The Starrett Premis Benefits
- Ceramic Z-axis and granite components offer thermal stability
- Faster inspection time
- Integrated with easy-to-use and -learn Apogee software
www.starrett.com |
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Small Job Shop Increases Accuracy With a Starrett CMM
The Starrett Premis
Wire-Tech, a Tempe, Arizona-based electrical-discharge machining job shop with a staff of
10, has 12 CNC machines--eight of which are wire EDM and four of which are conventional. The shop's main markets are the aerospace and plastic injection molding industries. The
company also handles tooling functions and some production.
According to Rick Erickson, president of Wire-Tech, it took continuous
seven-hour inspections to realize that his company needed a better coordinate measuring system. Typical inspections were done through surface-plate and other types of gages
that created problems with measuring throughput. It was taking Wire-Tech six to eight hours to make measurements and record them. And checking airfoil
vanes to within 0.0005 in. using gages or a comparator with Mylar overlay was not easily achievable. The large vane shapes couldn't be blown up to a high enough power to detect profile tolerances.
"Because we're in a competitive industry, where we EDM a lot of plastic and metal injection molding, we needed to check every part as quickly and
accurately as possible," notes Erickson. Wire-Tech needed either custom gage fixturing or a coordinate measuring
system. "Custom gage fixtures are expensive," says Erickson. "Plus, customer parts change." A coordinate measuring system was decidedly the company's best option.
And Wire-Tech chose the L.S. Starrett Co.'s Premis CMM with a 24 x 24 x 18 in. measuring range. "Unlike others, the Premis has a ceramic Z axis and
hollow granite components, making it sturdier and more thermally stable," Erickson comments. Selecting the Premis was also in answer to the company's difficulties with
accuracy and repeatability. "We measured a major customer's parts on the Premis and then had those same parts checked on their CMM," Erickson
continues. "The results were impressive to say the least. They actually found the Premis to be repeatable to within 40 millionths.
Inspection time also improved. Some inspections that previously required up to eight hours were being successfully completed in only two hours.
Another advantage Erickson notes is the Premis's use of the Apogee CMM Package, which allows Wire-Tech to check electrodes by directly viewing a
solid CAD file on screen. A user can select the area to measure from the CAD model and graphically report the measured profile from any freeform CAD model.
Erickson noted an increase in new customers after implementation of the Premis and believes the CMM was integral in bringing in new business by
allowing Wire-Tech the opportunity to compete more effectively with larger shops. |
