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Aberlink CMM

9/17/2019

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As with many of the advanced automotive technologies that have become commonplace within automotive transport, hybrid flywheel technology, known as Kers in the F1 world, was developed in the world of motorsport. Through development in this fiercely competitive arena, Hybrid Power has developed a system that can deliver high, continuously cycling power output over an extended operating life, which far exceeds that of current, battery based hybrid applications. Acquired by GKN Plc in April 2014 from Williams Grand Prix Engineering, GKN Hybrid Power is at the forefront of hybrid flywheel technology. GKN Hybrid Power now makes the advanced technology available to applications such as hybrid buses and other passenger and commercial vehicles to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions. The Hybrid Power team, based in Oxfordshire, UK has already introduced the advanced technology into applications as diverse as London buses and the Le Mans winning Audi R18 e-tron Quattro. The GKN system has a number of unique features. The core of the hybrid system is the Magnetically Loaded Composite rota, which provides a highly efficient electrical energy storage capability which is both cheaper and lighter than batteries. Compared to a battery, the electric flywheel has a much higher specific power density. This means that for applications that require relatively short bursts of energy at a higher power, the flywheel system is a fraction of the weight, volume and cost (by as much as a third) of a battery. The benefits of the low carbon certified system include minimal re-engineering requirements and up to 25% fuel improvement. In addition to the ingenious design of the GKN Hybrid Power hybrid flywheel technology, the systems efficiency is dependent on the high precision of its manufactured components. Chris Tye, Operations Manager at GKN Hybrid Power, explained “GKN Hybrid Power’s Gyrodrive electric flywheel technology is a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS). When a vehicle brakes, it harvests the energy normally lost as heat. The flywheel stores the energy and returns it to the wheels on demand, boosting power, saving fuel and reducing emissions. When the driver brakes, a traction motor within the drivetrain slows the vehicle and by doing so generating electricity. This electricity is used to charge the flywheel, spinning it at up to 36,000rpm. When the driver accelerates, the system works in reverse. The stored energy is drawn from the flywheel and converted back into electricity to power the traction motor. This action reduces the work done by the internal combustion engine and, depending on the application, improves fuel economy by up to 25%. “Our system can continuously deep cycle at high power without the longevity concerns for batteries when operated similarly, it can also operate through a broader range of operating temperature when compared to battery alternatives, in addition, full cycle life costs are lower. “Given the loads placed on hybrid flywheel technology and the punishing environments it is designed to work in, all of GKN Hybrid Power’s components are manufactured to the highest quality standards, also, many of them have challenging dimensional tolerances. “The commercial success and increasing demand for our hybrid flywheel technology recently began to place a burden on our existing manual Coordinate Measuring Machine. So before we started to encounter inspection bottle necks we began a search for a second, larger, CMM that was more capable had the benefit of CNC operation. 
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​“Having considered machines from several companies, including the manufacturer of our existing CMM, we decided that Aberlink’s Zenith too, fitted with a Renishaw PH10M motorised indexing heads and SP25 scanning probe system, was the ideal CMM for our growing needs. In addition to accommodating all of our existing parts, the machine’s large capacity - x1000 mm x y1000 mm, z 600 mm, will enable it to accept all anticipated future large components. “As the Zenith too is so easy to operate and Aberlink’s software is so intuitive, following a brief training session, our operators quickly became proficient in the machine’s operation. As our new Aberlink CMM is fully CNC, within 3 weeks of its installation, our CMM operator had written over 100 part programs related to our most common components. Now, we are able to load a single large part or multiple smaller components onto the bed of the machine, recall the relevant program, and with the press of a button instigate a fully automatic CNC measuring routine.” Manufactured by Aberlink Innovative Metrology, the largest UK owned Coordinate Measuring Machine manufacturer, the Zenith too Coordinate Measuring Machine range consists of 10 machines with XYZ capacities from 1000x1000x600mm –1000x3000x800mm. The Zenith too’s cutting edge, all aluminium construction, advanced drive design and raised guide-ways ensures that despite its choice of generous measuring envelopes, the machines’ extremely low inertia characteristics guarantees excellent speed of operation. Impressive accuracy and repeatability figures are further aided by the range’s measuring structure being completely independent of the machine’s granite surface table. Although the large capacity series is perfectly suited to use within environmentally controlled inspection environments, it is on the shop floor where the Zenith too range’s low thermal mass and extremely robust characteristics come to the fore, enabling the accurate measurement of large parts, or multiple smaller components to take place nearer to their point of manufacture. The impressive hardware of the new Zenith too is complemented by the range’s intuitive Windows based software. A welcome bi-product of any Zenith too CMM inspection routine is that a simultaneous picture of the measured component is created in real-time on the operator’s computer screen. Dimensions between the measured features, mirroring those that appear on the component drawing, are then picked off as required. In essence Aberlink’s ‘smart’ software represents an intelligent measuring system that is able to automatically recognise and define the various features being measured. Aberlink 3D is claimed to be the easiest to use CMM software currently available, so much so, that a complete novice is usually able to perform relatively involved measurement routines after just 5 minutes training. Aberlink supply a complete Zenith too ‘turn-key’ package, including a comprehensive training programme, a wide choice of motorised or manual probes, Aberlink’s celebrated 3D software and not least the latest generation of high speed custom controllers, that are capable of generating true, three dimensional contours.
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Aberlink CMM

