Extensive experience in the specialist area of boring tool technologies and boring strategies has enabled the company to become a leader in the design and manufacture of highly productive boring tools, recognised by the winning of the Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade in 2013.
In addition to other demanding sectors, Rigibore boring bars are used throughout the world within the automotive, aerospace, marine, agricultural and heavy plant manufacturing industries. As well as being a trusted supplier to many major international manufacturers, Rigibore also works closely with a number of leading international machine tool builders.
The efficiency and accuracy of Rigibore products, such as the company’s Smartbore and ActiveEdge products, is largely due to their high precision, Rigibore’s use of advanced manufacturing techniques and the company’s strict quality culture.
Rigibore’s Smartbore system is designed to enable an operator to quickly and easily make manual, micron accurate adjustments to the cutting edges of a fine boring tool while it is located in the machine spindle. The Smartbore design needs no clamping or unclamping in adjustment, eliminating vibrations that can occur whilst in operation.
Another of Rigibore’s flagship products is ActiveEdge – an automatically compensating boring solution. This innovative system uses wireless technology to hold a close tolerance bored diameter without the need for operator intervention.
The ActiveEdge system can be partnered with a gauging or probing device, allowing CNC programs to monitor bore sizes and adjust accordingly as part of a closed loop manufacturing process.
To ensure that Rigibore remains at the forefront of its chosen field, the company pursues a Continuous Improvement Program (CIP) across all of its activities.
A major aim of the company’s CIP is to increase levels of efficiency in order to ensure that its products remain commercially competitive. A recent review of a vital, time consuming inspection tasks identified it as an area where both precision standards could be improved and major time savings could be achieved.
Greg Cocks, Rigibore engineering director explains: “To confirm the accuracy of the pockets in our holders that house our customers’ carbide inserts, our quality staff would load an insert into each individual holder’s pocket, then make the relevant measurements. Although this 100% inspection technique guaranteed the required pocket accuracy, it was extremely laborious for the operators concerned and also very time consuming.
“Having searched for an answer to speeding-up this important task and a solution to making further accuracy gains, our local Mitutoyo sales engineer suggested the use of a high precision, high-speed CNC vision measuring system. Mindful of the large volumes of carbide insert holders we produce and our demanding accuracy specifications, a demonstration of the Mitutoyo, Quick Vision Elf Pro was organised.
“As the machine proved ideal and given the urgency of our requirement, it was quickly purchased and installed,” he continues. “Our quality staff now simply load multiple holders onto the Quick Vision Elf Pro’s bed, recall the relevant part program and instigate a rapid, fully automatic CNC measuring routine. As the complex geometry and dimensions of each pocket is now measured with a greater degree of precision and detail, we are able to guarantee the accuracy of the fit without the need to pre-load carbide inserts.
“The speed, accuracy and repeatability of the Mitutoyo CNC vision measuring system means we have slashed our measuring times and improved our accuracy capability. Also, as the inspection of our holders’ pockets takes place soon after their production, we are now able to provide rapid feedback to production staff related to any component parameters that are drifting from their nominal conditions.”
Mitutoyo offers a wide range of high quality 3D CNC vision measuring systems, from lightweight, space saving designs that offer a high performance/cost ratio, through to a machine that measures workpieces while they are moving by using a high intensity LED stroboscopic image capturing technique.
The Mitutoyo Quick Vision Elf Pro is an advanced 3D CNC vision measuring system with a measuring range of 250mm in X, 200mm in Y and 200mm in Z. The Elf Pro has a resolution of 0.1µm and provides accuracy in the 2.3µm class, when measuring up to 100mm.
In addition to its impressive accuracy specification the Elf Pro is regarded as a highly efficient, timesaving 3D CNC vision measuring system due to its impressive XYZ axes drive speed of 200mm/second.
Programmable ring lighting provides flexibility in lighting direction and intensity regardless of the inclination of the workpiece surface.
Fine control of obliquity and direction provides optimal illumination for measurement. Obliquity can be arbitrarily set in the range from 30° to 80°. This type of illumination is most effective for enhancing the edge of inclined surfaces or very small steps. Illumination can be controlled independently in every direction.
The Mitutoyo Quick Vision Elf Pro’s programmable Power Turret (PPT) offers a three tube lens selection to provide three magnifications with the same objective lens. Replacement of objective lenses allows a wide magnification range to support a wide variety of measurements.
Mitutoyo UK www.mitutoyo.co.uk
