Speed up quality checks in CNC machining

To speed up quality control routines in CNC machining, a tool recognition system can detect broken tools in under a second, while a radio transmission probe reduces inspection times.

Renishaw will present at the UK's MACH 2008 machine tool exhibition products and training initiatives that will help businesses to reduce process times and minimise quality costs for a wide range of machining and measurement applications.

Renishaw will be quoting two very different, but highly successful UK companies that are fighting back against overseas competition through a commitment to the latest technologies, and a tight focus on process control.

This contribution to speed is demonstrated by BK Tooling, which has just five employees, yet is successful in the highly competitive mould and pressure die-cast tools market.

Using Renishaw touch probes to automate part and tool setting, jobs can be changed over rapidly, and costs reduced by maximising machine up-time and eliminating scrap, said Renishaw.

* High-quality parts at competitive prices - a further example is provided by Martin Aerospace, which has recently won a new contract with Rolls-Royce owing to its ability to provide high-quality parts at competitive prices.

At its Lanarkshire factory the use of high-accuracy Renishaw touch probes and complementary inspection software, has reduced floor-to-floor times significantly.

This technology has also enabled strict process control regimes to be introduced, allowing the company to maintain very tight tolerances and reduce scrap on complex inconel parts.

Addressing the UK skills shortage * Skills shortages - based on its years of manufacturing experiences, both from its own factory and the many thousands of probing applications at customer sites, Renishaw has developed a training course based around a concept called the Productive Process Pyramid (PPP), which aims to help address the UK's shortage of skilled engineers.

A network of Renishaw Productivity Centres (RPC) will be developed to deliver the courses, where students will be exposed to the principles and practical aspects of the PPP.

PPP is used to systematically identify and controls sources of variation in machining processes, and tackles topics such as design for manufacture, the control of process inputs and environmental stability.

The West Midlands Manufacturing Measurement Centre, based within Coventry University, has been announced as the first RPC, and will commence courses in Spring 2008.

* New products - at MACH, Renishaw will show, for machine tool applications, its TRS2 tool recognition system.

The TRS2 takes typically less than 1s to detect broken tools.

For users looking to reduce inspection times by measuring complex 3D part geometries on all sizes of machining centres, Renishaw's new RMP600 compact, high accuracy touch probe with radio signal transmission, is a powerful solution.

Also being demonstrated is Renishaw's twin-probe system, which uses a single optical receiver for tool setting probes together with a spindle-mounted touch probe for component inspection, offering fast integration.

This will comprise the OMP40-2 touch probe and Renishaw OTS cable-less tool setter, which is particularly suitable for machines with twin pallets or rotary tables.

* Compact laser interferometer - for visitors to MACH 2008 looking to optimise machine performance, the Renishaw XL-80 is a compact laser interferometer measurement system.

Renishaw told manufacturingtalk that it combines portability, performance and ease of use for calibration routines.

* CMM developments - for CMM users, the revolutionary REVO 5-axis measuring head and probe system can improve inspection throughput levels by up to 900% on machines previously fitted with 3-axis scanning systems.

* Machine tool builders - for designers within the machine tool industry, Renishaw's SiGNUM non-contact RESM angle encoder has a large through-hole making it ideal for high-speed feedback on machine tool rotary axes, and is now available with FANUC serial communications.

For applications that require the highest accuracy, the REXM angle encoder offers new levels of angular metrology, with better than +/-1 arc sec total installed accuracy, zero coupling losses and exceptional repeatability.

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