Probe Enables Finish Measurement on CMMs
Aerospace and automotive manufacturers no longer have to move parts for surface finish measurement on hand-held devices or dedicated machinery.

Videos Showcase SFP1 Probe
These two videos showcase some of the technology behind the SFP1 surface finish probe option for Renishaw's Revo five-axis measuring head.

Probe Enables Finish Measurement on CMMs
The SFP1 probe uses technology incorporated in Renishaw’s five-axis Revo measuring head to facilitate surface finish measurement on CMMs.

Renishaw Gets License to Use Dental Patents
Renishaw has been granted a license for patents owned by German dental prosthodontics manufacturer BEGO Bremer Goldschlägerei Wilh. Herbst GmbH & Co. KG that enables Renishaw to sell and use its additive manufacturing machines for dental applications.

Renishaw Adds AM Machine Production at South Wales Site
Renishaw has expanded operations at its Miskin site near Cardiff, South Wales, to include production of its additive manufacturing machines, such as the AM250.

Manufacturing Excellence Event Scheduled
Renishaw will host the event in April.

A Tidy Turning Cell
This compact cell offers automated turning and inspection for extended periods of unattended operation.

Renishaw Inaugurates Mexican Facility
Renishaw recently hosted a formal inauguration event for its new subsidiary facility in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico.

Gaging System Enables Loading of Fixtured Parts
Renishaw’s Equator 300 extended height gaging system provides an extra 150 mm of fixturing space below the measuring volume.

What if Metal Follows the Same Path as Plastic?
It will, says Directed Manufacturing. This company sees metal additive manufacturing becoming as much of an established technology for final part production as plastic additive manufacturing is now. It expects to buy more metal additive machines in anticipation of the work that’s coming.

The Big Step Up
A small shop added two new machines, each of which is more advanced than any of the previous machine tools the company has used. One of the co-owners committed to the work of bringing both of these machines fully into service. Here is the shop’s experience so far.

Tidy Machining Cell
A compact cell designed by Gosiger Automation demonstrates the advantages of automated turning and inspection for long stretches of unattended operation.

Renishaw Opens Manufacturing Plant to Students
The company hosted two events for local students.

Probe Option for CMMs
Renishaw’s SFP1 probe option for the Revo five-axis measurement system enables surface finish inspection to be integrated within coordinate measurement routines.

More Demanding Than Production
The challenges of prototyping have dramatically increased. This company reinvented itself to specialize in the tight-leadtime process development that prototyping now entails.

Why Is Additive Manufacturing Important?
One of the important ideas showcased in this year’s Emerging Technology Center is additive manufacturing. 3D Systems, ExOne, Objet and Renishaw are all companies exhibiting in the ETC, located in Booth N-650.

Why Is Additive Manufacturing Important?
One of the important ideas showcased in this year’s Emerging Technology Center is additive manufacturing. 3D Systems, ExOne, Objet and Renishaw are all companies exhibiting in the ETC, located in Booth N-650.

Multiple Tool Setting and Inspection Probing for Machine Tools
Renishaw's RMI-Q multiple-probe radio transmission system uses a single radio receiver for tool-setting probe and spindle-mounted touch probe installations.

Lathe Inspection Touch Probes Available with Radio or Optical Signal Transmission
Renishaw's RLP40 and OLP40 lathe inspection probes offer a choice of radio or optical signal transmission technologies to make part setup and inspection on turning centers accurate and reliable.

Additive Manufacturing Systems Designed for Rapid Material Changeover
Renishaw's laser-melting additive manufacturing process is capable of producing fully dense metal parts directly from 3D CAD files using a high-powered fiber laser.

Renishaw Expands Operations in Canada
Renishaw says its new Canadian facility represents its commitment to that market.

Lathe Inspection Touch Probes Available with Radio or Optical Signal Transmission
Renishaw's RLP40 and OLP40 lathe inspection probes offer a choice of radio or optical signal transmission technologies to make part setup and inspection on turning centers accurate and reliable.

Renishaw Purchases Metrology Fixture Supplier
Renishaw (Gloucestershire, U.K. ) has purchased R&R Sales (Grand Haven, Michigan), a supplier of modular and custom fixtures for CMM and vision systems.

Laser Melting Systems Can Produce Metal Parts
The additive manufacturing process featured in Renishaw’s laser melting systems uses a high-powered fiber laser to produce fully dense metal parts directly from 3D CAD.

Renishaw Opens Subsidiary in Mexico
Renishaw (Hoffman Estates, Illinois) has opened a new subsidiary in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico, to directly support its expanding customer base in that country and Central America.

Gage Combines Production, Programmable Measurement
The Equator gaging system from Renishaw is designed to minimize purchase, maintenance and fixture costs. It can be programmed for multiple parts and reprogrammed in minutes for design changes.

