Technology trio

Established in 1979 as a provider of precision toolroom services for North East businesses, N.T.G. Precision Engineering (N.T.G) quickly gained a reputation for the quality of its work and a loyal customer base across a range of demanding industries.

Following almost 40 years of continuous growth, in addition to serving the North-East region’s precision engineering requirements, N.T.G has developed into a major supplier to a variety of industrial sectors across the UK, Europe and USA.

Regular investments in state-of-the-art machine tools, production aids and high precision inspection equipment has ensured that the company remains at the forefront of technological advancements and is able to adapt to changing marketplace conditions.

N.T.G holds ISO 9001:2008 accreditation and has also held ‘world class precision machining’ accreditation from the Gauge and Tool Manufacturers Association (GTMA) since 2008. In addition to regular staff training, regular investments in premium quality inspection equipment also helps the company to compete in international, quality driven marketplaces.

The mainstay of N.T.G’s quality and inspection provision is its collection of high precision Aberlink CMMs. Rising levels of business and the need for the company’s inspection department to keep pace with increasing levels of production recently prompted the purchase of the company’s third Aberlink CMM.

Mark Withycombe, N.T.G operations manager explains: “In addition to other cutting-edge machine tools, our subcontract precision engineering facility is equipped with 5-axis machines that are operated by highly skilled, dedicated staff. This enables us to deliver quality components and engineering solutions to the most challenging of both UK and international customers.

“Whether it is a one-off special or batch work, we are able to work from drawings or can reverse engineer samples to suit all needs. In addition to delivering on time and on budget, N.T.G’s reputation has been built on our culture of providing the highest standards of quality.

“Just as we pursue a policy of remaining loyal to suppliers who not only deliver premium quality machine tools, but also provide first class levels of service, we have remained loyal to Aberlink for the same reasons. As well as the accuracy, speed and ease of use of our Aberlink CMM’s, we have been impressed with the reliability and the excellent levels of service the company provides.

“Recent increased levels of production meant that we needed a further CMM for our inspection department. Satisfied that Aberlink’s Axiom Too CMM best suited our needs, we were happy to remain loyal to the brand and place another order.

“Now installed and fully operational, our new machine is able to get through large volumes of precision component inspection routines and it has removed the potential for delays in our inspection department.

“Given the nature of many of the industries we serve, such as oil and gas, subsea, power generation and automotive sectors, the ability to offer the highest standard of component inspection is a prerequisite for gaining contracts. In addition to providing the required accuracy and speed, it helps that the Aberlink CMMs are able to automatically generate the detailed inspection reports demanded by our customers.”

The Axiom Too is the bestselling CMM from Aberlink and is available in both manual and CNC variants in a range of capacities. It is ideal for use in either controlled environments such as inspection departments, or within less than perfect shopfloor conditions, as it features an aluminium bridge with low thermal mass. Thanks to the Axiom Too’s use of advanced materials, the machine’s reduced inertia also results in high speed operation.

Borrowed from the laser optics industry, the CMM’s sturdy table consists a granite/aluminium honeycomb construction, this arrangement, provides natural damping and further improves the machine’s thermal properties. Despite the Axiom Too’s generous X-Y-Z measuring volume (X) 640 x (Y), 600, 900, 1,200 or 1,500mm x (Z) 500mm, the machine’s compact design occupies a relatively small footprint, with the controller and all peripherals housed within the Axiom Too’s workbench.

The Axiom Too utilises Aberlink’s 3D software. 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.

This means dimensions between the measured features, mirroring those that appear on the component drawing, can be simply 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 www.aberlink.com

Company

Aberlink

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