QUALITY & METROLOGY CONTROL & ASSURANCE
“has been very quick”.
Away from the production shop,
maintenance and repair is another industry
segment investing in quality. A case in point
can be seen at the Glasgow facility of
Aerotron Avotec, which specialises in the
repair and overhaul of rotary and xed wing
aircraft components for civil and military
customers. The company has to work with
everything from tiny bearings to shafts,
gears, brake components, wheels and large
outer casings for aircraft undercarriages.
Engineers at the company are tasked with
inspecting parts to extremely tight
tolerances, which can often mean having to
take key measurements from dif cult-toaccess
areas.
After scanning the market for the most
suitable solutions to these challenges,
Aerotron Avotec invested in an IM-7500
optical imaging measurement system from
Keyence (https://is.gd/opodek), which has
enabled measurements to be acquired using
just one instrument and in a fraction of the
time previously required. Simultaneously,
using the Keyence system has increased the
accuracy of measurements, mainly through
being able to reduce the amount of human
interface involved. Once the information
gathered is programmed into the memory of
the machine, parts of the same speci cation
can be measured quickly and simply with
one or two button clicks. This functionality
greatly reduces the number of man-hours
that would traditionally be spent on such a
task.
PLAIN SAILING WITH FARO TECH
At the other end of the size scale, the
accurate positioning, alignment and
assembly of large, cumbersome items such
as boat hulls for the marine industry is a
regular and often challenging requirement.
Superyacht builder Sunseeker has
eliminated the dif culties associated with
these tasks, following the recent purchase
of two complementary, laser-based
technologies from Faro UK (https://is.gd/
owoxug). The Faro products have enabled
the Poole-based company to reduce its build
times and further develop the company’s
quality standards. Sunseeker has installed
a Faro Vantage E laser tracker, four Faro
Tracer M laser projectors and Faro’s CAM2
software, all of which are now in daily use.
Composite development manager Stuart
Jones explains the bene ts of the
company’s Faro Vantage laser tracker:
“We’re now able to rapidly and accurately
capture the 3D base geometry of, for
example, our superyacht hulls and large
composite components, and ensure they
adhere to the designs generated with the
help of our in-house design and
manufacturing software. Once obtained, this
data is used by our four new Faro laser
projectors to project a variety of key datums,
templates and location positions on to the
yacht hulls, allowing the precise tting of key
components during build.
“As many of the parts have tight
tolerances, our tracker routines allow us to
accurately detect and quantify any de ection
or change in the geometrical shape of
components such as hulls that could cause
later assembly issues. The use of the
precise data gathered by our tracker means
we are able to take early corrective actions
and avoid more problematic issues later in
the build process.”
Suitable for large-scale 3D measurement
applications, the Vantage enables users to
maximise productivity and reduce inspection
cycle times by 50-75%, says Faro. The
device can be applied to assembly,
alignment, part inspection, machine
installation and reverse engineering tasks.
Sunseeker’s manufacturing engineering
manager, Steve Efford, says: “With Faro’s
help, we’ve been able to quickly develop a
range of manufacturing methodologies that
have improved our precision capabilities and
reduced build times.”
Quality & metrology industry & products news in brief
Industrial metrology specialist the Sempre Group has
introduced the Opticline T3D optical shaft measuring system
with tactile 3D measuring probe. The technology, manufactured
and designed by partner Jenoptik, is suitable for the
measurement of axial run-out, grooves and
bores on shaft-based parts with milled or
drilled features. Alongside its high speed,
optical and non-contact measurement options,
the T3D tactile probe allows the user to
achieve full component measurement with just
one system. https://is.gd/muleje
Verus Metrology has entered into a partnership
with Apex Metrology, a move that will see the
latter supply Verus’ bespoke metrology xtures,
along with its modular metrology xturing kit –
V-FIX – for non-bespoke xture solutions. Apex is
the latest member to join Verus’ Approved
Partners Programme. https://is.gd/iyubam
Taylor Hobson’s calibration laboratory recently celebrated
50 years of continuous accreditation. The laboratory was
initially accredited on 12 January 1970 by the British
Calibration Service (BCS). Setting out further milestones,
Taylor Hobson’s UKAS laboratory
gained accreditation to ISO 17025 in
February 2002, and testing
laboratory accreditation in January
2004. September 2007 saw the
company’s laboratories reestablished
into newly designed
ISO-graded cleanroom facilities. Jon
Leeman, head of the laboratory,
says: “Although I wasn’t there for the
initial accreditation, looking back it’s
a fantastic achievement for the
laboratory, it’s personnel and my
predecessors Clive Eager and Pat
Kilbane.” https://is.gd/madavo
The Opticline T3D optical shaft measuring
system with tactile 3D measuring probe
44 April 2020 | www.machinery.co.uk | MachineryMagazine | @MachineryTweets
/muleje
/iyubam
/madavo
/www.machinery.co.uk
/opodek
/owoxug
/owoxug