7/26/2019

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​Established in 1973 by John Kratovil, Paragon Precision Products has developed into a leading manufacturer and supplier of high-quality turned/milled components to international markets. The demanding global industries supplied by Paragon include the defence, aviation, automotive, autosport, fibre optics, medical and scientific research sectors. The well known company also has extensive experience in manufacturing and supplying highly specified components for a range of military applications. Paragon is committed to maintaining the highest standards of component quality and service whilst optimising productivity; this is achieved by utilising advanced CNC Machine Tool technology. Further efficiencies are gained through the implementation of a progressive Kanban system and whenever possible, by the use of “lights out” production. Paragon’s policy of continuous investment in the most up to date, highly productive technology and the use of progressive production systems, enables the company to produce high-quality components in small, medium and large batch quantities, at very competitive prices. An illustration of the success of the company’s abiding price/quality philosophy is the recent award of a large production contract, won despite the presence of extremely aggressive Chinese competition. Paragon’s modern production facility provides a clean and efficient, purpose-designed operating environment where a team of precision engineers are able to produce high-quality components to exacting specifications. The company’s well-equipped CNC machine shop houses a comprehensive range of precision machining, milling and turning equipment, all using up to date CNC technology. Operation of the company’s machine tools is optimised by the use of a fully automated, feature-rich CAMWARE system that provides extensive CAD drawing capability and design tools. To ensure that this ISO 9001 Quality Assured company retain the hard won reputation they enjoy for the high quality of their output, regular investments are made in the best available quality control technology. An illustration of Paragon’s commitment to quality is the company’s recent purchase of an advanced Axiom too Coordinate Measuring Machine from Aberlink Innovative Metrology. Paragon Precision Products Managing Director Paul Kratovil explains the reasons behind the company’s latest, high-tech acquisition. “Although our Inspection Department is well equipped with a range of modern measuring and testing equipment, the high volume of work now passing through our production facility meant that we needed to procure a high-accuracy, high-speed CMM that could keep pace with our current levels of production. As our proposed CMM would represent the most expensive piece of quality control equipment ever purchased by the company, we considered many alternatives makes. We also took advice from our customers, who operate several different CMMs. Although some alternatives came close, the ‘stand-out’ CMM was the Axiom too from Aberlink
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​Available in manual and CNC variants, the cost effective Axiom too is the best selling CMM from the largest UK owned Coordinate Measuring Machine manufacturer – Aberlink Innovative Metrology. Aberlink’s popular Axiom too CMM can truly be described as the complete Inspection Centre; high measuring accuracies are achieved through the use of the latest metrology techniques and advanced in-house manufacturing methods. The Axiom too boasts an all aluminium bridge resulting in a very low thermal mass, rendering the machine ideal for use either in controlled environments or within less than perfect shop-floor conditions. Thanks to the Axiom too’s use of advanced materials, the machine’s reduced inertia results in class leading speed of operation. For increased accuracy air bearings of optimised stiffness are employed on all axes, whilst a granite Y Beam allows preloading of bridge