This year, global engineering technologies business, Renishaw, is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The company, which was founded on 4 April 1973, will mark this significant milestone with a year of global activities including open house events at its largest sites, family days for employees and a ‘50 at 50′ charity initiative which will see £150,000 donated to 50 not-for-profit organisations in the 36 countries where it has offices.

The Company was formed to commercialise the invention of a touch-trigger probe by now Executive Chairman, Sir David McMurtry, that solved a dimensional measurement problem faced by Rolls-Royce when manufacturing the Olympus engines that powered the supersonic Concorde aircraft. The probe also solved similar challenges being faced by many precision manufacturers around the world, ultimately allowing measurement on co-ordinate measuring machines (CMMs) to be automated for the first time.

Rolls-Royce took out a patent on McMurtry’s original design, which was filed on 21 September 1972, with him acknowledged as the inventor. He discussed the touch-trigger probe with a colleague, John Deer, now Renishaw’s Non-executive Deputy Chairman, who also saw the wider commercial opportunities for the invention and Rolls-Royce agreed to license the patent to them but would only do so if they had a limited liability company. For expediency, they therefore purchased an ‘off-the-shelf’ company and on 4 April 1973, the first Renishaw company, Renishaw Electrical Ltd., was registered.

McMurtry and Deer quickly saw the potential for the use of probes on computer numerical control (CNC) machine tools and in 1977 Renishaw launched its first commercial probe for machine tools. Although today, a significant amount of Renishaw’s business is still derived from contact and non-contact laser measurement systems for CMMs and machine tools, the Company now supplies a wide range of metrology systems for calibration, position feedback and gauging, plus associated accessories including styli and fixturing. It has also applied its core expertise in measurement, manufacturing and process control to develop systems for non-destructive testing using Raman spectroscopy, robots and drug delivery systems for brain surgery, and is also a technology leader in the field of metal additive manufacturing (3D printing).

Over the past 50 years, Renishaw’s products have revolutionised key aspects of component manufacturing and scientific research, contributing to the ability to make the high performing, precision products that we use in our daily lives. From the manufacture of aircraft, cars, smartphones, electric vehicle batteries and solar panels, to brain surgery and dentistry, there is barely an industry that does not in some way benefit from the Company’s ongoing innovations.

Today the Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange’s FTSE 250 index, with a current valuation around £3 billion. It employs 5,200 employees in 36 countries, including 3,400 staff at its sites in the UK, primarily in Gloucestershire and South Wales.

Will Lee, Renishaw’s Chief Executive says, “This is a year to reflect on the tremendous achievements of our co-founders and employees past and present, who have done so much to advance precision manufacturing globally, and to look forward with confidence to future decades of innovation and growth.”

He adds, “The formula that has ensured Renishaw’s success over the past 50 years remains at the heart of our approach to business – investing heavily in research and development to ensure a continuing stream of world-leading products; a commitment to high-quality in-house manufacturing that ensures we can meet the exacting requirements of our global customers; and a focus on excellent local customer service and support through our wholly owned subsidiary operations.”

Lee concludes, “On behalf of Renishaw, I would also like to thank our customers and suppliers, many of whom we have had close relationships with for most of our history and with whom we have shared mutual success, and our other stakeholders, including our local communities who have been highly supportive of our growth and have also shared in our success.”

PolyWorks|Inspector is a universal 3D dimensional analysis and quality control software solution to control tool and part dimensions, diagnose and prevent manufacturing and assembly issues, guide assembly building through real-time measurements, and oversee the quality of assembled products by using portable metrology devices and co-ordinate measuring machines (CMMs). PolyWorks|Modeler is a reverse engineering solution that allows the extracting of optimal CAD entities from polygonal models of digitized parts to serve as the starting point in the CAD modelling solution.

Charlie Wallis, Co-Director of Industrial Metrology at Renishaw, commented, “This agreement now gives us the ability to offer this highly respected third-party software suite, which complements our own MODUS metrology software.”

He continued, “This means that more companies will have access to Renishaw’s advanced inspection technologies, including the REVO® 5-axis measuring system and the Equator flexible gauging system, whilst also benefitting from the worldwide support networks of both organisations.”

