has revamped its innovative digital readout system portfolio with three new additions to its Acu-Rite, Anilam and Metronics Quadra-Chek ranges * The Acu-Rite 100S DRO, a 'simple and affordable' low-end system that now features three-axis functionality
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 25 Aug 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Low DRO prices offered for August, 2006
Measurement and control specialist is offering 'two hot August deals' on its Acu-Rite DROs: a low-cost upgrade with savings of up to 71% on normal prices; plus a free 3D probe set-up.
Training Centre has latest in CNC and DRO
CNC and DROs are helping ensure that the Humber Engineering Training Centre is one of the finest of its kind in the UK.
* The Anilam Wizard 550 DRO - a user-friendly and cost-competitive system that can be supplied as either a two- or three-axis unit for milling, turning or grinding applications, to eliminate the headache, time and cost often associated with the selection and installation of multiple application-specific DROs.
* The Metronics Quadra-Chek QC 300 gauge and inspection DRO with live video monitor for direct camera feed and additional measuring routines.
Offered with the new and highly durable SENC 50/150 precision glass scale technologies that have resolutions of 0.5, one and five microns, the uprated 100S DRO package represents an unrivalled cost-to-performance system for user-friendly three-axis milling, turning, grinding or general purpose applications.
Further reading
Cost-effective borer retrofit control updated
Designed specifically as a cost-effective retrofit system that fills the gap between manual and CNC operation, a control that has transformed the performance of manual borers has been updated.
Tool/workpiece probing cycles added to controls
ACI is including tool and workpiece probing cycles as standard features on its Anilam 6000 Series multi-axis CNC system.
Milling in two/three axis cost-effectively
Demonstrations of a two-/three-axis CNC for intuitive knee-type milling operations will highlight the system's cost-effectiveness and user-friendliness.
In addition, the fully functional numeric keyboard-capable 100S is also presettable - its predecessor was not - yet is available at the same price.
With digital LED, the 100S's functionality - absolute/incremental display, instant inch/mm conversion, preset and zero rest capability, tool offset, instant radius/diameter conversion, multiple display resolutions, linear error compensation, message prompts, error checking and selection count direction - is complemented by the new SENC 50 and 150 precision glass encoders.
Developed at Acu-Rite's state-of-the-art, multi-million dollar manufacturing facility in the USA, SENC scales adopt a radically new construction process based around the use of reflective light (rather than that transmittive light) for measurement, using a reader head that is mounted on the scale's top face.
With advanced roller bearing technology for reduced backlash and greater scale travel life, the result is a high-precision glass scale that is more resistant to machine inaccuracies and vibration, and therefore more durable, than existing products but available at comparable cost.
SENC 150 is available in lengths of 50 mm to 3.4m, while SENC 50 is available in lengths of 25mm to 500mm.
Both systems feature Acu-Rite's exclusive Position-Trac functionality that allows operators to accurately and quickly re-establish workpiece zero from any position after a power interruption.
Once power is restored, the DRO reads a line pattern on the glass scale to recall the last known zero.
New precision glass linear encoders - ENC 125T/125E - also complement the new Anilam Wizard 550 DRO and together they, too, represent a breakthrough in DRO technology benefits.
Wizard 550 is totally intuitive and all prompts, instructions and help functions are visible as text or graphics on the flat screen 5.7in 320 x 240 resolution crystal clear LCD display (instead of traditional LED and VFD display technology).
All standard routines are visible on the screen and graphics guide users through the simple questions.
Operation-specific soft keys reinforce the boast that Anilam systems are the easiest to use in the industry.
For milling, the system is supplied as standard with bolt hole pattern calculations for full and partial circles with graphics, zero reset and preset features, tool diameter compensation and near zero warning, for example.
For, turning, the system features include taper turning functionality and 16 tool offsets that, when used with the axis lock feature, ensures tool deflection is reduced even under load.
Grinding and general use applications for the Wizard 550 are based around the system's zero reset, linear error compensation, instant radius-to-diameter and inch to mm conversions, as well as absolute/incremental display features.
RS232 port and workpiece probing functionality is provided as standard.
Like the new 100S, the Wizard 550 is of slimline design, with diecast aluminium casing and plastic front cover.
The ENC 125T (top) and ENC 125E (end) precision glass scales are characteristically durable, and are available with a resolution of five microns and an accuracy rating of 10 microns/m.
ENC scales are available in lengths up to 3.4m.
The Metronics Quadra-Chek QC 300 DRO for gauge and inspection routines features integrated live video monitor for direct camera feed and additional measuring routines.
The QC 300 therefore offers an innovative yet cost-effective and simplistic approach to gauge and inspection routines by combining camera feed and a crosshair generator or video edge detection with improved geometric functionality in a digital readout with a colour touch screen display.
With powerful yet easy-to-use functionality - "if you can use a crosshair you can use the QC 300 - the new DRO competes with PC-based systems in terms of both cost and capability but without the associated training and support issues.
Targeted for use on the shopfloor and at goods-in areas, and for measurements in the X, Y and Z planes, the QC 300 not only embraces Metronics' familiar DRO functionality such as advanced geometric constructions, but it also incorporates: A new multi-point tool for automatically locating a number of points to 'remove operator subjectivity'; and new functionality for measuring rectangular and circular slots.
The QC 300's DRO mode provides icons indicating operations such as in/out-of-tolerance alert.
It also contains many other features such as unit switches including settings of inch/metric, absolute/incremental, decimal degrees/degrees, as well as minutes and seconds.
Part programs can also be stored within the display.
With USB ports for increased connectivity, and Ethernet for networking, as well as serial and printer ports, the QC 300 has a large memory capacity of up to 99 programs and can accommodate memory sticks for fast and simple updating and transfer of data to PCs.
System software can be easily retrofitted.
• ACI (UK): contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Manufacturingtalk email newsletter
• Manufacturingtalk Home Page