bearings in both directions. Borrowed from the Aerospace industry, the CMM’s sturdy component support consists of an advanced granite/aluminium honeycomb construction, this technology, provides natural damping and further improves the machine’s thermal properties. Despite the Axiom too’s generous measuring volume 640x600x500 or 640x900x500, the machine’s compact design occupies a relatively small footprint. Equally rewarding when used by the novice or an experienced CMM operator, the Axiom too utilises Aberlink’s famous, intuitive 3D software, ensuring greater user productivity and profitability. A welcome bi-product of any Aberlink CMM inspection routine is that a simultaneous picture of the measured component is created on the computer screen. Dimensions between the measured features, mirroring those that appear on the component drawing, are then picked off as required. In essence this ‘smart’ software represents an intelligent measuring system that is able to automatically recognise and define the various features being measured. Aberlink 3D is the easiest to use CMM software currently available. Paragon Precision Products Managing Director Paul Kratovil continued. “From the moment of our first contact with Aberlink, we were impressed by the company’s very professional manner and their understanding of our needs, later a very impressive machine demonstration helped us to make our decision. Following a short learning curve, our operators found the Axiom too very easy to operate, and are now using our new CMM for a multitude of measuring tasks. The speed and accuracy of the Aberlink machine ensures that it is able to perform a range of complex gauging procedures extremely rapidly. Our new CMM has also proven very easy to programme, by undertaking a manual mode inspection routine of a given component, Aberlink’s 3D software automatically creates a part programme for future use. When working in a CNC mode, the Axiom too’s large component support allows us to load multiple parts, and by selecting the appropriate, pre-written part programme, measure parts in a fully automatic mode.” “As a company we have always adhered to our philosophy of purchasing the best tool for the job in hand, as illustrated by our range of premium quality machine tools. Having applied this same attitude to our CMM purchase, it was particularly pleasing that on this occasion the ‘best tool for the job’ was a British CMM that came in at a very competitive price.” 
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Aberlink CMM

7/8/2019

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With a global Headquarters in Troy, Michigan, at the heart of America’s largest automotive manufacturing area, in addition to being involved in a multitude of other industrial sectors, Delphi is one of the world’s largest automotive parts manufacturers. Reflecting the global nature of its business, the company operates 138 wholly owned manufacturing sites, 36 joint ventures, and 28 technical centres located in 34 countries.

Delphi boasts extensive experience in high-pressure fuel injection technology and has developed several innovative design and control strategies to meet customer’s requirements for cost competitive, low noise systems that provide accurate injection
over the life of an engine. The company is the world’s second largest supplier of diesel technologies and has a strong position in the light duty, medium duty and heavy duty segments, covering everything from low-cost light vehicles for developing markets,
up to high-technology common rail and Electronic Unit Injector (EUI) systems for the world’s most sophisticated passenger cars, trucks and off-highway vehicles. One
of several company manufacturing plants situated in the UK, Delphi’s Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, facility specialises in the high-precision manufacture of EUIs for heavy duty applications, helping vehicle and engine manufacturers around the world to meet increasingly demanding emissions legislation.