“With help from Renishaw, we have invested considerable efforts into bringing our assisted CMM sequencing and collision avoidance and analysis technologies onto Renishaw controllers,” said Marc Soucy, President of InnovMetric Software. “As we plan to keep integrating Renishaw’s innovative 3D metrology hardware, it is motivating for our troops to also bring the cooperation to a commercial level.”

The Renishaw Equator flexible gauge is now offered with IPC (intelligent process control) software, providing the functionality to fully automate tool offset updates in CNC manufacturing processes. Improved capability in precision part machining, reduced setting and process adjustment time, and integration with automation systems are some of the benefits that users can now expect.

IPC is used with the existing software running on the Equator controller, using recent historical gauging data to determine process corrections. Connection to a compatible machine tool can be as simple as connecting an Ethernet cable from the Equator to a CNC machine. This capability has already been used by Renishaw customers worldwide to achieve considerable performance gains across a wide variety of industries, applications and CNC machine types, including lathes, machining centres and highly automated machining cells.

Controlling processes with frequent gauging

The new IPC software allows constant monitoring and adjustment of a machining operation, keeping part dimensions close to nominal and well within process control limits. This means that any process drift is quickly corrected, improving part quality and manufacturing capability, along with reducing scrap. The proximity of the Equator gauge to the CNC process allows rapid measurement and process adjustment at the point of manufacture, avoiding time delays or relying on finished part (tailgate) inspection.

The IPC software can average results across several parts to determine the true process mean for adjustment of each cutting tool. For process control purposes, it is usual that only one machined feature per tool offset will require gauging, as compared to many features for typical Quality Assurance (QA) applications. The frequency and control of offset updates can be configured on a feature by feature basis depending on design tolerances, process variation and tool wear rates.

Reduce dependence on skilled operators

The ability to correct a process automatically with IPC software eliminates the potential for manual data entry errors and removes the requirement for an expert to decipher traditional measurement reports into a process correction value at the CNC machine.

One-to-one or One-to-many – update multiple machines from one Equator gauge

An Equator gauging system can be connected to one or multiple CNC machine tools, so that parts from different machines can be gauged on one Equator, with the offset updates being sent to the corresponding machine (part / machine identification is required). Connection to multiple machines requires an Ethernet hub or is via an existing factory network. Closed loop unmanned process control of a cell of machines is possible and a key requirement when used in conjunction with factory automation systems.

Intelligent process control of cutting tools

Options within the IPC software can constantly monitor the process and detect excessive tool offset update values, indicating tool failure or high rates of wear, and automatically signal to the machine that the tool needs changing.

Where IPC software is of benefit

IPC software has proven to be particularly useful for conventional CNC lathes or Swiss-style sliding head machines where integration of a conventional machine tool probing system may be difficult due to machine configuration or tool station availability. Using the Equator gauging system is also beneficial where measurement due to feature access or size would be difficult to undertake on the machine tool. Also, the use of off-machine gauging and IPC as a parallel activity is the preferred solution where minimum machining cycle time is a critical requirement.

IPC compatibility

The first release of the new IPC software allows connection to one or multiple machine tools, with direct Ethernet links from the Equator Controller to Fanuc, Mazak and Okuma CNC controls.

Fanuc controls that have been tested and proven include the 0i, 30i, 31i and 32i, with the Focas2 option installed.

Mazak controls currently supported are the Smooth X, Smooth G, Matrix2 and Matrix controls with the Mazak API installed.

The Okuma OSP300L and OSP300M controls are supported, on machines with the Thinc API installed.

Future software releases will further increase CNC control compatibility.

The versatile gauge

The Equator gauging system is unique in its design and method of operation, and has already changed the thinking of thousands of production engineers, making it their gauge of choice. The versatility and repeatability that Equator offers is re-defining the world of gauging and, now available with IPC software, it offers an even wider range of capabilities to manufacturers globally.

In the high-octane world of MotoGP motorcycle racing, technical enhancements can have a big impact. Race winning Moto2 team TransFIORmers is using cutting edge additive manufacturing  (metal 3D printing) technology in an unconventional front suspension system to gain a significant competitive advantage.

Background
Motorcycles ridden in the MotoGP World Championships are special; the general public can’t buy them and they can’t be used on a public road. As prototype racing bikes they are custom-built to outdo their rivals and maximise performance on the track.

