Product category:
Measurement systems
News Release from: Carl Zeiss, Metrology Division | Subject: Measuring machines
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 26 September 2005
Measuring machines take over from
fixtures
At a printing machine manufacturer production measuring machines that are more flexible and cost-effective than traditional checking fixtures ensure that tolerances are met during production.
Modern print advertising is colorful, eye-catching - and expensive No compromises are accepted: a text is either excellent or bad
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 22 Jan 2007 at 8.00am (UK)
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The production of this material often requires printing machines with ten or more print units mounted one behind the other.
To ensure that these devices provide the precision associated with the Heidelberg brand, measuring machines from Carl Zeiss are used in the production area.
"The printing quality enabled by the printing machines is the result not only of our competence in the field of mechanical engineering," says Walter Siegmund at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen in Wiesloch, "But also of our consistent quality assurance".
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"This has always been and always will be our obligation." Different quality requirements have always had to be met by such critical components as shafts, gears, chain guides and grippers due to their different tolerances.
In order to measure whether parts have been produced within tolerance or in order to control processes, various measuring techniques and machines were used.
Single-purpose measuring fixtures were dominant until about 10 to 15 years ago.
Only the constant enhancement of coordinate measuring technology made it possible to measure critical parts, e g, radial cams with precision measuring machines from the company Carl Zeiss.
The measuring machines are more flexible and cost-effective than traditional testing fixtures.
They also allow testing directly in the production environment.
* Proven excellence - with higher accuracy requirements - compared to the past, a lot has changed in part production and quality assurance.
Highly precise geometries determine the high quality of the printing mechanisms, including axial and transverse cams, radial segments, and radial and multiple cams - in other words, they also determine what is actually seen on the paper.
They have to satisfy extremely close tolerances.
At the same time, however, they must be produced quickly and cost-effectively.
"Production-integrated process inspection was still an issue for us," comments Siegmund.
"We needed a measuring device that was robust and stable enough for direct use in production - a device that measured accurately in rough shopfloor conditions and provided measuring results in a short time".
"Quality is our number one priority at all times." This measuring machine has been a CenterMax from Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik for the past three years now.
It is used to measure the parts, which have already passed the final grinding process.
Here, the tolerances are particularly low.
In the preceding milling stage, a Zeiss Contura featuring VAST technology is used to measure the machined parts.
The 'symbiosis' of these two measuring machines guarantees the required high level of quality in the cam production area.
To ensure that the quality of finely ground parts meets the requirements over a long period, the length measuring accuracy and stability of the CenterMax are tested several times a year - the accuracy class has always remained constant and within tolerance.
The obvious benefits of this measuring machine are seen, above all, both in the very high speed achieved in the scanning of radial cams and in its outstanding reproducibility in the rough production environment.
High accuracy and stability are further excellent benefits.
From the cost point of view, Siegmund emphasizes, it is of paramount importance that the production machines can be corrected online using the measured results obtained.
* The future belongs to Calypso - Heidelberger Druckmaschinen is currently equipping the measuring machines in its Wiesloch and Amstetten plants with Calypso.
In addition to significant rationalization effects in measurement programming, the stan-dardization of the software is aimed at improving the comparability of meas-ured results".
""As we see it, Calypso certainly has a lot in its favor," says Siegmund".
""The benefits offered by the acceptance of CAD data and the CAD-based offline programming are obvious." * About Heidelberg - Over the course of its more than 150-year history, Heidelberg has grown from a traditional printing press manufacturer to become the world's largest solutions provider for the print media industry.
With its seamlessly integrated hardware and software solutions, it has established a commanding lead over other market players.
Heidelberg is a 'one-stop' supplier of everything from prepress solutions to a wide range of products for printing and finishing processes, relevant training and accompanying services.
Heidelberg's 250 support centers in 170 countries and a team of over 7,500 sales staff, 3,800 of which are service technicians, mean we have the most comprehensive sales and service network in the entire industry.
Heidelberg generates 85 percent of its sales through its own sales companies and achieves around 87% of its sales abroad.
In fiscal year 2003/2004, Heidelberg achieved sales of approx.
EUR 3.66 billion with a global workforce of 22,700 people.
Further information is available at www.heidelberg.com.
* About Carl Zeiss - headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany, Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik is a member of the Carl Zeiss Group.
It is the global leader in CNC coordinate measuring machines and complete, multi-dimensional metrology solutions for a wide variety of industrial sectors.
Approximately 1300 employees from three manufacturing locations and more than 100 sales and service centers serve customers around the world.
Carl Zeiss 3D Metrology Services is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Carl Zeiss Industrielle Messtechnik and its approximately 140 employees are responsible for rendering services covering all aspects of metrology.
Carl Zeiss is a globally leading international group of companies in the optical and opto-electronic industry.
In fiscal year 2003/04 the global workforce of approximately 13,700 employees generated revenue of more than EUR 2.1 billion.
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