Product category:
Gauging and Hand Tools for Inspection
News Release from: Mitutoyo (UK) | Subject: Measurement equipment
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 15 November 2001
Rented measurement equipment helped
after fire
Following a major fire in which all of Tecan Components' measuring equipment was lost, Mitutoyo was able to help out by rapidly supplying new equipment on a rental basis.
Following a major fire in which all of Tecan Components' measuring equipment was lost, Mitutoyo was able to help out by rapidly supplying new equipment on a rental basis This allowed Tecan to restart production with the minimum disruption, whilst assessing its inspection needs for the future
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 24 Mar 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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The Weymouth based company specialises in the manufacture of high quality, extremely detailed components by photo-chemical techniques, including Precision Etching and Photo Electroforming (PEF).
Predominantly serving the electronics industry, Tecan also has an increasing client base in the aerospace, telecommunications, defence, optical and automotive industries.
After the fire, Tecan needed to get back to production as soon as possible, but was unsure exactly what equipment to purchase.
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It was then that Mitutoyo was able to help, as explained by Mr.Mike Beesley, Managing Director at Tecan, "We weren't quite sure of the financial situation so we wanted to rent some equipment fairly quickly until we knew exactly what we wanted to do.
We really needed a rapid and flexible response, which is just what we got from Mitutoyo, - we were in trouble and they responded to our emergency very well." Following the help given by Mitutoyo, Tecan went on to place orders for new equipment, including a QV (Quick Vision) 404 optical measuring machine, a HM 122 bench-top hardness tester and a Series 176 MF toolmakers microscope with integral camera and TV monitor.
The Quick Vision features sophisticated image reading for accurate measurement and simple mouse operation.
The 400mm x 400mm X-Y range of the machine is ideal for Tecan's requirements where components are manufactured in sheet form, prior to being separated.
The automatic function of the machine allows high volume sampling to be performed by non-skilled operators, the machine has an accuracy of 2.2+3L/1000 micron, with a resolution of 0.0001mm, which is ideal for the high volume, high accuracy nature of Tecan's business.
Tecan produces components from predominantly thin gauge nickel or beryllium copper based materials.
Consequently, hardness testing, for BS5750 and ISO 9002 traceability, calls for a very low force machine to be utilised.
The Mitutoyo HM 122 machine is able to test the full range of Vickers as well as micro hardness test scales and gives high repeatability between different operators.
A large percentage of Tecan's production is for use in clean assemblies where surface condition of the components is critical.
The company uses the Mitutoyo series 176 MF Microscope for R and D evaluation where surface texture and condition are inspected.
The integral camera and TV monitor makes the microscope easy to use for examination as well as for measuring components down to micron level. Request a free brochure from Mitutoyo (UK) ...
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