Moto2, the second of the three MotoGP classes, was created in 2010. Its official engine is a 600cc four-stroke production engine, currently supplied by Honda. The French Moto2 team TransFIORmers, based in Perigueux, South West France, is revolutionising front suspension design in order to stay ahead of the pack.

TransFIORmers is led by former 250cc World Championship rider Christian Boudinot, and the team’s unconventional suspension system was inspired by the seminal work of the legendary French motorbike designer Claude Fior.

Boudinot’s former friend and mentor, Fior, recognised the gains to be made from isolating the front suspension from steering forces. Resolving issues of ‘brake dive’, the design enables later braking into a corner and faster acceleration out.

Instead of the more traditional telescopic front fork suspension, the TransFIORmers motorcycle employs a rigid front fork suspension system separated from the chassis using two wishbones.

To further advance the development of its innovative design, TransFIORmers approached I3D Concept, a world-class expert in metal additive design and manufacturing techniques.

Using Renishaw’s AM250 additive manufacturing system, I3D Concept worked in partnership with the TransFIORmers team to optimise the design of its upper wishbone component, one of two attaching the front fork to the chassis and critical to the bike’s steering.

Challenges
In the development of new components in Moto2 bike design, achieving a weight reduction is a priority. In particular, reducing the ‘unsprung mass’ of the bike is a key consideration. The lower the unsprung mass, the better the suspension is in terms of vibration (chattering) management and responsiveness to both braking and acceleration.

Of equal importance is the speed with which the design of a new component can be modified, and how long it takes to remanufacture. Achieving perfection in a highly competitive environment demands fast and accurate component iteration.

In a high reliability environment, mechanical strength is a further prime consideration. The TransFIORmers’ wishbone component needs to assure best possible rigidity, while handling significant levels of dynamic steering force.

“To improve overall motorcycle performance, reducing the weight of all components located behind the shock absorbers is absolutely vital. Failure to optimise component weights can have an adverse effect on vibration, braking and acceleration, so weight reduction is a really high priority,” says Jérôme Aldeguer, Mechanical Engineer, TransFIORmers.

Solution
TransFIORmers’ original wishbone component was hand-fabricated in steel, with the assembly comprising of twelve separately machined and welded parts. I3D Concept consolidated the design into a single piece component, greatly reducing assembly time.

The company produced the metal 3D printed wishbone using a Renishaw AM250 additive manufacturing system; initially prototyping in stainless steel (inox) and finally manufacturing a lighter weight part in titanium.

Key to the new 3D component design was an iterative process of topological optimisation, whereby the wishbone layout was successively rationalised in software within tight space constraints to withstand a set of predefined front fork loading conditions.

[blockquote style=”1″]”The weight reduction that metal 3D printing has achieved for us in our wishbone component has enabled us to bypass traditional weight transfer phenomenon and the problems associated with ‘brake dive’. More than that, it’s allowed us to design a part that is not only lighter, but far more rigid at the same time: TransFIORmers (France)[/blockquote]

Once the final component design was validated using digital CAD software, the build preparation file was prepared offline prior to export to the additive manufacturing system.

Within the CAD software, I3D Concept was able to assess whether the parameters were effectively predetermined or whether they required tweaking to match the specific metal powder characteristics and the complex target geometries of the TransFIORmers wishbone.

Importantly, using the AM250’s dedicated Optical Control System (OCS) software, I3D Concept was able to very accurately control laser steering which helped to enhance precision, definition of features and surface finish.

Results
By taking an additive manufacturing approach to Moto2 bike design, TransFIORmers succeeded in dramatically reducing the weight of its critical wishbone front suspension component by a factor of 40%. Comparing the one-piece titanium component with the original welded steel component, a weight saving of 600 g was achieved.

Metal 3D printing has also provided TransFIORmers with much finer control over component tolerances and the flexibility to very quickly iterate wishbone geometries to match specific chassis and kinematic requirements.

“The weight reduction that metal 3D printing has achieved for us in our wishbone component has enabled us to bypass traditional weight transfer phenomenon and the problems associated with ‘brake dive’. More than that, it’s allowed us to design a part that is not only lighter, but far more rigid at the same time,” explains Jérôme Aldeguer, Mechanical Engineer, TransFIORmers.