Delphi’s advanced EUI comprises an individual camshaft-plunger pump for each cylinder, that is capable of delivering fuel at very high pressures (up to 2500 bar). These high injection pressures are absolutely essential to enable engines to meet current and future emissions legislation, but require incredible manufacturing tolerances – often in the sub-micron region. Delphi’s ingenious EUI systems incorporate full electronic control, with pilot injection being employed to reduce noise. Ensuring optimum operation efficiency, sensors located around the engine feed a continuous stream of data to the Engine Control Unit (ECU) which calculates the exact amount fuel to be injected and the timing of its delivery.

In accordance with the company’s philosophy of continuous improvement, an international truck manufacturer recently challenged Delphi Stonehouse to tighten the geometric tolerances on the interface between the EUIs from 100 µm to 30 µm.

Exceeding drawing requirements, and beyond the inherent capability of the processes involved, the new increased tolerance demanded a revaluation of the manufacturing and inspection methods involved. The urgency of the request called for a rapid reaction from the customer-focused Stonehouse team. Mindful of the required quick response, a manufacturing and inspection strategy was embarked upon for the
high-volume injectors. As an inspection bottle-neck was quickly identified as a major potential difficulty, in consultation with Chris Gay, one of the Delphi Stonehouse’s preferred inspection equipment suppliers; several potential gauging solutions were explored. Having deemed dedicated fixtures as being too inflexible, an ideal solution was found in the best selling, Axiom too Coordinate Measuring Machine from the largest UK owned Coordinate Measuring Machine manufacturer, Aberlink.

Will Johnson, Delphi Stonehouse Quality Manager, takes up the story. “Having rejected several other measurement strategies, the in-depth understanding of our complex
and tight-tolerance measuring problem, shown by Aberlink, on our initial approach to them, gave us the confidence to explore their suggested solution. Within a two week period, working closely with Delphi personnel, Aberlink ran injector measurement trials, made minor modifications to their software, successfully completed arduous R&R trials and installed two Axiom too CNC CMMs within the Stonehouse facility. Mindful of the urgency of our requirements and to further expedite the procurement process, we took advantage of Aberlink’s Rental Scheme. As the Aberlink operator interface is relatively simple, we have enjoyed the benefits of a reduced training time, whilst the high speed of our new Aberlink CMMs will enable us to keep up with the current, unit inspection volume of 2000 units per week, and also our projected throughput of 3000 units. It   was enlightening to compare the Axiom too with our existing CMM, that cost 5 times more. We were astonished that our new, less expensive machines delivered similar levels of accuracy, whilst considerably out-performing the more expensive CMM when it came to the speed of inspection routines.”

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Despite the prevailing economic conditions, Aberlink has continued to enjoy excellent global sales within the small and medium CMM market. Dave Robinson, Business Development Manager at Aberlink, points out “our strategy of providing high quality products, that are affordable, accurate and above all easy to use, has enabled   Aberlink to grow organically to become the largest UK owned CMM manufacture. New initiatives, such as our generous Machine Rental Scheme, have enabled customers to continue to obtain our CMMs at a time of restricted liquidity”.

Always at the forefront of CMM innovation, Aberlink has recently completed installation of several specialist machining centres at its worldwide headquarters in Gloucester.
In-house manufacturing is an investment Aberlink has always believed in, not only to control cost but more importantly to ensure the most appropriative equipment and process are used to manufacture the key components it uses to build machines. Every Aberlink CMM’s boast a high-grade aluminium bridge incorporating premium quality air bearings ensuring optimum performance across a range of environments, including less than perfect shop-floor conditions. Whilst ingenious integration of the machine electronics into the CMM frame, rather than a separate desk unit, has resulted in Aberlink machines boasting the smallest footprint of any equivalent size machine.

Popular throughout the world, Aberlink’s revolutionary 3D measurement software provides the user with a powerful, yet easy to use interface, substantially increasing new users’ component through-put, whilst greatly shortening their software leaning period. Aberlink’s flexible 3D metrology software package has been developed as a multi-platform solution, in addition to supporting both manual and CNC CMM’s, it can also be used on portable arms, vision systems, video machines and profile projectors.