Absolute Linear Encoder Boosts Throughput, Yields
Renishaw’s Resolute absolute optical encoder is designed to provide accurate motion control to help manufacturers increase throughput and maximize yields.

Selective Laser Melting Makes Parts Directly from 3D CAD
The additive manufacturing process used in Renishaw’s SLM125 and SLM250 selective laser melting uses a high-powered fiber laser to produce fully dense metal parts direct from 3D CAD.

Wireless Ballbar Speeds Medical Machine Testing
The QC20-W wireless ballbar from Renishaw enables this precision-machined medical device manufacturer to perform faster, more convenient CNC machine capability tests and produce a representative measurement of volumetric positioning accuracy.

PC-Based Probing Software for Machining Centers
Renishaw’s Productivity+ version 1.90 integrates measurement and process control functionality into CNC machining programs.

Renishaw Process Control Seminar – The Start to a Better Finish
A metrology seminar on October 12 will address the need for increased process control using a systematic approach to reducing waste and variation in manufacturing processes.

Cycle Efficiency
Automated machining processes enable this maker of high-performance mountain bike parts to manufacture efficiently with minimal staff.

Gaging System Designed to be Fast, Simple
Designed as an alternative to a traditional, dedicated gaging system, the Equator offline measurement system is capable of high speed comparative gaging of high-volume manufactured parts.

Renishaw Plans Expansion
To provide the additional capacity needed for anticipated business growth, U.K.-based engineering company Renishaw has acquired a new manufacturing facility and submitted planning applications to expand three existing facilities.   The acquired facility is the soon-to-be-vacant Bosch manufacturing plant in Miskin, South Wales.

Renishaw Chief Exec Elected to Royal Society
Sir David McMurtry, chairman and chief executive of global engineering company Renishaw, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science.

Renishaw Acquires Additive Equipment Manufacturer
Metrology and engineering technology supplier Renishaw plc (Gloucestershire, U.K.) has acquired the entire share capital of MTT Investments Limited and its subsidiary MTT Technologies Limited (MTT). MTT (Staffordshire, U.K.) designs, develops and manufactures additive manufacturing and rapid prototyping systems, including selective laser melting, metal casting and vacuum casting machines and processes.   MTT’s range of products are complementary to Renishaw’s existing technologies and business, says Sir David McMurtry, Renishaw chairman and chief executive.

Five-Axis, Touch-Trigger Probe Head Increases CMM Measurement Throughput
Renishaw’s PH20 probe head features a unique “head touch” capability for high-speed point capture with minimal CMM movement.

Renishaw Acquires MTT
The metrology company’s move suggests confidence in additive manufacturing.

Programmable Gaging System for High-Volume Inspection
The Equator gaging system is a low-cost inspection device capable of high speed comparative inspection for high-volume parts manufacturing on the shop floor.

Renishaw Expands India Facility
Engineering technology company Renishaw recently opened a 4,875-square-meter extension to its facility in Pune, India.

New Idea in Shopfloor Gaging
In many manufacturing facilities, production measurement and programmable measurement are two separate things. Read how one company’s new product represents a new idea in gaging.

Inspection System Brings Programmability to Shopfloor Gaging
Gaging device extends the reach of the CMM out to the production floor, and provides an alternative to dedicated gaging.

Probe Has Right Touch for Five-Axis Aerospace Parts
On-machine measurement is critical at this aerospace manufacturer, which needs to ensure that features of already high-value parts are within specification before performing additional operations. With the RMP600 strain-gage probe from Renishaw, the company has eliminated the delays that come with measuring on a true CMM.

Renishaw Continues Expansion in China
Metrology supplier Renishaw says new branch offices in Suzhou and Xi’an will provide local support to its rapidly expanding customer base.

Last Glance at IMTS 2010
It would be impossible to cover all of the key exhibitors at IMTS 2010—even if every booth got merely a quick glance. However, the editors of MMS did get glimpses of some interesting technologies exhibited at the show...

Five-Axis Probe for CMMs
Renishaw says its PH20 increases touch-trigger CMM throughput by as much as three times, using fast, infinite rotary positioning and “head touch” capability for high speed point capture with minimal CMM movement.

Laser Calibration System
 The XL-80 system is a laser interferometer calibration with lean design, enabling a four times faster slew rate, ten times higher dynamic data capture rate and total system accuracy, the company says. 

Radio Transmission Touch Probes
The company’s radio transmission probes combine compact size with frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) radio transmission to bring the advantages of automated job setup and in-process measurement to a range of machine tools and applications.

Wireless Ball Bar Has Volumetric Testing Capability
 The QC20-W ball bar features a linear sensor and Bluetooth wireless technology for greater ease of use and enhanced durability, the company says.

