Retrofitting for the Future Xspect Solutions CMM upgrades
Xspect Solutions CMM Upgrades

Many coordinate measuring machines (CMM) in operation today don’t meet the needs of modern quality standards and production requirements, requiring manufacturers to either update their existing machinery or buy brand-new devices. Either way, it can be an expensive proposition. This was the problem faced by Standard Die Supply, an Indianapolis, Indiana, designer and builder of die sets, mold bases and mold components, as well as a supplier of die supplies. The company’s Sheffield Summit 115 CMM, which it purchased in 2001, was not working properly and needed some serious upgrading and retrofitting.

“It’s essential that we use a CMM to verify and certify to customer specifications the accuracies of the die sets, mold surfaces and features of the tools that we supply,” explains Fred Wolfred, president of Standard Die Supply. “The CMM is an essential part of our manufacturing process, and we cannot afford downtime. That certainly focuses on the software.”

After a lengthy search for qualified software companies that specialized in the kind of issues that Standard Die Supply faced, the company selected Xspect Solutions Inc., based in Wixom, Michigan, to help it update and retrofit its problematic CMM. Xspect Solutions is the third-largest CMM supplier to the North American metrology market and a distributor of Wenzel metrology products.

Mike West, Xspect Solutions’ service manager, performed a site survey at the beginning of the process and subsequently recommended replacing Standard Die Supply’s laser scales with Renishaw tape scales, adding a new Wenzel 2030 CMM controller and upgrading the CMM’s software to OpenDMIS. As part of the retrofit process, the Summit 115 CMM base casting had to be fully machined to accommodate for casting irregularities. A Y scale had to be mounted on a specially designed spar and shimmed to ensure the required accuracy.

“The electronic transfer of data from determining part feasibility, to the review and approval of die and mold design, is one of our standard procedures,” says Wolfred. “What we have found is that the OpenDMIS software upgrade provides us with the level of power we need, and a graphics capability that is easy to view and understand. The menus are extremely user-friendly, and it’s very useful to visually see the solid model. We also get regularly scheduled software upgrades that are downloaded automatically off site.”

Standard Die Supply’s new and improved CMM has improved the company’s inspection speeds and reporting accuracy. The Summit 115 CMM has a measuring volume of 1,200 × 2,000 × 750 mm. The Wenzel 2030 universal CMM controller combines the latest computer numeric controlled technology with the integration of all Renishaw heads and touch-trigger probes.

Outdated CMMs that no longer meet their owners’ needs are an unfortunate—and common—occurrence on many shop floors.

“In most cases, the original CMM machine hardware has the built-in precision to accurately provide ongoing sophisticated measuring demands,” observes Keith Mills, Xspect Solutions president. “The problem is that the software and even most of the upgrades provided with the original machine need replacing. No longer do users want to know if a part is merely good or bad; they need information for process control. Sometimes, however, we find that the CMM isn’t working properly at all, and that requires the replacement of components over and above the software.”

Xspect Solutions CMM Upgrades

Benefits:

• Upgrading existing CMMs is less expensive than new purchases.
• Xspect Solutions can upgrade software, scales and castings.
• Upgraded CMMs improve inspection speed and reporting accuracy, and provide needed information for process control.

www.xspectsolutions.com or www.getstandard.com