​​Visit us at: www.aberlink.com email: sales@aberlink.com or call: +44 (0)1453 884461 for more information.
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Increasing Productivity of Part Inspection

4/1/2019

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One of the key items facing smaller shops today is increasing productivity in the manufacturing environment.   The time when machine tools sit idle is extremely costly. A significant road block to keeping them productive waiting for parts to be inspected or new features to be checked by QA. Taking the part to a QA area and having a specialized Quality Inspector or Programmer, then waiting for the inspection to be completed on the part can take minutes to hours and in cases of the absence of the inspector the part can go unchecked for a day or multiple parts can be run that are not in specification leading to increased scrap.   
Attempts have been made to help eliminate this type of back up by bring inspection devices to the floor, but these devices have come up short in three areas, first is handling temperature fluctuations that can exist on the floor and second the need to still have some kind of dedicated operational personnel to create programs, and finally the prohibitive price to purchase and the cost of ownership in the long term
Aberlink has provided a solution to all of the issues, starting with the easiest to use software in the market, Mark IV, so that in a very short time, in many cases less than a day, machine operators can be taught how to use the Aberlink CMM or Vision system.
Next comes the Aberlink line of CMMs from the shop hardened Xtreme series, with built in thermal control, allowing the Xtreme to operate in any environment with just a simple 110V connection, to the Axiom, Zenith and Azimuth lines with built in temperature compensation, Mark Iv the easiest to use software and a full line of probing options, from touch probe to scanning to vision all running under one homogenous software system.
Finally, all of this is done at an extremely affordable price with full CNC machines starting under 30K and a substantially reduced cost of ownership with things such as software upgrades and support for life, saving thousands over your typical software, all training done onsite, open technology to allow you to use the most economic sources for support.
No longer does QA have to be a bottleneck or unaffordable look to Aberlink and Masters Precision to provide you with your quality solution
Masters Precision
810-223-6315
Sales@mastersprecision.com
www.MastersPrecision.com

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What is Ease of Use Software

7/23/2018

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​Today the term easy to use is bandy about by everyone when the speak of their software, and leaves it up to determine what they mean by the statement, and various feature can be used to back up their statements, but in real life you need to determine what ease of use for you and your company.  The following are some of the things that can be used in your ability to determine ease of use
  1. Automatic feature recognition:  In todays world while CAD files are prevalent they are still not available on many parts, this is particularly important if you intend to do reverse engineering.    In this area what is important is to not have to continually go back to the keyboard, screen or joystick to close out features or predetermine the number of points you want to take to determine how to define the feature.  The software should allow you to move seamlessly to the next feature you are measuring and provide a audible sound so the users knows he has closed one feature and moved on to the next
  2. The ability to export to a Standard CAD format.  This should be standard on your software and easy to do so that after you have measured your program from an unknown part you are able to save the data from the part and export it easily to your CAD system to allow you to create a CAD file form the data easily, this should not be tie to an add on or extra
  3. Allows easy programming with standard CAD inputs such as IGES and STEP, with the ability to create part programs by simply clicking on the features to be measured
  4. Support Multiple Sensors, such as Touch Probe, Scanning Probe and Vision or Camera options using the same basic package so there is no special or additional training needed
  5. Simplified user interface, that allows an operator to be come proficient in a 2 to 3 days, contrary to one or two weeks required on many software packages
  6. Training is done on site as part of the purchase so that you learn on your parts and avoid the operator frustration that arises from learning on a standardize part at an offsite class room and then having to implement the knowledge on your parts
  7. Lifetime Support and upgrades, if the software is simple the questions that will arise are few, so why should you pay for support if the software is that simple to use
 
Keep these items in mind when looking for a CMM or CMM upgrade and you will find that Aberlink Mark IV meets all of these requirements easily
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​What is an affordable CMM?