With an ultimate tensile strength in excess of 1100 MPa when processed using additive manufacturing, and near perfect 99.7% densities, the titanium Ti6AI4V alloy used has delivered a radical new wishbone offering far greater rigidity than the original multi-part, hand-assembled steel component.

Thanks to additive manufacturing, TransFIORmers’ prototype wishbone development has become a highly efficient and cost effective process. Extensive part machining and assembly time overheads have been removed and design iterations and manufacturing have been made many times faster.

In June 2016 the team won its first ever Moto2 GP race at the FIM CEV European Championship event in Barcelona.

Global engineering and technologies company, Renishaw, continues to develop its network of Additive Manufacturing Solutions Centres with its first North American Centre in Kitchener, Canada. This facility provides a secure development environment where customers can gain knowledge and confidence in using additive manufacturing technologies. The Solutions Centre is staffed with skilled applications engineers and allows customers access to additive manufacturing technology and expertise at a predictable, manageable cost.

Additive manufacturing is a technology set to impact the manufacturing sector in industries as varied as aerospace and automotive, to dental restoration and patient specific cranio-maxillofacial implants for reconstructive surgery.

The Additive Manufacturing Solutions Centre was officially inaugurated on 1st November, 2016. The new facility complements the established advanced manufacturing sector in Canada and will aid the acceleration of the development of industrial additive manufacturing processes, particularly in the medical and aerospace industries. The Centre contains a range of Renishaw technology including the company’s AM250 and AM400 additive manufacturing systems, as well as metrology and finishing equipment.

“The new Solutions Centre will provide customers with a cost-effective, rapid learning environment where companies can build confidence and knowledge in the applications of additive manufacturing,” explained Marc Saunders, Director of Global Solutions Centres at Renishaw. “The Canadian Centre forms a vital node in the global network.”

“The Solutions Centre contains everything a customer needs to create a functional part and verify that it is correct,” said Mark Kirby, Additive Manufacturing Business Manager for Renishaw Canada. “Renishaw’s knowledge of metrology, machining and finishing means that for a predictable cost the customer can move along the additive manufacturing learning curve with minimal risk.”

“We have already engaged with a number of end-users from the local community including the medical and aerospace sectors,” continued Kirby. “The experienced team of applications engineers provide customers with expertise across a range of functional manufacturing sectors.”

The new Canadian Solutions Centre is the latest step in Renishaw’s investment into making additive manufacturing a mainstream manufacturing technology used in series production in a range of industries including aerospace, medical, automotive, oil and gas and consumer products. Renishaw Canada has offices in Toronto, Kitchener and Ottawa.

The Centre complements Renishaw’s existing network of Solutions Centres in the UK, Germany, India and China, with a Centre also being hosted at Renishaw Inc’s new facility in Illinois, USA.

Renishaw, a world leader in precision engineering technologies, has revealed a range of new metrology and additive manufacturing equipment at IMTEX 2017, which is taking place at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre from 26th January to 1st February. The new products were announced in a speech made yesterday at the company’s exhibition stand by Dominic McAllister, the British Deputy High Commissioner, Bengaluru.

In his speech, Mr McAllister praised Renishaw’s long term commitment to India which has been hugely beneficial to both the company and the local economy. He said: “Renishaw has been trading in India since 1983 and today it employs 350 highly skilled people across the country, including a wholly owned subsidiary here in Bangalore and a large facility in Pune. Many of its employees in India directly contribute to the R&D and manufacture of its exciting measurement and metal 3D printing technologies which are being demonstrated at IMTEX.”

The new products announced by Mr McAllister are designed to meet the requirements of the advanced manufacturing sector in India; from the need to produce parts with increasing complexity and tighter tolerances, to the drive to reduce costs, to increase speed of operation and the requirement to improve the ease-of-use for new technology.

In June 2016 Renishaw opened an Additive Manufacturing Solutions Centre at its Pune site, which aims to increase the adoption of metal 3D printing technologies by Indian manufacturers. At IMTEX the company introduced the RenAM 500M additive manufacturing system, which the Deputy High Commissioner said “has been fully designed to be used for serialised production of complex metal components directly from CAD using metal powder fusion technology.” Highlights of the system include a Renishaw designed and engineered optical system with dynamic focussing, automated powder sieving and recirculation, a 500 W ytterbium fibre laser and patented high capacity dual filter SafeChange system.

