Serving a domestic and international customer base that is predominantly involved in the food industry, Frazer-Nash has grown its business by supplying imaginative solutions to customers who have challenging requirements that cannot be satisfied by standard products or sourced from catalogues.
The Frazer-Nash name represents a rich and varied history, from manufacturing cars in the 1920s and building powered turrets for use on bombers such as the Lancaster during World War II, to producing innovative postal mechanisms and complex aerospace components in the1960s.
In 1990, the Frazer-Nash group was split up and a number of splinter companies resulted. Formed from a significant portion of the group’s manufacturing and design departments. Frazer-Nash Manufacturing is one of these offsprings.
Based in Petersfield, Hampshire, Frazer-Nash Manufacturing has a wide range of advanced capabilities that are best suited to low to medium volume production, from traditional milling and turning, through to grinding and wire EDM. A recent investment in a Renishaw additive manufacturing machine has further extended the company’s wide range of competencies.
As increased levels of production began to place a strain on its inspection department, a search was made for a CNC driven CMM. After considering several alternatives an Axiom Too was purchased from Aberlink.
Frazer-Nash Manufacturing managing director Paul Mortlock explains: “We pride ourselves on our quality; we are ISO 9001 certified and offer 100% inspection on manufactured items. We also provide certificates of conformance and full traceability on our work when appropriate.
“Having evaluated several other makes and models of CMMs, we decided that the CNC version of Aberlink’s Axiom Too was ideal for our needs. As our production volumes are continuing to grow its high precision specification and ability to rapidly inspect multiple parts in a fully automatic CNC mode, were major factors in our choice.
“Following an initial short training course, our operators quickly mastered the CMM’s basic operations and were able to perform a range of inspection routines. After becoming more familiar with the machine, a follow-up training session then enabled our operators to master the CMM’s more advanced features.
“Now, our quality staff are able to quickly measure one-off parts in a manual mode, or use a pre-written program to inspect larger batches of components in an automatic CNC mode. Also, when we produce repeat batches of smaller parts, we can quickly recall the relevant stored program, load a large batch of parts onto the CMM, and start a fully automatic mass inspection routine.
“After investing heavily in enhancing our manufacturing capabilities, with the purchase of equipment such as the new additive manufacturing machine, the Aberlink CMM will allow our busy inspection department to keep pace with increased throughput and to inspect our high-accuracy parts to the required levels of precision,” he adds. Also, the Aberlink Too’s ability to generate in-depth inspection reports and documentation will help us with our traceability records.”
The Axiom Too is the bestselling CMM from the largest UK owned CMM manufacturer. It is available in both manual and CNC variants in a range of capacities and is described by Aberlink as the ‘complete inspection centre’.
The recently upgraded CMM 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 a very low thermal mass. Thanks to the Axiom Too’s use of advanced materials, the machine’s reduced inertia also results in rapid speed of operation.
Borrowed from the laser optics industry, the CMM’s sturdy table consists of an advanced granite/aluminium honeycomb construction which provides natural damping and further improves the machine’s thermal properties. Despite the Axiom Too’s generous X, Y, Z measuring volume (640mm x 600-900-1,200-1,500mm x 500mm), the machine’s compact design occupies a relatively small footprint, with the controller and all peripherals housed within the workbench.
The Axiom Too utilises Aberlink’s own 3D software, ensuring greater user productivity and profitability.
ABERLINK INNOVATIVE METROLOGY www.aberlink.com