4/27/2018

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When most people of what makes a CMM affordable the first
impression is initial purchase price, while this is an important part of the purchasing decision
there are many other costs that go into making an informed decision. Items such as training
costs, software support and contracts, calibration costs, service rights, ease of use and ease of
repair. While these may appear to be insignificant let’s see how they may add up over time
Training costs, while typically not anticipated there is continual turnover of employees with
desired skills. Most CMM manufacturers have set charges for training classes and depending
on the software may have requirements for both basic and advanced classes to insure the
effective use of the CMM. Typical basic class costs around $2,500.00 and an advanced class
around $3,500.00, plus the cost of expenses as you send your student to the manufacturer
which will add another $500.00 to each training class
Software support and updates are free for the first year from most manufacturers, after the
first year, the cost is optional, but if you require support they will not help until a contract is in
place and if you need to upgrade (such as a change in the windows platform you are running) as
a rule they charge for every missed contract from after the first year. So, over the period of 5
years you can expect to spend an additional $10,000.00 at minimum laser the costs can go up
significantly
Service rights, most CMM service requires a key or password to get into the diagnostic software
and calibration files, this means that you are typically required to go back to the manufacturer
for any support issues. Open technology platforms offer by a few companies can give you
access to other support sources and do not hold you captive to the OEM, so the supplier must
provide you with a high level of service or you can go elsewhere for support not so with most
manufacturers, you become the owner of your machine not the OEM when you use open
technology
Ease of use, should be a primary consideration in the purchase of any CMM. The more difficult
the software is to use, the less use you receive from the product. Jobs will be sent to other
means of inspection, if the programming time on the CMM is lengthy or drawn out, the loss of
an operator due to illness or vacation can cause down time as no fully efficient replacement is
readily available to fill the spot. The requirement on many CMMs to have to create a part
program in order to effectively measure a part creates additional delays for one off inspections,
when the machine can not be used effectively to measure off a drawing or do simple
inspections
Ease of service, a number of OEMs use proprietary products in the CMM, things like a simple
probe head if you are using a Renishaw based system can be swapped out by the operator and
are typically available over night on an exchange basis, with proprietary products you usually
have to wait not only for the probe but also a service technician to properly install the
equipment, this can entail multiple days of unanticipated down time

So depending on the CMM over a period of 5 year your initial investment can cost more than an
additional 30K even if every thing runs without error and if there are no problems, so being
aware of these costs you should consider systems with
Free software updates and support for life
Non-proprietary packages of any type hardware or calibration
Open Technology
Ease of use in the software with lower training costs
What does a calibration cost?
In many cases the initial purchase price is just the beginning in having an affordable CMM
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​Defining your measurement needs

