Product category:
Measurement systems
News Release from: Mahr Federal | Subject: Form tester
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 01 September 2006
Form tester is faster, more accurate
Form tester is more robust, less sensitive to environmental influences, faster, more flexible and is clasimed to be more accurate than comparable systems on the market today.
Mahr has taken its many years of experience in form measurement systems back to the drawing board and has emerged with an entirely new, fully automated system for the measurement of form and position The new MarForm MMQ 400 Formtester is a 'ground up' design which is more robust, less sensitive to environmental influences, faster, more flexible and more accurate than comparable systems on the market today
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 3 Jul 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Simplified form tester is economical alternative
Formtester offers all the measurement capabilities, accuracy and repeatability of an existing model, but has a its simplified controller, new software platform and manual center/tilt-table.
Metrology display includes form tester, indicators
Metrology company will display a form tester, introduce series of digital indicators with USB connections, a range of amplifiers, a universal optical measuring system gages connection devices.
"Our goal with the new MMQ 400 design was to improve upon our very popular MMQ 44 series," said Tim Johnson, senior product manager for Mahr Federal, Mahr's US operation.
"We have succeeded with an instrument that is 'best in class'." In addition to an entirely new look, the MMQ 400 offers an impressive array of features that make it stand out from the pack, including extremely solid construction with a generously dimensioned, reinforced steel base.
All mechanical components have been optimized in CAD with Finite Element Methods and all motors and electronic components have been thermally isolated to enhance stability.
Further reading
Form tester goes back to basics
Mahr has taken its many years of experience in form measurement systems back to the drawing board and has emerged with an entirely new, fully automated system for the measurement of form and position.
Form measurement brought to shop floor
Portable, easy-to-use gauge performs high-precision form measurements in production environments and its touchscreen software requires no keyboard to perform measurement tasks.
Digital comparator used on shop floor
Digital comparator Includes temperature compensation for shop floor use with high-contrast and backlit digital display flashes green/red for go/no go condition.
Wherever possible, homogeneous materials have been used in construction to minimize the effects of thermal expansion.
The MMQ 400 is also larger and more flexible than its predecessor and can measure parts up to 60kg (132 lb) in weight.
The Z-axis has also been redesigned, making it more stable and improving both accuracy and repeatability of measurements.
Although larger than its predecessor, the overall footprint of the unit is smaller than comparable instruments as the controller and other electronics have been completely integrated into the design.
Another important benefit of the MMQ 400 is the elimination of the need for an air supply by the use of a high-precision mechanical bearing for the rotary table.
Mahr has been a leading producer of high-precision bearings for over 60 years, and the mechanical bearing used in the MMQ 400 is more accurate than most air bearings and up to 70 times stiffer, making the system less susceptible to external forces such as vibration.
Two versions of the MMQ 400 Formtester are available, one with a 350mm Z-axis and 180mm X-axis, and the other with a 500mm Z-axis and 280mm X-axis.
All measuring axes are fully motorized and a selection of available probes - including the T7W 360 deg motorized by-directional probe, and the manual T20W probe - further enhances measuring flexibility.
Fully controlled by Mahr MarWin software, the MMQ 400 can evaluate all standard form parameters, including roundness, sector roundness, run-out, sector run-out, concentricity and coaxiality, total run-out, cylindricity, straightness, section-by-section straightness, parallelism, perpendicularity, angularity, flatness, conicity, and taper.
The system has been especially designed to measure a wide variety of workpieces, including injection components, ABS components, valves, pistons and piston rods, crank- and camshafts, brake disks, gear shafts, ball-bearings, and more.
* About Mahr Federal - Mahr Federal, a member of the Mahr Group, is known worldwide for its expertise in providing dimensional measurement solutions.
The ISO 9001:2000-certified company manufactures and markets a wide variety of dimensional metrology products, and is headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
* Mahr Federal at IMTS 2006, Chicago, USA, September 6-13, Booth D-4324.
• Mahr Federal: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Manufacturingtalk email newsletter
• Manufacturingtalk Home Page