As demands on component tolerances increase, manufacturers are now required to consider all error sources from the machines producing parts; angular errors as well as linear and straightness errors. Therefore at IMTEX, the Deputy High Commissioner also announced Renishaw’s new XM-60 multi-axis calibrator which is capable of measuring all six degrees of freedom from a single set-up, in any orientation for linear axes. It offers significant improvement in simplicity and time saving over conventional laser measurement techniques. The XM-60 uses the XC-80 environmental compensator to correct for environmental conditions.

The Deputy High Commissioner also announced the India launch of Renishaw’s new vision measurement probe (RVP) for use with the REVO-2 5-axis measurement system on co-ordinate measuring machines. Thin sheet metal parts, components with large numbers of holes (as small as 0.5 mm), and parts which are not suited to tactile measurement can now be fully inspected with the RVP system. The new probe increases the multi-sensor capability of REVO-2 by adding non-contact inspection to the existing touch-trigger, high-speed tactile scanning and surface finish measurement capability of the system.

In addition to these key new products, visitors to Renishaw’s IMTEX stand were also able to see the company’s new high productivity machining cell concept which demonstrates how the ability to monitor key process inputs, analyse data and continuously improve manufacturing processes facilitates increased productivity and higher accuracy. The company believes that simply measuring the output of a manufacturing process using ‘tailgate’ inspection is not enough and, more often, too late to control all the variability in that process. It is critical that checks and measurements are also made before, during and immediately after machining to control both common-cause and special-cause variation.

Also demonstrated were the new MODUS 2 metrology software suite which simplifies the programming of CMMs, plus Renishaw’s full suite of machine tool probes, calibration products, metrology fixtures, styli and position encoders, including the new VIONiC digital encoder and the Queen’s Award winning RESOLUTE absolute encoder.

Like many other cutting edge technologies – artificial intelligence, big data analytics – additive manufacturing (3D printing) has been incorporated into daily use at Land Rover BAR with the help of the team’s Technical Innovation Group (TIG). In this case, TIG partner Renishaw, a global metrology firm which manufactures metal additive manufacturing machines, as well as working with the more familiar 3D printing in plastics for its own prototyping.

TIG project manager, George Sykes of PA Consulting commented, “We use 3D printing at three different levels within the team. The simplest level is as a prototyping and visualisation tool. We manufacture a large number of custom parts and 3D printing allows us to make full size prototypes in-house before we commit to a design.”

The 3D printer sits in the Land Rover BAR design office, and with little more than the click of a mouse will create a plastic version of almost anything the designers plan to create.

“The prototyping process is really useful when we are trying to develop something,” said Land Rover BAR’s Chief Technology Officer, Andy Claughton. “It allows us to get our hands on it, put it in place on the boat or link it up with other parts of the system and see potential issues and refine the design before we commit to the production of the final piece.”

The team has its own, fully equipped traditional machine shop, and it has an extensive composites team. Between them, these facilities can make almost anything, but if the final part can be 3D printed then that’s the option that will be used. One of the big advantages in the system is that the cost can be significantly reduced.

An example is the end cap for the boat’s bowsprit. This is a complex shape, designed to reduce the aerodynamic drag. It was ideal for 3D printing in plastic because there was no load involved, and a single item was required. In years gone by this would have been built in carbon fibre to the finish and standard of a piece of custom furniture, and at great expense thanks to the time and skill of those involved. Now, once the design has been developed it can be produced in a handful of hours for a few pounds.

“But the top level of our 3D printing programme is the metal additive manufacturing supplied by Renishaw,” continued Sykes. “The manufacture of custom parts in metal is the cutting edge of this technology.”

The components are manufactured from paper thin layers (typically 0.05 mm) of fine metallic powder (cornflour consistency). The system works in an argon inert atmosphere – similar to that inside a light bulb; heat can be applied to melt the metal powder without it burning; or reacting with oxygen or impurities found in air. The heat is applied using a laser beam – this is directed using software controlled mirrors, and focused to accurately weld the areas required to create the part.