3/7/2018

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When looking for a piece of measuring equipment there are a few basic items that every potential user needs to understand during his research if not prior to, so you can make a good decision, some of these are accuracy, measurement range, who and how you will use the equipment the most, whether you are looking to do prismatic part inspection or non-prismatic part inspection, whether you wants to gather form data and how detailed they wants this information, and what quantity you will be doing his inspections in, will most of your work will be one off, if you will be doing small batches or if you will be doing productions runs
First let’s talk about the key item on everyone’s list, and that is accuracy.  First is understand what your part tolerance is, typically you want something that is at least twice the accuracy that you intend to measure for a DCC machine and three times the accuracy for a manual system, due to increased operator influence on the measurement.  IE: if your tolerance is 0.001 you need a machine that is at least 0.0005.  Accuracy is typically given in a formula so do the math and work out the formula, also insure that the accuracy stated against a standard such as ISO 10360, and also insure that the accuracy statement is at least 2 sigma to insure reliable results
Determining machine size sometimes is sometimes difficult, because measurement range and part size are not always true correlation. Features can create a need for extended machine sizes.  An feature such as a cylinder perpendicular to a plane with some depth can create a need for a longer axis.  IE 14-inch-long part with a 8 inch deep cylinder could generate the need for machine with a minimum 22 inch measuring length in order to meet the requirement for measuring that feature.  Supplying part prints to a potential supplier and have them quote to your need is always recommended, but the quote should be explained in detail for each item included with the reason why either in writing or in a meeting.
How you plan on using the machine the most is important as this will help determine, things to be considered are number of parts that will be inspected, will it be small lots, one off parts or quantity inspection.   If you are measuring small lots or one off parts software simplicity should be high priority, it might be important to have software that would allow you to bring a part to the machine and start measuring immediately without having to create a program, it should also have the ability to store this program for future use.  It would also be ideal that the same software would allow you to program from a CAD file if needed.   IF the software does not offer this type of flexibility or it is difficult or clumsy to use and not intuitive, you might rule this out as a possibility, but if you are running large runs of the same parts, then the capability to program off line and create programs from CAD may be more important even if it is more difficult to use.
Other considerations that are to be looked at should include, what are the parts like, are they basic prismatic measurements, such as blocks, cases and others or do we do free form surfaces or non-prismatic parts, such as airfoils, blades etc. do I want to do form type measurements, will I be trying to reverse engineer items, each of these need to be reviewed as they can affect the price that you will pay, by increasing the complexity of the software, creating a demand for specialized or dedicated probe systems.  Will I need to measure flexible parts such as gaskets, rubber or plastics that are thin walled and can create reproducibility issues.  Most of all be prioritize what you must have and what you would like to have and set a budget that you can live within. 
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CMM Cost of Ownership

1/23/2018

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The initial purchase price for a CMM is just the beginning of the investment, there are many costs that come with CMM ownership that goes beyond the price that you pay on the purchase order.   
The first one that most owners run into are the expenses that go with the training provided with the CMM.  While almost all CMMs come with some kind of training included, this training is typically offsite at the OEMs facility. If you are lucky enough to be within driving distance of a facility the cost is minimized, but if not, you face Travel expenses that are at minimum hotel costs, meals, and transportation.  There is also overtime that may be involved due to the distance traveled by the employee.  This is then compounded by the fact that the efficiency of your employees after they come out of training (learning curve) is compounded by the fact that the training is done on standardized parts and the must learn to apply theory of the training to your actual parts.  Onsite training is much more effective provided the trainer will work with your parts and applications in teaching
The next cost that lies hidden is the software maintenance and support, most OEMs provide only one year of support and upgrades with the product, after that year is up, they will insist in the purchase of a software contract which can be as little a $1,000.00 per year to get this turned back on, but depending on options and software configurations can run more than $6,000.00 per year
Another hidden cost deals with those company that use proprietary products in critical components of their machines. If the OEM uses Renishaw products such as the PH10 these can typically be obtained over night and can be exchanged by the CMM operator with minimal or no support, the cost is typically less that $5,000.00.  If you deal with a proprietary product, you not only have to pay the exchange rate for the probe from the OEM, ($6,000.00 or more is typical) you then have to wait for a service technician to be available to install that part that can be over a week, depending on your location, thus not only paying in excess of $8000.00 to $10,000.00 for the service call but also the hidden cost of machine down time which can limit your ability to ship products to your customers
Another cost is calibration, a typical calibration from an OEM is in excess of $2,000.00 and they control the compensation software that precludes you from using other sources that could be half the price or less, so if possible, you should look for systems with an open compensation map.   Another cost of calibration is frequency, typical OEM will recommend an annual calibration, while it is your quality systems that should set the calibration interval cycle based on your actual use of the system.
Service Rates are another cost while they may seam simple based on hourly rates you need to look at hidden charges for things such as equipment rentals, (which are required to do the job but not part of the base price), charges for processing travel expenses, minimum daily charges, premiums on travel costs. That are hidden within the service rate sheets
Training costs and ease of software use are other charges that you will eventually incur, while none of us like to lose employees this will eventually happen and training cost should be part of your ownership calculation.   Most software’s typically require two stages of training to be effective basic and advanced at $1,500.00 to $5,000.00 per person per class this can add up to a rather large investment, the similar the software the easier to use the lower the cost of training.
All of these costs are directly tied to the initial purchase of the CMM and should be considered in the purchase of the machine you will buy

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Understanding Shop Floor CMMs

12/17/2017

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Understanding shop floor CMMs can be difficult for a user to understand, there are 2 parts to running a CMM on the shop floor.