It Takes Firm Resolution To Master The Micro
This shop’s experience of successfully machining a micro aneurysm clip in silicon nitride ceramic points out the need to have CAD, CAM and CNC capability at high resolution—plus the commitment to pull it all together.

How Stylus Choice Affects CMM Accuracy
Measurement uncertainty and inconsistency can result when an improper CMM stylus is chosen. A metrology products manufacturer details four aspects of stylus choice that can impact overall CMM accuracy.

Probing for Part Inspection and Crash Avoidance
A reader uses “Ask an Expert” to explore various potential uses of the machining center’s probe.

Addressing the Design Issues of Rapid Manufacturing
This white paper from a manufacturer that added an in-house rapid manufacturing center describes how additive technologies both complement and differ from manufacturing processes relying on CNC machining.

How to Improve Machining Center Accuracy
Accuracy is not just inherent to the machine—it also depends on how the machine is used. Try these techniques to let a new or existing CNC machining center achieve its potential precision.

Can A Machining Center Be Used As A CMM?
One manufacturer in need of a shop-rugged CMM wants to use a probe-equipped VMC for precisely this purpose. The shop asked probing expert Renishaw about this idea. Here is the response.

Probing Beyond Prismatic
This manufacturer has used on-machine probing to help automate setups and maintain process control for prismatic parts produced on VMCs for years. The metrology products maker recently implemented probing strategies that let it achieve similar results on its turn-mills and Swiss-types. The smaller, more economical batch sizes these machines now produce are better aligned with true production requirements.

Integrated Technology For Machine Tool Probing
Designed for small machining centers and inspection of hard-to-reach part features, the OMP400 optical probe is said to combine miniaturization of the OMP40 probe with advances in strain gage technology. It is suited for machines with short, Z-axis travel and spindles as small as HSK 32. Combining its size, accuracy, reliability and robustness, the probe is suited for high-accuracy applications.

Laser Calibration System
Renishaw’s XL-80 laser calibration system brings precision and portability to manufacturing machinery process validation, the company says. The system’s design allows for a 4× slew rate and a 10× dynamic data capture rate in a small, light and portable package. The system increases linear measurement speed to 4 m/s, while providing a resolution of 1 nm, even at top speed.

Probe Combines Strain-Gage And Frequency-Hopping Technologies

Detect Broken Tools Without Chip, Coolant Misreadings

Get Better Before You Get Bigger
Rather than making a major new machine tool purchase just yet, this shop is finding additional capacity on the equipment it already has. What once was a vertical machining center will become a flexible automated production center for unattended machining.

Laser Monitors Medical Parts Processing

Compact Laser Measurement System

RAMTIC System Still Ticking
When it first appeared in the early 1990s, RAMTIC (Renishaw’s Automated Milling, Turning and Inspection Center) pioneered the use of portable carrousels for palletized workpieces and the use of artifacts, or master components, by which a machine tool could check its own dimensional calibration. This innovative approach to process control is still highly effective as applied in the company’s most advanced machine shop, which opened in 2006. Carrousels and artifacts are very much a part of this new shop’s remarkable success.

Compliant Machining Of Composite Wings
Bell Helicopter created a systematic, scripted process to machine composite wing skins and structural components for the V-22 Osprey vertical takeoff aircraft. Custom software ensures there is no deviation from the script.

Under One Roof
In bringing multiple manufacturing processes in-house, this medical shop parallels its customers' efforts to be one-stop sources for hospital equipment.

Move The Program Instead Of The Part
A complex five-axis part with hard-to-reach datums is machined in two setups instead of eight, thanks to a process that rewrites the tool paths to match the part's position.

Accurate, On-Machine Measurement

Thinking Big
This shop specifies large machine tools for the machining possibilities of the future. To prepare for the feed rates the shop expects to use one day, the latest large gantry mills apply linear motors on all three linear axes.

Revving Up The CMM
High speed, five-axis scanning promises to give throughput on coordinate measuring machines a big boost. Entire manufacturing strategies may be up for rethinking as a result.

System Takes Guesswork Out Of Diagnosing Problems
Rockwell Automation Power Systems (Greenville, South Carolina) specializes in technologies and services for optimizing power transmission performance and productivity.

Company Aims To Lead A Measurement Revolution

Keeping Accuracy Within Reach
Part quality is at risk if a machining center cannot hold tolerances at the farthest reaches of its work envelope. This makes volumetric accuracy a key indicator of a machine's performance. One machine tool builder discusses the implications.

CAM Software For Probing
Software for creating probing routines off-line promises to make machine tool probing easier to use. As a few examples show, different software providers look at this off-line programming in different ways.

Faster Inspection On Existing CMMs
Software that adjusts for dynamic error lets a CMM inspect at higher rates without losing precision.

Dynamic Compensation Technique

Humility, Inc.
This shop has capabilities similar to others. It hires employees who have no experience. What sets the shop apart and accounts for its success is an unusual attitude of service toward customers.

