Quartztec Europe has
added measurement
capacity via this
Mitutoyo CMM
CMM
users positive
Mitutoyo CMM supports Quartztec Europe’s growing demand; Goodfabs selects Aberlink CMM after
market analysis; fuel cell measurement demands; plus industry & product news in brief
AMitutoyo Crysta S9166 CMM is
supporting Quartztec Europe’s
manufacturing of fused quartz and
ceramic products. The company, based in
East Kilbride, Scotland, produces high
quality products for a range of extremely
demanding market sectors, including the
defence, aerospace, automotive,
semiconductor, solar and bre optic
industries.
To help satisfy increasing global demand
for the company’s products, the directors of
Quartztec Europe are currently planning a
large expansion, including the purchase of
state-of-the-art production equipment. To
allow the company’s inspection function to
keep pace with the planned rise in output,
Quartztec Europe’s managing director, Ron
Jackman, recently explored the available
high precision, fast-acting CNC coordinate
measuring machines (CMMs).
Jackman spotted a Mitutoyo CMM
carrying out complex inspection routines on
several of Quartztec Europe’s more dif cult-
to-measure manufactured components while
visiting a supplier. Prompted by the CMM’s
performance, and following a glowing
QUALITY & METROLOGY MEASURED INVESTMENT
Mitutoyo CMM testimonial from the
business’s owner, he contacted Mitutoyo
Scotland.
With Quartztec Europe’s CMM accuracy,
speed and capacity requirements detailed,
a quote was requested. The Mitutoyo’s
Crysta S9166 CMM ticked all the boxes and
was duly chosen and installed.
Explains Jackman: “Customer
satisfaction through the provision of quality
products and services is at the core of our
business philosophy. To help ensure that we
consistently deliver on our quality principles
we believe in making investments in
advanced inspection equipment. As our
existing CMM didn’t have the speed to keep
pace with our planned rise in production,
and as it was proving costly to maintain,
a decision was made to invest in a new,
advanced, high-speed CNC CMM.
“At a time when our existing CMM was
being repaired, an urgent need occurred to
inspect and deliver several products to an
important customer. Having taken the
products in question to a supplier who had
offered to perform the required inspection
routines on one of the company’s Mitutoyo
CNC CMMs, I was amazed to see how quick
and easy the CMM was to program when
compared to our own CMM. Also, once
programmed, the Mitutoyo CMM completed
the required, complex inspection routines in
half the time our machine took.”
And while Quartztec Europe was awaiting
delivery of its new CMM and with its existing
CMM still out of commission, Mitutoyo
Scotland offered to undertake CMM
inspection of the company’s components
until the CRYSTA-Apex S 9166 CNC CMM
was installed.
He continues: “Following the CRYSTAApex
S 9166’s installation and operator
training sessions, as it is so easy to
program and operate our quality staff soon
became familiar with our new CMM’s
operation. As the CRYSTA-Apex S 9166 has
a generous capacity of 900 by 1,600 by
600 mm, in addition to it easily
accommodating the largest of our
components, we are now able to load
multiple smaller parts onto the machine’s
bed, recall the relevant program and start a
precise, fully automated, mass CNC
inspection routine. When required, we then
www.machinery.co.uk @MachineryTweets October 2019 31
/www.machinery.co.uk