Blum-Novotest Competence Center Supports Lights-Out Automation

An ability to machine long part runs unattended is rarely at issue in the automation applications Modern Machine Shop covers. Far more often, the limiting factor on any automation capability is the ability to ensure quality on an unstaffed machine for many hours. Metrology and measuring technology company Blum-Novotest intends to push this factor as far as it will go, using its new competence center in Erlanger, Kentucky, to perform software development for relevant machine controls, as well as training, product management, repairs and assembly for for the U.S. manufacturing market.

Alexander Blum (left) and Lilian Barraud (right) hosted the opening of Blum-Novotest’s new Competence Center in Erlanger, Kentucky, on June 26, 2025. The pair say the new center is meant to prove the company’s dedication to the market, and they hope it will help them expand local sourcing and repair capabilities. Image courtesy of Blum-Novotest.

Building the Foundation for Competence

Alexander Blum, CEO of the Blum-Novotest Group, says a key differentiator of the company is its close relationships with and responsiveness to its customers. Maintaining this responsiveness across the globe was a key factor behind the start of Blum-Novotest North America in 1997, with the division’s main goal being to provide local support for imported equipment. This quickly expanded to a retrofitting service and more, and has led to a larger permanent presence visible in the new Blum-Novotest Competence Center, which hosted its grand opening on June 26, 2025.

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Blum says this new competence center is meant to provide assurance that the company is committed to the U.S. market, and will be a hub for training, custom solutions, repairs (complete with local sourcing where possible) and some assembly. It includes machines with controls from different providers, such as a FANUC control on a RoboDrill from the same company, a Siemens SINUMERIK ONE controller on a Heller five-axis Tokn machine and an Okuma control on an Okuma Genos M460V-5AX five-axis mill, using these to both demonstrate the compatibility of Blum-Novotest’s products and provide training to users of these and other control types.

This training will cover both theoretical and practical aspects of the metrology and measurement equipment. In a dedicated training room, visitors can review specifications for their equipment — which Blum says is useful for both first-time buyers and shops whose operators are hesitant to trust the equipment — while the showroom floor acts as a place for trainees to practice operating the equipment and learn how to most effectively use Blum-Novotest technology.

For example, Blum-Novotest’s FormControl X measuring and automation software enables users to measure a part, see the difference between nominal and real measurements after machining, and automatically compensate the machine for the next part. The software also keeps track of data for traceability and statistical process control.

Blum-Novotest’s equipment is compatible with three-axis mills, five-axis mills, lathes and mill-turn machines, either installed at the time of purchase or retrofitted afterward through custom brackets. Image from Evan Doran, Modern Machine Shop.

Simple Self-Optimization

The central Blum-Novotest equipment on the competence center floor is the LC50-Digilog. The LC50-Digilog has long been able to measure tool length and radius, but Blum says the laser is now able to check the entire contour of a single or all cutting edges at any spindle speed. He says this has become more important in recent years, as even the tiny differences tools can show coming off a tool grinder — even down to the micron level — can make a difference in high-precision aerospace or energy industry work.

Blum says the laser can identify runout and form deviations, sending the data back to the paired LC-Vision software. From here, the software uses this data to optimize tool offset, instructing the machine to automatically compensate without requiring operator action. Blum calls it “self-optimizing compensation,” as it automatically updates as the tool wears.

In addition to tool and part measurement, Blum-Novotest equipment can measure machine kinematics. This is aided by the company’s KinematicsPerfect software, which Barraud says can enable users to check, compensate and set machine kinematics without external assistance. Image by Evan Doran, Modern Machine Shop.

Lilian Barraud, president of Blum-Novotest North America, gives one example of this for a customer consistently experiencing scrap after shift changes. In this case, the machine spindle and tool would cool off just enough between shifts to cause errors in high-tolerance work. Blum-Novotest introduced the customer to a real-time laser monitoring system that monitors tool length variation down to the micrometers while the spindles warms up, only releasing the tool to begin the cutting operation once tool length has stabilized.

Blum and Barraud say this sort of self-optimizing equipment works as well for full lights-out automation as it does for shift changes. They also encourage the use of the laser system to check spindle performance, saying it can help users predict spindle life and schedule maintenance before a machine goes down, potentially saving days of downtime and expensive scrap.

Blum says that the company’s primary goal is to not only improve the quality of individual processes, but to support the closed loop automation of the full manufacturing process. This means ensuring parts come off the machine correct from the very first part. By training and working with users to use equipment for optimizing machine and part performance, Blum-Novotest aims to make its new competence center instrumental to this goal.