The Technology Of Lean Machining
This plant makes different choices for its machining cells depending on whether the parts to be machined there are known or unknown.

Mini Magnetic Rotary Encoders

Using The Machine Tool As A Gage
On-machine inspection probing keeps jet engine production flying.

Winning The Door Prize
The accuracy of this shop's five-axis gantry-type profiler helped it land the job of machining the engine-bay doors for the F/A-22.

Racing Team Shifts Into Reverse Engineering
When the Joe Gibbs Racing team went shopping for a reverse engineering system five years ago, it looked at a variety of technologies. But the team decided to put this on-machine scanning system in the driver's seat of its reverse engineering program.

Retrofitted Laser-Scale Systems Improve Linear Accuracy Of Gantry Mills
When aerospace machining specialist Alson Manufacturing of Compton, California, produced its first parts more than 30 years ago, allowable tolerances on a 160-inch part might have been 0.030 to 0.040 inch. Today, thanks to an industry-wide narrowing of tolerances, that same part has to be machined to within ±0.004 inch of the printed specification.

Probing For Process Improvement
Advances in machine accuracy and probing technology make on-machine inspection a powerful tool for automating and speeding part processing.

Digitizer Drives Five-Axis CNC Head Porting To The Performance Redline
Why spend thousands of dollars on a precision machined engine block, crank and pistons, just to bolt on a set of unported cylinder heads with mismatched port volumes and rough wall surfaces? This is where hand porting comes in.

Under Control
This small-parts machining operation combines superbly automated workholding and handling with total machining process management.

What's The Best Way To Digitize?
A physical model is some sort of solid object that must be replicated in metal. And a tool maker must figure out how best to capture a dimensional description of that form that is both accurate and detailed enough to eventually enable the creation of a good NC part program.

Moldmaker Finds Expanded Role Beyond Just The "Making"
The moldmaker as a provider of end-product design support may seem like a violation of the natural order, but this company has established precisely that role for itself.

Improving Machine Tool Linear Accuracy With Laser Scales
Aerospace machine tools are flying high with accuracy enhanced by laser scales and thermal compensation. The same technology promises to benefit machine tools in other industries.

Moldmaker Caps Bottle Mold Production Time With 'Continuous Path' Scanner
Replacing tracer machining with scanning and digitizing at 1,000 points per second improves mold quality, eliminates patternmaking to reduce pre-machining time, and permits tool path generation through CAM to cut machining time by 40 percent.

• Video: Programmable Shopfloor Gaging System

  System provides flexible alternative to hard gaging near the machine tool.

• Five-Axis Head for Inspection on CMMs Increases Throughput

  Utilizing technology developed for its Revo measurement system, Renishaw says its PH20 probe head offers “head touches” for rapid touch-trigger measurement and fast, infinite, five-axis positioning for optimal feature access.

• Turning On A Machining Center

  VIDEO. Part of Renishaw’s automated production process, this turning operation uses tools affixed to the machining center’s table while the workpiece is mounted in the spindle.

• Video: Automatic Part Verification Through Reference Comparison

  The machining center in this automated production process inspects its own work and updates its own positioning. Probing a known, traceable reference makes this possible.

• New Gaging System Cuts Purchase, Maintenance and Fixture Costs

  (Sponsored Content) Equator™ from Renishaw is a radical alternative to traditional dedicated gaging.

• Five-Axis Head for Touch-Trigger Inspection on CMMs

  Utilizing technology developed for its Revo measurement system, Renishaw says its PH20 probe head offers “head touches” for rapid touch-trigger measurement and fast, infinite, five-axis positioning for optimal feature access.

• The New Automation Calculation

  This Sponsored Online Presentation features a collection of articles and links to other online resources aims to empower the modern machining professional with what is needed to compete more effectively through automation, process technologies, and lean manufacturing principles. (Sponsored Content)

• Automation For Information

  There is a wealth of information already in the shop. Here is how to profit from it. (Sponsored Content)

• Move Parts - Don't Move Production

  Robotic automation can make manufacturing in North America the most profitable choice. (Sponsored Content)

• Overall Equipment Effectiveness: The Formula For Finding Your Plant’s Hidden Potential

  A metric that captures availability, performance and quality highlights the many places where today's automation makes sense. (Sponsored Content) 

• Release The Potential Of Your Machine Tool

  Probing can improve OEE in many different ways throughout the machining cycle. (Sponsored Content)

• A Manager's Guide to Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

  Under current economic conditions, severe global competition and postponement of new equipment purchases are causing business executives to be sensitive about all aspects of manufacturing operational costs. In this environment, it pays to consider both creative and proven methods that manufacturers can use to bring their product to market at minimum cost. 'Overall Equipment Effectiveness' (OEE) is a method that meets this objective. (Sponsored Content)