In order to break into producing Formula One car parts, CNC Consultants needed to improve their inspection procedures and quality reports.  Unlike the jigs and fixtures which they normally produce, the F1 parts have drawing tolerances down to 25 µm true position, which meant they couldn’t use their current portable arm.

CMM manufacturer and Cross partner LK Metrology demonstrated their ALTERA C series CMM to owner Ron Harris in two ways: first with a touch probe to orient and then laser scanning and then with a Renishaw SP25M to probe and touch-scan the part.  Said Harris, ““LK seems to be one of the metrology industry’s best-kept secrets. I had not come across them before. Although LK is a sizeable operation that is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, with a factory in Derbyshire, England and a worldwide customer base, it has a small-company feel. I got the impression that I would receive good support and back-up, which so far has been the case. In addition, the CMM is well-built and the software provided is easy to use, including on the portable arm.”

The step up to CMM metrology immediately brought in extra F1 work. Parts produced are typically for hydraulic manifolds as well as the race car front and rear wings and floor. A lot of titanium is processed, plus stainless steel, aluminium and some engineering plastics.  Using both the touch-probing discrete points and tactile scanning from the SP25M probe, much more data is generated in a shorter time compared with touch-trigger probing only, enabling faster inspection and hence improved quality control.

As a distributor for LK Metrology in the U.S. the precision measurement group at Cross Company offers ALTERA C series CMMs throughout our territories and our sales teams can work with your team to determine the best LK Metrology solution for your process. Learn more and schedule a demonstration today!