QUALITY & METROLOGY NEW DIMENSIONS
without a CMM. Now I can put a part on the
machine, load the measurement program
and hit a button. Something that may have
taken a couple of hours to measure
previously might now take 5 minutes.”
(Incidentally, Aberlink is now able to offer
remote online demonstrations for the entire
range of CMMs, measurement software and
accessories to customers who are unable to
travel to a regional demo facility.)
Basildon, Essex-based ESL Group
recently became the rst company in Europe
to take delivery of one of Mitutoyo’s CRYSTA
Apex V range of CNC CMMs. Originally a
specialist subcontract gear-cutting business,
the operation has added the production of
precision machined components to its gearcutting
offer. Headquartered in a 30,000 ft2
manufacturing facility, the company is
regarded as a single-source, precision
engineering subcontractor.
Accredited to ISO9001 and AS9100D and
boasting many aerospace approvals, the
ESL Group has developed partnerships with
many leading aerospace companies and has
applied strict aerospace manufacturing and
quality standards to other equally demanding
sectors.
As a long-time, loyal user of Mitutoyo
CMMs, to enable the company’s quality
department to maintain standards and
speed up inspection work, the ESL Group
purchased its Mitutoyo CRYSTA-Apex V CNC
CMM model.
Says ESL Group quality engineer Dave
Humphrey: “The ESL Group has used
Mitutoyo CMMs for over 20 years and has
been very impressed with their ease and
speed of use, also their reliability and
accuracy. In addition, we always receive
excellent service from Mitutoyo UK.
“As Mitutoyo continually develops its
CMM technology, to stay at the forefront of
inspection advances, periodically we have
replaced our older Mitutoyo CMMs with the
latest models. This policy has allowed us to
take advantage of the most up-to-date
advancements in CMM technology and has
helped us to uphold our meticulous quality
standards.
“Recently, the need to further increase
our inspection capacity has occurred. Having
installed a Mitutoyo Apex S CNC CMM less
than two years ago, on contacting Mitutoyo
UK it was interesting to hear about the
technical improvements made to the brand
new Mitutoyo CRYSTA-Apex V CMM range.
“Although we considered that progress in
areas such as software enhancements
means that the new CMM represented a
further step forward for Mitutoyo, before
committing to purchasing an CRYSTA-Apex V
machine we followed our normal commercial
practice of considering the merits of other
CMM brands in terms of their capabilities
and price. As previously, the new Mitutoyo
CMM proved to be the most attractive option
and an order was placed.”
EASY TRANSITION FROM OLD TO NEW
The new CRYSTA-Apex V CNC CMM and the
company’s existing Mitutoyo CNC CMM are
now located in its temperature-controlled
quality department. As the new machine is
an evolution of its predecessor, it was easy
for the three quality department staff to
quickly become accustomed to its operation,
and already they are able to swap from
machine to machine with ease, reports
Humphrey, adding: “Our CRYSTA-Apex V and
our older Mitutoyo CMM are the mainstays
of our quality provision. We use them to
perform rst-off, in-process and nal
inspection routines, and a multitude of other
high precision measuring and inspection
tasks, such as the generation of full F.A.I
and SPC reports. When required, we are
able to supply these reports to our
customers and to archive all traceable
inspection data. In addition to inspecting
one-off parts, it helps that we can load
multiple smaller components onto the
CMMs’ beds, recall the relevant programs,
then perform fully automated CNC, mass
inspection routines.
“As we anticipated, given its accuracy
speci cation and rapid action, we have
found our new Mitutoyo CRYSTA-Apex V CNC
CMM to be a great asset in speeding up our
inspection routines and in maintaining the
premium quality levels that our customers
expect.”
ESL Group has became the fi rst company in Europe to take delivery
of one of Mitutoyo’s CRYSTA Apex V range of CNC CMMs
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