  1. Environment (which controls the integrity of the data)
    a.)The Ambient Environment
    b.)
    Ambient Temperature for machine and part
  2. Ease of use
There are a number of units on the market that claim to be shop floor systems, but most come up short in some aspects of being a true shop floor machine.   
In the environmental area, almost all CMMs address the ambient environment, the use of way covers, enclosed cabling and linear mechanical bearings or linear drives are used to handle contaminants that are airborne and can cause issues with the machine by affecting the life of the machine, but it does not address the key element in shop floor measurement which is temperature
Temperature, this is where most CMMs that are used on the shop floor come up short, many manufacturers approach this concern by using divergent materials in the machine construction to minimize the effect of temperature on the measurement data.  Some units apply temperature compensation to the machine and the part and apply a linear mathematical formula based on the materials involved.  A few actually control the ambient temperature of the machine through enclosures or by special system design
Ease of use in another large consideration for shop floor systems, the purpose of a shop floor machine is to move it out close to the work being performed, the software needs to be simple and uncomplicated.  A shop floor machine is only effective if a machinist can be taught to use it in a short time and the software is intuitive, if the software requires extensive training (more than a few days) and is not supported by thing such a video training courses, it effectiveness is diminished and it may require that full tie CMM programmer be hired to handle integrating the shop floor machine into the processes used, thus limiting the ability to seamlessly integrate the product and increasing the time required to implement the product.  It should also have a simple enough manual interface that machine operators can do one off inspections without having to write a program to obtain quick measurement information, thus eliminating waiting time on expensive machine tools

The Aberlink Xtreme address all of these areas being meeting all the criteria, from simple to use, environmentally protected, and having its own temperature control to insure measurement quality across a wide range of temperatures at a very attractive price


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Understanding Basic Accuracy

10/19/2017

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​In today’s market CMM accuracy is usually stated as ISO10360-2.  This is the statement of volumetric accuracy that is given dependent on the distance of the measurement you are making.    The statement is usually done in a simple formula such as accuracy equals X.X + L/XXX. 
The first part of the formula is a constant and should be considered in every measurement taken regardless of the distance traveled.  The following are a couple of examples
Part Length is 500 mm, machine accuracy is stated as 2.4 + L/250
Substitute in the distance being measured in place of the L
2.4 + 500/250
 2.4 + 2
 4.4 microns
0.00018 inches approximately
Part Length is 1000 mm
2.4 + 1000/250
2.4 + 4
6.4 microns
0.00028 inches approximately
 
Some companies state the accuracy formula differently in the second term to make the accuracy seam better an example would be 2.4 + 4L/750.  The formula would work out as follows
2.4 + 4L/750
2.4 + 4*500/750
2.4 + 2000/750
2.4 + 2.67
5.07 microns
0.00022 inches approximately
 
If you look at the two ways of presenting the accuracy 2.4 L/250 may not look as accurate at first glance as 2.4 + 4L/750, but if you work out the formula it shows that this is not true
Just an additional note some companies, will calibrate a machine quoted to ISO to the old B89 standard, there is a significant difference in the measurement testing.  ISO requires you use certified length devises such as Step Gage or Gage Block, B89 uses a ball bar that is of one uniform length.  Additionally, by measuring spheres instead of steps you average the probing error with the ball bar.  If the machine is sold to ISO you should insist that it calibrated to the ISO standard to ensure that it meets the requirements
 
There are other parts of the standard that we are willing to discuss such as ISO 10360-4 and 10360-5 please contact sales@mastersprecision.com
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    Don Ward
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