Major investment at Grantham Engineering

Grantham Engineering Ltd have recently installed a Nikon LK 25.12.10 CMM (co-ordinate measuring machine) in the manufacturing facility of their Invicta Vibrator Division. 

This is the company’s third major manufacturing investment in the past 18 months. The machine has a flat, solid, granite base weighing six tonnes to ensure both temperature and mechanical stability, and is equipped with a ceramic bridge beam and the latest Renishaw probes all controlled by Camio software. The function of the machine is to measure with extreme accuracy by means of reading in six degrees of freedom the geometrical characteristics of all vibrator motor components manufactured in the machine shop to ensure their consistent high quality and conformity to all required standards. 

The CMM may be operated manually to measure the dimensions of a single component; more importantly it can be programmed to work automatically, ie unmanned, (similarly to a CNC machine) to check single or multiple objects presented to it in a continuous stream. It is possible to transfer data by means of networking to the design department to produce a complete 3D model of any component. The system is also able to print out detailed reports to provide full traceability for each individual manufactured item.

The equipment was manufactured by Nikon at their facility in Castle Donington, Leicestershire, where extensive training for Grantham personnel has been provided to ensure that the full benefits offered by the machine will be obtained. 

The CMM will be an important factor in improving still further the productivity of the machine shop in that the time-consuming manual inspection of machined components will no longer be necessary; production personnel will be able to continue machining operations without interruption whilst the necessary inspections and checks are being carried out automatically. This is particularly important in the case of flame-proof vibrator components, for which manual inspection involves several people for long periods of time.