One of the earliest components the Land Rover BAR team created using this technology was a custom sheave case for the pulley in the daggerboard lift line. There was a high compressive load involved and it needed good resistance to wear; so metal was the ideal choice. All high strength metals have a higher density (weight per volume) than carbon fibre, so to keep weight down the final design was hollow. It would have been very difficult to make this part any other way than additive manufacturing.

“The potential of additive manufacturing in terms of saving weight and improving efficiency is tremendous,” explained Andy Claughton. “For example, we took a long hard look at our hydraulics system. Before 3D printing came along all the parts in this system would have been manufactured by taking metal away from a solid block. The shapes that you can create with this method are limited, so the design is limited and so too is the efficiency.

“Hydraulic fluid doesn’t take kindly to going around hard corners for instance, and there is a loss of power when it has to do so. With traditional techniques this might be the only way you can manufacture the part, but with additive manufacturing you can build it with smooth rounded corners that significantly improves efficiency in the fluid transfers involved.

“In addition to the improvements in efficiency, we can now build it much more lightly as we are only adding material specifically where it is needed. In the past, the geometry of manufacture on a lathe or other cutting tool meant that some material couldn’t be removed and we would have to carry around the excess weight. No longer.”

Renishaw has manufactured several parts for the hydraulics, and while the team are reluctant to reveal too much design detail, it has said that weight in a new AM manifold design was reduced by 60%, with an increase in performance efficiency of better than 20%.

David Ewing, Product Marketing Engineer at Renishaw’s Additive Manufacturing Products Division, commented, “Our involvement with Land Rover BAR is also helping to raise the bar in additive manufacturing. It’s a complex manufacturing option and there are considerations both in component design and process expertise. The best applications are ones which use the minimum amount of material to achieve the design requirements, offer a functional benefit in service and have been designed with the manufacturing method in mind. Our work on hydraulic parts for the team is a perfect example.”

“Renishaw is at the top of this particular game and they have really helped us out with their facilities. This is one technology that’s here to stay and its role within our build processes will only increase in the future,” concluded Andy Claughton.

Renishaw is collaborating with Dassault Systèmes, a world leading 3D modelling, simulation and industrial operations software provider, as part of its commitment to provide and enhance software for metal additive manufacturing (AM).

Users of Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE platform applications can now design, optimise, simulate and set up AM builds directly for production on Renishaw’s AM systems, which build 3D metal parts using laser powder bed fusion technology. Dedicated CATIA applications include a range of tools to develop and perform topological optimisation of parts. DELMIA is employed to generate the process from build set up to generation of the necessary laser paths (scan paths). Simulation of the entire AM build, including stress analysis and distortion prediction, is carried out in SIMULIA.

Both Renishaw and Dassault Systemes have software which is accessible to authorised third parties and this played a key role in the collaboration. It ensures the laser paths (scan paths) generated by DELMIA are optimised for Renishaw metal AM systems and produce the best quality builds. This open ecosystem ethos enables collaboration with other experts working towards the common goal of creating a streamlined AM software experience.

“The 3DExperience platform coupled with QuantAM enables parts to be produced accurately from the outset, which is of tangible time and cost benefit to users. It marks the beginning of many enhancements we have in the pipeline to improve the AM user experience and streamline the front-end of the manufacturing process” explained Stephen Anderson, Renishaw’s Director of Group Software.

This process control software is part of Renishaw’s wider mission to provide end-to-end solutions for innovative manufacturing and support the managed integration of AM into the production workspace.

Renishaw has a heritage of developing software programs for its metrology and healthcare products, where accurate measurement of complex parts and verification against CAD models are critical. By collaborating with Dassault Systèmes, and other experts in their fields, Renishaw seeks to foster an environment where the best software tools can be advanced for AM users.

Maintaining the wall thickness of pump bodies and reducing the part setting time for manufacturing steering worm shafts is an important task for SuMax Enterprises Pvt Ltd, situated in Pune, India.It was made easy following installation of a Renishaw Primo system with Primo Radio Part Setter and Primo Radio 3D Tool Setter which has helped the company reduce part set-up time by 90% and eliminate scrap (previously 12%) caused by machining.

SuMax Enterprises was established in 1979 to facilitate additional capacity to manufacture different products for its parent company, Vijay Engineering, a manufacturer of tooling systems and high-precision parts.

Initially using conventional lathes and milling machines, SuMax supplied tooling, fixtures and gauges for checking components which directly contributed to Vijay’s product development cycle. In 1998, as a result of customer demand, SuMax started manufacturing components for tractor manufacturer John Deere. Today, SuMax has 65 machines, of which 35 are CNC machines used to produce high precision parts for automotive, machine tool and other industries. The company has the capacity to manufacture 100,000 components per month.

Primo is worth recommending to other SMEs as it is worry-free probing because of the warranty available and the credit token system. It helped us in reducing our part setting time and scrap on our components. The manufacturing sector will definitely benefit with this product.        SuMax Enterprise (India)

The big partnership
SuMax has always been considered a premium supplier of quality components focussing only on the manufacture of precision parts where a machining accuracy of ±10 microns is required. Manufacturing capabilities include turning, milling, broaching, cylindrical grinding and surface grinding. Inspection is carried out using a co-ordinate measuring machine (CMM).

“During evaluation of a CNC machine, a trial on one of our critical components was conducted at a machine tool supplier’s facility and there for the first time we saw part setting being done using one of the Renishaw probes. We found it very useful and were convinced to adopt this technology while manufacturing our parts,” said Managing Director of SuMax Enterprises, Mr Rajesh Suttatti.

Renishaw engineers advised which probe would be suitable for SuMax based on the application requirement. Using a Primo system has helped SuMax to increase machine utilisation time, eliminate scrap and reduce the time consuming tool setting process.

SuMax was attracted to the Primo system’s ‘pay-as-you-probe’ concept with a low initial investment and a unique credit token system. Moreover, the Primo Total Protect cover provides complete peace of mind and safeguards the Primo system against any accidental damage by providing a comprehensive warranty.

Worry-free probing
The Primo system is available at an affordable price and aimed at providing a fast return on investment.
Consisting of a Radio Part Setter and a Radio 3D Tool Setter, the system enables automated on-machine part setting, part inspection and tool setting. It helps to eliminate manual setting errors, improves accuracy and part conformance, and reduces non productive time and scrap. All of which increase productivity, improve quality and increase profits. The system is easy to use, simple to install and represents a low initial financial outlay. Its exclusive, enhanced warranty offers users complete peace of mind.

The innovative Primo Credit Token system offers users the flexibility to ‘pay-as-you-probe’. Its 6-month renewable tokens allow unlimited use of the Radio Part Setter and the Radio 3D Tool Setter within this period of time. The credit tokens are also available as an upgrade to enable unrestricted continuous use.

A Primo system was installed at SuMax in just one hour and as the system is so easy to use, it took the company only 15 minutes to get started. With the Primo training kit and pocket guide, it is very easy to learn and implement the system.

A key benefit is the elimination of the need for extensive G-code knowledge. The system is supplied with GoProbe, an innovative ‘all-in-one’ software package that simplifies part setting, tool setting and calibration. Simple, single-line commands are used instead of multiple lines of code which further eliminates the need for any special training.

Tangible returns
The Primo system was installed on a machine used for the precision machining of pump body castings and steering worm shafts.

In the case of the pump body casting, establishing a datum edge accurately to avoid wall thickness variation was critical. Previously the rejection rate due to variations in wall thickness had been 12%. Using the Primo system provided an automated part setting capability that was accurate and reliable, completely eliminating rejections of
this kind.

While machining the steering worm shaft, the dimension from the edge of the groove to the centre of the thread has a tolerance of ±0.1 mm. The start point of the thread in relation to the groove and orientation of the slot is critical. After threading is completed on the CNC lathe, the operator uses a rotary table to position the shaft prior to milling the slot on a vertical machining centre (VMC).

This part setting used to take 15 to 20 minutes whereas the actual machining time was five minutes. By establishing the orientation automatically, the Primo system eliminated a complex manual setting operation and reduced setting time to just two minutes.

For both of these applications, inspection following the machining process indicates that process variation has been eliminated – a major advantage of the Primo system.

“Without the probe the operator has to find edges and calculate the mean value to come to the centre. It is a process in itself and is a job which can be done by an experienced person only. If it has to be done with a trainee or inexperienced person, then there is no alternative to Primo. He has to just call a code to find out the width of the part so as to come to the centre. It is a very simple process which any operator could pick up within 10 minutes,” said Mr Suttatti.